People v. Delk

345 N.E.2d 197, 36 Ill. App. 3d 1027, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2122
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 25, 1976
Docket74-287
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 345 N.E.2d 197 (People v. Delk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Delk, 345 N.E.2d 197, 36 Ill. App. 3d 1027, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2122 (Ill. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE JONES

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants, Henry Delk, Lawrence Payne, Arthur Scott, and Leotis Hych, were charged by indictment with an attempt armed robbery. All four defendants were convicted in a single jury trial. Thereafter Scott was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 1 to 3 years, Delk to a term of 2 to 6 years, Payne to a term of 4 to 12 years, and Hych to a term of 6 to 18 years. Hych’s sentence was made to run consecutively to a term of 4 to 12 years which had been imposed previously because of his conviction of an unrelated armed robbery. All four defendants have appealed.

The circumstances of the instant offense were as follows. On December 17, 1973, at approximately 7:40 p.m., a Negro male knocked on the door of a tavern known as “Hall’s Cottage,” in East St. Louis, Illinois. Mary L. Sisk, who was then working tending bar pressed a button to electrically unlock the door. The man entered. Immediately after he entered, and before the door was able to close, four other Negro males entered behind him. The first man who entered walked to one end of the bar and then walked behind it. The other four men stood in the vicinity of the door. The first man, who was later identified as Gregory Johnson, said something like “I reckon you all understand what this is.” At that point one of the customers, James Detloff, an off-duty policeman, drew his gun and exchanged shots with Johnson. As a result, Johnson was killed and Detloff was wounded in his right arm. Either during the shooting or immediately thereafter, the other four Negro males ran out the door and away from the tavern. It was subsequently discovered that the other four Negro males, defendants herein, ran a mile or more to the home of an acquaintance, Charles Davis. They arrived there “hot, sweaty, and coughing.” They were admitted to the Davis home, where Charles Davis, his mother (Mattie Davis), his father (Joseph Davis), and his sister (Essie Lee Wells) were then present. Delk and Hych explained that they had just attempted to rob a tavern and that in the attempt a friend had been killed. Delk and Hych each displayed pistols. Payne stated that he had dropped his pistol during their run from the tavern to the Davis home. Hych stated that he was going to return to the tavern to shoot the man who had shot Johnson. Eventually, however, Hych, Delk, Scott, and Payne left the Davis home together in a cab. Delk and Hych went to Delk’s home at 916 Trendley; Scott and Payne went to Scott’s home at 916-A Trendley.

Immediately after the attempted robbery occurred, the East St. Louis police were called by someone in the tavern. Several policemen arrived shortly thereafter. Near Hall’s Cottage, the police discovered a 1972 Buick Electra which was later found to be a stolen vehicle. The car was brown and white; one of its doors was open. In the car the police found three hats, a gun holster, a coat, and several other items. The police also found another hat lying on the ground somewhere in the vicinity of Hall’s Cottage. A search of Johnson’s clothing produced a set of keys which fit the Buick Electra.

Acting on information from the Centreville Police Department that Delk had been seen in the Buick Electra sometime prior to the instant offense, the police went to Delk’s home approximately four hours after the incident. Delk’s mother, Idella Delk, answered the door and told the policemen that her son was not at home and that he had left earlier with four other men in a white and brown car. The policemen then left, but a half hour later they returned to the home. Idella Delk allowed the policemen to enter the home and told them her son was present. They arrested Delk whereupon he turned to Hych, who was also present in the house, and stated, “He was with me.” Thereafter Hych told the police that Scott and Payne had also been with them and that Scott and Payne could be found at Scott’s home. The policemen then went to Scott’s home and arrested Scott and Payne. Hych also informed the police that the hat they found on the ground near Hall’s Cottage belonged to Charles Davis. Acting on ths information, the police also arrested Charles Davis. However, because of their subsequent investigation, no charge was brought against Charles Davis.

Shortly after the arrests each defendant made a statement concerning the attempted robbery of Hall’s Cottage. Each statement was put in writing by the police and signed by the defendant who had made it.

Defendants filed pretrial motions to suppress the statements. After a lengthy hearing the statements were found to be voluntary, and the motions to suppress were denied.

Several witnesses testified at trial, including the four members of the Davis family, several policemen who had participated in the arrests and investigation, James Detioff, Mary Sisk, and two other people who had been present during the attempted robbery. None of the defendants testified at the trial. The statements of the defendants, as well as various other items of evidence, were admitted at trial. Each defendant was represented by a separate attorney throughout the proceedings before the trial court.

In this appeal defendants assert that prejudicial error occurred in the trial court in a number of respects. Defendants first contend that the indictment charging them with attempt armed robbery is fatally defective in that it fails to allege that defendants performed an act amounting to a substantial step toward the commission of an armed robbery. The indictment states in relevant part:

“That on the 17th day of December, 1973, in said County, Henry Delk, Arthur Scott, Lawrence Payne, and Leotis Hych committed the offense of Attempt in that they did with the intent to commit the offense of armed robbery of Mary Sisk in violation of Section 18 — 2 of Chapter 38, Illinois Revised Statutes, did perform a substantial step toward the commission of that offense in that they did knowingly enter a building of Mary L. Sisk, being a tavern located at 3001 Broadview, East St. Louis, Illinois armed with a deadly weapon, a gun, in violation of Paragraph 8 — 4 Chapter 38, Illinois Revised Statutes.”

A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific oifiense, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of the offense. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 8 — 4(a).) The crux of defendants’ argument is that entering a tavern while armed with a deadly weapon, albeit with intent to commit a robbery therein, is nothing more than mere preparation which does not amount to a substantial step toward the commission of the offense. This contention lacks merit.

The only other matters which defendants might logically have been charged with in the indictment are the announcement of the intended robbery and display of a weapon or the failure of the attempt. As to the latter, it is no longer the law in Illinois that failure to complete the intended offense is necessary for conviction of attempt; and, therefore, failure need not be charged. (Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 38, §8 — 4, Committee Comments, at 511-12 (Smith-Hurd 1972); People v. Watson, 36 Ill. 2d 228, 221 N.E.2d 645.) As to the former, it is not essential that the indictment state that defendants displayed a weapon or that they announced the holdup.

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Bluebook (online)
345 N.E.2d 197, 36 Ill. App. 3d 1027, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-delk-illappct-1976.