People v. Eubanks

2020 IL App (3d) 180117, 159 N.E.3d 508, 442 Ill. Dec. 329
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 14, 2020
Docket3-18-0117
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2020 IL App (3d) 180117 (People v. Eubanks) 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. Eubanks, 2020 IL App (3d) 180117, 159 N.E.3d 508, 442 Ill. Dec. 329 (Ill. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

2020 IL App (3d) 180117

Opinion filed July 14, 2020 ____________________________________________________________________________ IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

THIRD DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of the 14th Judicial Circuit, Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Rock Island County, Illinois. ) ) Appeal No. 3-18-0117 v. ) Circuit No. 10-CF-298 ) ) ANTWOINE TEDDY EUBANKS, ) The Honorable ) Frank R. Fuhr, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ____________________________________________________________________________

PRESIDING JUSTICE LYTTON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice Carter concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice McDade dissented, with opinion. ____________________________________________________________________________

OPINION

¶1 Defendant was charged with first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a) (2) (West 2010)) and

aggravated battery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/12-4.2(a)(1) (West 2010)). Approximately one year

later, defendant provided a videotaped statement to detectives. Soon thereafter, he pled guilty to

first degree murder. Defendant later filed several motions to withdraw his guilty plea, which the

trial court granted. Defendant’s case proceeded to a stipulated bench trial, where defendant’s

statement was admitted into evidence. Defendant was found guilty of first degree murder and

sentenced to 50 years in prison. Defendant filed a postconviction petition, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to suppress his videotaped statement pursuant to Illinois

Supreme Court Rule 402(f) (eff. July 1, 2012). The petition proceeded to a third-stage evidentiary

hearing, where the trial court denied it. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in

denying his postconviction petition because his videotaped statement was inadmissible at trial. We

affirm.

¶2 BACKGROUND

¶3 Defendant was arrested on April 14, 2010, and charged with one count of first degree

murder for killing Samuel Rush and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm for shooting

Erik Childs. Defendant initially denied any involvement in the crimes.

¶4 On April 19, 2011, defendant participated in a videotaped interview with two Rock Island

detectives, Gene Karzin and Tina Noe, along with his attorney, Daniel Dalton. Assistant State’s

Attorney Norma Kauzlerich was outside the room watching the interview and texting questions to

Karzin. Defendant confessed that he and two other men, Pashanet Reed and Stephan Phelps, lured

the victims to a specific location, where defendant shot them. After the defendant made his

statement, Dalton left the room, presumably to speak with Kauzlerich, to “make sure we’re good.”

¶5 On May 11, 2011, defendant appeared in court to enter a guilty plea. The State indicated

that the parties had reached a “negotiated disposition” pursuant to which the State recommended

that defendant be sentenced to 35 years in prison for first degree murder and dismiss the aggravated

battery with a firearm charge, provided that defendant “continues to truthfully cooperate and, if

necessary, truthfully testify.” The trial court entered judgment for first degree murder and

dismissed the aggravated battery charge against defendant. The matter was continued for

sentencing “pending the defendant’s cooperation with the co-defendants’ cases.”

2 ¶6 Defendant filed motions to withdraw his guilty plea on November 10, 2011, February 14,

2012, and March 27, 2012. On March 28, 2012, the trial court held a hearing on the motions. At

the hearing, the State indicated that it would stand by its offer in exchange for defendant’s

cooperation. The trial court allowed defendant to withdraw his guilty plea.

¶7 On May 15, 2012, defendant filed a motion to suppress his videotaped statement, alleging

that it was “obtained in violation of [his] rights as guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth

Amendments to the federal Constitution.” According to the motion, “the plea agreement reached

by defendant and the State required defendant to plead guilty to the *** First Degree Murder

charge, provide a true statement as to his involvement in the murder, and testify if necessary,

against the other co-defendants.” In exchange, the State would recommend that defendant receive

a 35-year prison sentence for first degree murder and dismiss the aggravated battery with a firearm

charge. The motion further stated that “pursuant to his obligation under the bargain reached with

the State, [defendant] provided a videotaped statement to law enforcement officials and attorneys

from the Rock Island County State’s Attorney[’]s office.” The trial court denied defendant’s

motion to suppress.

¶8 Defendant’s case proceeded to a stipulated bench trial. The stipulations established that on

March 30, 2010, Rush and Childs were found shot inside a vehicle. Reed and Phelps were found

fleeing from the scene in a dark green Lincoln.

¶9 Phelps told police that he was with defendant on March 30, 2010, and traded a gun with

defendant that day. Phelps gave police the gun and ammunition defendant gave him. Reed told

police that defendant shot Rush and Childs.

3 ¶ 10 Officers located a cell phone at the scene of the shooting. Defendant drove to a store after

the murder to obtain a new “SIM card” with the same cell phone number as the phone located at

the scene.

¶ 11 Reed and Phelps would have testified that they drove around in a green Lincoln drinking

alcohol and smoking cannabis with defendant on March 30, 2010. They went to defendant’s

brother’s house, where defendant picked up a rental car. Phelps called Rush to set up a cannabis

transaction. Upon meeting up, Rush exited his vehicle and walked toward the green Lincoln.

Defendant then ran from the side of a house and started shooting into Rush’s car. Rush ran toward

his car, and defendant ran around the back of the car and shot Rush.

¶ 12 The State presented defendant’s videotaped interview. The prosecutor stated that Noe and

Karzin “interviewed the defendant pursuant to a proffer agreement.” In the interview, Rush told

detectives that he, Reed, and Phelps drove around on March 30, 2010, smoking cannabis and

drinking. He, Reed and Phelps traveled to Rock Island, where Phelps was supposed to meet Rush.

He parked his rental car in an alley. He exited his vehicle and ran between houses toward Rush’s

vehicle. He shot Childs three times. When he saw Rush run back toward the car, he ran around the

back of the car and shot Rush three times. He, Reed, and Phelps fled the scene. Reed and Phelps

were in the Lincoln, and he was in the rental car. He discovered that he lost his phone during the

shooting, so he drove to an I-Wireless store in Davenport.

¶ 13 The trial court found defendant guilty of first degree murder and sentenced him to 50 years

in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that his videotaped statement to police was inadmissible at

trial. He also raised a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirmed defendant’s

conviction and sentence, finding that we could not determine if defendant’s videotaped statement

4 was made pursuant to plea negotiations. People v. Eubanks, 2014 IL App (3d) 130021-U, ¶ 37.

We recommended that defendant raise the issue in a postconviction petition. Id.

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Related

People v. Eubanks
2020 IL App (3d) 180117 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)

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Bluebook (online)
2020 IL App (3d) 180117, 159 N.E.3d 508, 442 Ill. Dec. 329, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-eubanks-illappct-2020.