People v. Gray

549 N.E.2d 730, 192 Ill. App. 3d 907, 140 Ill. Dec. 79, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 1959
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 26, 1989
Docket1-86-1213
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 549 N.E.2d 730 (People v. Gray) 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. Gray, 549 N.E.2d 730, 192 Ill. App. 3d 907, 140 Ill. Dec. 79, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 1959 (Ill. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE MANNING

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Darren Gray, was charged by indictment with one count of armed robbery. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 18—2(a).) Prior to trial, he filed a motion seeking to allow his attorney’s participation in voir dire, or in the alternative, to have specific questions which he submitted propounded to the prospective jurors. The questions pertained to the prospective jurors’ attitudes regarding a defendant’s failure to testify. Defendant also filed a motion in limine to preclude the State from using defendant’s two prior convictions for armed robbery as impeachment in the event he testified, or alternatively, that the State be limited to impeaching by use of the two prior convictions without specifying the nature of the convictions. The court denied both motions but did agree to use the questions submitted by defendant.

Following a jury trial defendant was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary to a term of natural life imprisonment pursuant to the Habitual Criminal Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 33B—1 et seq.). On appeal he contends: (1) that the trial court’s failure to ask certain questions individually on voir dire to each prospective juror denied him a fair trial by an impartial jury; (2) that the trial court’s denial of his motion in limine to preclude the State’s use of prior convictions for impeachment purposes was an abuse of discretion; (3) that he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (4) that his right to a fair trial was denied when the State was allowed to introduce improper evidence for the sole purpose of inflaming the passions of the juror; (5) that section 5 — 8—1(a)(2) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 1005—8—1(a)(2)), which provides for mandatory life sentence, is unconstitutional; and (6) that section 33B — 1 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 33B—1) is unconstitutional in that it was amended in 1980 in violation of article IV, section 8(d), of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, §8(d)).

The following pertinent evidence was adduced at trial. Nathaniel Johnson, the 65-year-old victim, testified that on February 14, 1985, he was employed at Hilltop Food and Liquors in Chicago. He stated that he arrived there at 9 a.m. and was in the process of unlocking the door of the store when he felt something at the side of his head. He turned and saw a man holding a brown-handled .38 revolver with a dark or black barrel. Johnson testified that, although he did not recognize the offender, he did see his face. The offender told him to open the door and turn on the lights. After turning off the burglar alarm, Johnson was handcuffed and a dark scarf was tied over his eyes. The offender took his car keys, the store keys and two rings from him. The offender then took him to a storeroom in the back of the store and sat him on a box. Mr. Johnson heard the offender ransack the store; and although he never saw a second man, he heard the offender speak to someone at the back of the store.

After it became quiet and Johnson had waited 10 to 15 minutes, he was able to pull the blindfold down from his face so that he could see. He walked out through the front door, where he saw Ruby Love, who lived next door to the liquor store. He asked her to call the police. At that time he noticed that his car was missing. Shortly thereafter, the police arrived and removed the handcuffs.

On April 10, 1985, Mr. Johnson viewed a lineup at the police station, where he identified Darren Gray as the man who had robbed him on February 14. Mr. Johnson identified various exhibits, including a pair of handcuffs and a gun which were similar to those used in the robbery. He also identified the defendant in court.

On cross-examination, Mr. Johnson denied that the intruder’s face was covered by a scarf or that he told this to the police. On redirect, Johnson stated that he looked at the defendant’s face and that it is not hard to recall his face.

Next, Ruby Love testified that she had lived next door to Hilltop. On February 14, at approximately 9 a.m., she was brushing snow off her car when she saw Mr. Johnson go to the house next to hers and pick up the keys to the store. She usually saw him between 8:45 and 9 a.m. She testified that she saw two men in a car stop in front of the store as Johnson was unlocking the front door. Ms. Love knew the defendant and saw him almost daily hanging out in front of the store. He was wearing a scarf which covered the bottom part of his face and a big baggy coat. She stated that she saw the defendant standing next to Mr. Johnson but did not see a gun.

After brushing the snow from her car, Ms. Love went inside for 30 to 40 minutes. When she went back outside, she saw Mr. Johnson with a scarf tied around his face and his hands handcuffed behind his back. Johnson told her he had been robbed. Ms. Love took him inside her house and called the police. However, she did not speak to the police until a couple of days later because she did not want to get involved. Thereafter, she selected defendant’s photograph from a group of pictures.

On cross-examination, Ms. Love denied identifying herself to the police as Mary Scott. She admitted telling defense investigators, eight months later, that she saw “some boys” going into the store with Mr. Johnson but denied saying that they had stockings on their faces.

Chicago police officer Daniel Sheehan testified that on the morning of February 14, 1985, he and his partner received an assignment to Hilltop Liquors. Upon arrival there he removed the handcuffs from Mr. Johnson and inventoried them with the police department. He testified that the handcuffs were stamped with the words “STOP” and “TAI-MAN.” He described the store as “a mess,” and Mr. Johnson’s condition at the time as “upset.”

On cross-examination, Officer Sheehan acknowledged that Mr. Johnson told him although there were two men at the scene, he only saw the one who put the gun to his head. The officer did not remember seeing the scarf.

Next, Richard Leftridge, one of the owners of the store, testified that he arrived at the store at 10:30 a.m., after the robbery. He was missing some liquor and cigarettes valued at approximately $400. Mr. Johnson showed him the scarf that was used as a blindfold. He immediately recognized it because he had seen the defendant, as well as his girlfriend, Ramona, wearing it. He sent his son to Ramona’s house to return the scarf.

Detective Peter Dignan testified that he spoke with the owners of the store and also interviewed Ruby Love under an “anonymous relationship” because she did not want to give her name. He returned to Ms. Love’s home three or four days after the initial interview, at which time she selected the defendant’s photograph from an array of approximately 10 photographs.

Officer Armstrong testified that he arrested the defendant on March 3, 1985, after a traffic accident in which the defendant was charged with negligent driving and driving without a valid license. As he stood next to the defendant’s car, he saw a gun in a canvass bag in the back seat. He also found ammunition, a pair of handcuffs and a calculator, which he inventoried.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
549 N.E.2d 730, 192 Ill. App. 3d 907, 140 Ill. Dec. 79, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 1959, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gray-illappct-1989.