People v. Holmes

922 N.E.2d 1179, 397 Ill. App. 3d 737, 337 Ill. Dec. 602, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 82
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 20, 2010
Docket2-08-0314
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 922 N.E.2d 1179 (People v. Holmes) 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. Holmes, 922 N.E.2d 1179, 397 Ill. App. 3d 737, 337 Ill. Dec. 602, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 82 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

JUSTICE McLAREN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Brandon R. Holmes, appeals his conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver more than one gram but less than five grams of a substance containing cocaine (720 ILCS 570/401(c)(2) (West 2006)). On appeal, he argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because defense counsel failed to: (1) move to dismiss the indictment; and (2) properly object to the State’s use of dog-tracking evidence. We affirm.

I. Facts

We will relate only the evidence necessary for the purposes of this appeal.

During the jury trial, Waukegan police officer Andrew Valko testified that, on July 3, 2007, he was patrolling the Whispering Oaks apartment complex, which was a high-crime neighborhood. Valko was in a police car; two other Waukegan police officers, Jacob Novak and Drew Summers, were patrolling the neighborhood on foot. Defendant walked toward Valko’s squad car, saw Valko, and turned and walked “back in another direction from where he was coming from [sic].” Valko drove closer to defendant, and defendant saw Valko several times when defendant looked over his shoulder as he continued to walk for about 30 seconds. When defendant was about 50 feet away from Valko, Valko stopped his car and started to get out. Defendant looked back at Valko and ran parallel to the road that surrounded the apartment complex. Valko testified that he found defendant’s actions suspicious but not illegal. Valko did not speak with defendant at this time. As defendant ran, Valko used his radio to advise dispatch that he was in foot pursuit. Valko, along with Novak and Summers, chased defendant. Valko yelled, “Police, stop, get on the ground.”

Valko testified that defendant fell three times as he was being chased. During his second fall, defendant tossed several “shiny objects” toward an apartment building. Valko did not see the objects fall to the ground. Valko caught up with defendant when he fell for the third time. Valko found a clear plastic baggie containing green, plant-like material “right in front of” the patio of apartment 107, about 5 to 10 feet from where defendant fell the second time.

Valko testified that he called for a canine unit to conduct an “article search.” When the dog arrived, the dog immediately “indicated,” i.e., pulled his handler, Waukegan police officer Dave Mahoney, in the direction of the patio. The trial court denied defense counsel’s hearsay objection. Valko testified that Mahoney found another clear plastic baggie containing green, plant-like material on a grill that was on the patio. Valko searched the patio and found on a table a clear plastic baggie containing individually-wrapped, white, rock-like substances. According to Valko, the patio was “in the same proximity as the defendant was throwing [the] objects.” Later, at the police station, Valko gave the three baggies to James Kirby, an evidence technician. Valko found $244.72 on defendant’s person.

Mahoney testified that, on the night of the incident, he was sent to the Whispering Oaks apartment complex for an article search with a dog. He arrived five minutes after being dispatched. Mahoney’s training included canine training classes. Valko told Mahoney that he had already found a bag of cannabis and that defendant had tossed something.

Mahoney testified that he conducts an article search by allowing his dog to pick up the scent of any article that has been touched by a suspect. On this occasion, when his dog made a “sharp turn,” he knew the dog was “picking up on something.” When the dog “tapped” and lay down in front of something, that “indicated” that he had found an “article.” Defense counsel objected to this testimony as improper hearsay; the trial court overruled the objection. Mahoney testified that “indicate” is “like a dig indication or a bark indication.” Mahoney testified that his dog relied on the sense of smell. Mahoney also testified that his dog was trained in narcotics.

Mahoney testified that, on the night of the incident, his dog searched on the grass for about five minutes and then “pulled” to the porch area, where he sniffed and studied the area and tried to jump over the railing of the porch area. Mahoney then saw a bag of green plant material lying on top of a grill on the porch, about three feet from the railing. Valko picked up the bag. The dog did not indicate further. Valko continued to search the porch area, where he found other suspected narcotics on a table on the porch.

At the end of Mahoney’s testimony defense counsel objected on the basis of lack of foundation, and the trial court overruled the objection as untimely. Defense counsel then presented the trial court with People v. Cruz, 162 Ill. 2d 314 (1994), to support his objections, and the trial court reserved its ruling. The following day, the trial court heard argument concerning the objections to Mahoney’s testimony. The trial court overruled the objections, agreeing with the State that the testimony regarding the dog’s activities merely corroborated Mahoney’s and Valko’s testimony, which sufficiently distinguished this case from Cruz. The trial court also explained that the dog was brought in to aid in the search because the area was dark. The trial court also found that the drugs were in plain sight. The court added that the foundation for Mahoney’s testimony was sufficient because Mahoney testified that “the dog was trained not only in narcotics but also scent detections, but there’s no testimony that he—that he picked up the scent specifically of the defendant or anything along those lines.” The court concluded that the “bottom line” was that the objection regarding foundation was untimely and that Mahoney’s testimony was not hearsay.

II. Analysis

On appeal, defendant argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because defense counsel failed to: (a) move to dismiss the indictment; and (b) properly object to the State’s use of dog-tracking evidence.

The right to effective assistance of counsel is guaranteed by both the United States and Illinois Constitutions. U.S. Const., amends. VI, XIV; Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §8; Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 75-76, 86 L. Ed. 680, 702, 62 S. Ct. 457, 467 (1942). The two-prong test for evaluating posttrial claims of ineffective assistance of counsel is set out in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 104 S. Ct. 2052 (1984). Establishing ineffective assistance requires a showing that: (1) counsel’s performance was deficient or fell below an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) defendant suffered prejudice as a result of counsel’s deficient performance. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 80 L. Ed. 2d at 693, 104 S. Ct. at 2064. Failure to establish either prong is fatal to a defendant’s claim. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 80 L. Ed. 2d at 693, 104 S. Ct. at 2064.

A. Failure to Move to Dismiss the Indictment

Defendant argues that defense counsel was ineffective because he failed to move to dismiss the indictment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
922 N.E.2d 1179, 397 Ill. App. 3d 737, 337 Ill. Dec. 602, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-holmes-illappct-2010.