People v. Hunt

CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 19, 2010
Docket1-06-0824 Rel
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Hunt (People v. Hunt) 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. Hunt, (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Fourth Division August 19, 2010

No. 1-06-0824

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 03 CR 11006 ) TAVARES HUNT, ) Honorable ) Fred G. Suria, Jr., Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the opinion of the court:

In May 2002, Tavares Hunt, the defendant, was incarcerated in the Cook County jail on a

“no bail” order. On April 13, 2003, Hunt was arrested for the murder of Shakir Beckley, and on

May 27, 2003, a Cook County grand jury indicted Hunt and charged him with 33 counts of

murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), (a)(3) (West 2002)), 6 counts of attempted murder (720 ILCS

5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2002)), 2 counts of armed robbery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(2)

(West 2002)), 1 count of aggravated battery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/12-4.2 (West 2002)), 7

counts of attempted armed robbery (720 ILCS 5/18-2(a) (West 2002)), 1 count of aggravated

discharge of a firearm (720 ILCS 5/24-1.2(a)(2) (West 2002)), and 1 count of aggravated battery

with a weapon (720 ILCS 5/12-4(b)(1) (West 2002)).

On January 15, 2005, Hunt filed a motion to suppress statements, 1 and on January 23,

2006, he filed a motion to exclude inaudible tape recordings that were made of his conversations

1 Hunt's motion to suppress statements is not included in the record. 1-06-0824

with Mycal Davis on July 31, 2002, and August 6, 2002. On February 22, 2006, the trial court

granted Hunt's motions. The State appealed from the trial court's February 22, 2006, order

suppressing Hunt's statements and the tape recordings that were made of his conversations on

July 31, 2002, and on August 6, 2002, and presented two issues for review: (1) whether the trial

court erred when it suppressed Hunt's statements to Davis which were made during the course of

a judicially authorized overhear of Hunt's conversations with Davis, and (2) whether the trial

court abused its discretion when it excluded the Hunt-Davis overhear tapes which the State

argued are only "partly inaudible."

On direct appeal, this court affirmed the trial court’s order. People v. Hunt, 381 Ill. App.

3d 790 (2008). The Illinois Supreme Court reviewed the appellate court's judgment and affirmed

it in part, reversed it in part, and remanded the case for this court to consider whether Hunt’s

statements should be suppressed on fifth amendment and McCauley (People v. McCauley, 163

Ill. 2d 414 (1994)) grounds. People v. Hunt, 234 Ill. 2d 49 (2009). For the following reasons,

we affirm.

BACKGROUND

The record reveals that multiple hearings were held on the defendant's motion to suppress

statements and on his motion to exclude inaudible recordings. Below is a summary of the

testimony that is relevant to a resolution of the issues in this case.

Lieutenant Joseph P. Murphy

Lieutenant Joseph P. Murphy testified that in 2002, he was assigned as the commanding

officer of the Chicago police department’s cold case squad. He testified that in 2002 he worked

-2- 1-06-0824

with Detective John Murray and several other officers in the cold case squad. Lieutenant

Murphy also stated that over a period of months prior to July 31, 2002, he worked with Assistant

State's Attorney Hovey on the investigation of Shakir Beckley's murder.

Lieutenant Murphy recalled questioning Tavares Hunt several times in 2002 about Shakir

Beckley’s murder. He testified that his first meeting with Hunt was in May 2002. Lieutenant

Murphy's cold case squad detectives picked Hunt up from the Cook County jail, where Hunt was

incarcerated on an unrelated charge. The lieutenant explained that there was a definite procedure

for taking custody of Hunt from the Cook County jail. According to the lieutenant, the Chicago

police told Cook County jail officials that they were taking custody of Hunt for an “investigative

procedure” and that they would remove him from the jail.

Lieutenant Murphy testified that his officers brought Hunt to the Chicago police

department's Area 4 police station for questioning on more than one occasion beginning in mid-

May 2002. He stated, “[W]e went over there, we picked him up, advised him of his rights. Then

we talked to him about our investigation, unrelated to the one he is in custody for.” Lieutenant

Murphy further testified that his detectives read Hunt his Miranda (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S.

436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966)) rights at the Area 4 police station and that Hunt

waived his rights before talking with the lieutenant and other officers about the Shakir Beckley

murder. Lieutenant Murphy also testified that Hunt consented to a polygraph examination in

May 2002 and that Hunt may have been fingerprinted when he spent the night at the Area 4

police station in May 2002.

Sometime in July 2002, Lieutenant Murphy testified that he began to work with Davis,

-3- 1-06-0824

another inmate incarcerated at the Cook County jail, on the Shakir Beckley murder investigation.

Lieutenant Murphy testified that Davis told him that Hunt had made incriminating statements in

a conversation about the Beckley murder and the lieutenant asked Davis if he could get Hunt to

repeat those statements. Lieutenant Murphy testified that he told Davis “his options” before he

agreed to wear a wire for a judicially authorized overhear. According to Lieutenant Murphy, he

and Assistant State's Attorney Hovey had numerous conversations about the Beckley

investigation, that they eventually decided to use Davis, and that he and Assistant State’s

Attorney Hovey planned the overhears of Hunt's conversations. Lieutenant Murphy stated that

on or about July 17, 2002, his cold case squad detectives removed Hunt from the Cook County

jail and brought him to the Area 4 police station for a lineup.

The July 31, 2002, Overhear

Lieutenant Murphy testified that on July 31, 2002, he spent most of that day with Davis,

the informant. Lieutenant Murphy stated that he took Davis to court to get judicial authorization

for the planned overhear on July 31, 2002.2 According to Lieutenant Murphy, he and Davis went

directly from court to the Area 4 police station, where the police wired Davis in “about five

minutes” and put him in an interview room with Hunt.

Lieutenant Murphy further testified that Detective Murray removed Hunt from the Cook

County jail earlier on July 31, 2002, and brought him to the Area 4 police station for the planned

overhear. According to Lieutenant Murphy, Hunt was put in an interview room with Davis 2 It should be noted that Detective Murray testified at the suppression hearing that Judge

McSweeney-Moore approved the overhear on July 30, 2002.

-4- 1-06-0824

around 3 p.m. on July 31, 2002, and no one else was allowed in the room with the two men.

Lieutenant Murphy testified that the July 31, 2002, overhear began at 3 p.m. and that it ended

shortly after 4 p.m. that day. Lieutenant Murphy insisted that Hunt was brought to the Area 4

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Schmerber v. California
384 U.S. 757 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Oregon v. Hass
420 U.S. 714 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood
441 U.S. 91 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Rhode Island v. Innis
446 U.S. 291 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Edwards v. Arizona
451 U.S. 477 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Oregon v. Bradshaw
462 U.S. 1039 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Moran v. Burbine
475 U.S. 412 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Illinois v. Perkins
496 U.S. 292 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Davis v. Washington
547 U.S. 813 (Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Haynes
602 P.2d 272 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1979)
People v. Campa
840 N.E.2d 1157 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2005)
People v. Amigon
903 N.E.2d 843 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2009)
People v. Anderson
914 N.E.2d 487 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2009)
People v. Hunt
914 N.E.2d 477 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2009)
People v. Evans
530 N.E.2d 1360 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1988)
People v. DiGuida
604 N.E.2d 336 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1992)
People v. Griggs
604 N.E.2d 257 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1992)
People v. Smith
442 N.E.2d 1325 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Hunt, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hunt-illappct-2010.