People v. Johns

898 N.E.2d 1142, 387 Ill. App. 3d 8, 325 Ill. Dec. 863, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 1131
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 17, 2008
Docket1-06-1190
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 898 N.E.2d 1142 (People v. Johns) 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. Johns, 898 N.E.2d 1142, 387 Ill. App. 3d 8, 325 Ill. Dec. 863, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 1131 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

JUSTICE GARCIA

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, Demetrius Johns was found accountable for armed robbery but not for murder. He was given an 11-year sentence with an “add-on” penalty of 15 years because the armed robbery was committed with a handgun. On appeal, the defendant contends (1) his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to assert a compulsion defense, (2) the add-on portion of his sentence violates the “prohibition against disproportionate penalties,” and (3) his nonenhanced sentence of 11 years is an abuse of discretion because a principal codefendant was sentenced to six years for armed robbery.

We affirm: a compulsion defense was unavailable to the defendant as a matter of law. We therefore reject his ineffective assistance claim. We agree, however, that imposing an add-on penalty of 15 years violated the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution on the authority of People v. Hauschild, 226 Ill. 2d 63, 86-87, 871 N.E.2d 1 (2007). Because we vacate his sentence in its entirety and remand for a new sentencing hearing, we do not reach the third issue.

BACKGROUND

The victim, Eugene Williams, was killed on May 5, 2002, at the Knights’ Inn in Harvey. The defendant was arrested nine days later. After his arrest, the defendant made statements implicating himself, Larry Melvin, and Michael Powe 1 in the victim’s death. The defendant was charged in a 10-count indictment under an accountability theory. The case proceeded to trial in March 2006 before a jury on three counts of murder (intent to kill, strong probability of death and felony murder) and one count of armed robbery.

At trial, the State presented the testimony of Dolores Bibbs, a housekeeper at the Knights’ Inn. On May 5, 2002, Bibbs went to the victim’s room to get her boyfriend. When she entered the room, her boyfriend was smoking and drinking with the victim, the defendant, Powe, and Melvin. Bibbs and her boyfriend left the room and Bibbs began her housekeeping duties. While she was cleaning, another housekeeper screamed for Bibbs to come to the victim’s room. When Bibbs got to the victim’s room, the victim was kneeling in the doorway covered in blood. Bibbs stayed with the victim until the paramedics arrived.

Quiara Campbell testified she was at the Knights’ Inn watching television with her sister’s children when she heard a door slam. She got up to look out the window and saw three men running out of the room next door. Campbell recognized the defendant, Melvin, and Powe as the three men, all of whom had blood on their white T-shirts. The men ran down a flight of stairs to the parking lot and drove away in a car driven by the defendant. Campbell returned to watching television. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Campbell’s nephew opened the door to reveal the victim, who was covered in blood. Campbell jumped up, closed the door, and called the police.

Detective William Martin of the Harvey police department first spoke to the defendant on the evening of May 14, 2002. After indicating he understood his Miranda rights, the defendant agreed to speak with Martin. Detective Boone joined the interview. The defendant initially told Martin he knew nothing about the victim’s death. After Martin shared information gathered during the investigation, the defendant admitted he was at the Knights’ Inn when the victim was killed.

Martin asked the defendant to provide a written statement detailing his version of what occurred, which the defendant agreed to do. After reviewing the handwritten statement with the defendant, Martin had the statement typed and he reviewed the typed statement with the defendant. Then Martin, along with Boone, and the defendant signed each page of the typed statement.

During cross-examination, Martin testified that the defendant claimed he “wasn’t with the plan to kill” the victim, never touched the victim, and never had a gun.

After Martin’s testimony, the defendant’s typed statement was read into the record. In the statement, the defendant admitted he was driving his car on May 5, 2002, when he saw Melvin and Powe walking and picked them up. The defendant drove Melvin and Powe to another location “so [Melvin] could serve a customer.” When the three men were back in the car, Melvin told the defendant about a “lick,” meaning a robbery, he wanted to do at the Knights’ Inn.

Melvin told the defendant that he and Powe had planned to commit the robbery the previous night, but could not because they did not have a car. Melvin, who had robbed the victim before, described the victim as “sweet,” meaning he would not fight back during the robbery. Melvin indicated he planned to kill the victim after the robbery. The defendant said he was not going to the Knights’ Inn if the victim was going to be killed and asked why the victim had to be killed if he was sweet. Melvin agreed not to kill the victim.

When the three men arrived at the Knights’ Inn, they saw people coming out of the victim’s room. The defendant tried to signal to Melvin and Powe to call off the robbery because too many people were around.

The defendant, Melvin, and Powe proceeded to the victim’s room. After awhile, Powe went to the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, he had a gun. Powe pointed the gun at the victim and told him to get on the ground. Once the victim was on the floor, Melvin used duct tape to bind the victim’s legs and hands. Powe demanded the victim reveal where his money and drugs were located. The victim complied.

After Powe and Melvin obtained the victim’s money and drugs, Melvin began dragging the victim toward the bathroom. At this point, the defendant said he was leaving. Powe told the defendant to stay. Melvin took a razor off the bureau, handed it to Powe, and told Powe to cut the victim’s throat. Powe handed the razor back, telling Melvin to do it. Once Melvin and the victim were in the bathroom, Powe paced between the two rooms.

The defendant heard a gunshot but could not see who fired the gun from where he was seated. After the gunshot, the defendant got up and ran out of the room. Melvin and Powe followed. The three men got into the defendant’s car and the defendant drove away. The defendant drove Melvin and Powe to several locations before dropping them off.

Assistant State’s Attorney Shawn Concannon testified she met the defendant at the Harvey police station. She introduced herself as an attorney, explained she was not the defendant’s attorney, and read the defendant his Miranda rights. Concannon testified the defendant said he understood his rights and agreed to speak with her about the victim’s death. After their conversation, Concannon offered the defendant several ways to memorialize his statement. The defendant chose to make a videotaped statement.

After Concannon’s testimony, the defendant’s videotaped statement, which was substantially similar to his written statement, was played in open court. The State rested.

The trial court denied the defendant’s motion for a directed verdict.

The defendant took the stand.

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

Related

People v. Haiman
2018 IL App (2d) 151242 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2018)
People v. Orasco
2014 IL App (2d) 120633 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
898 N.E.2d 1142, 387 Ill. App. 3d 8, 325 Ill. Dec. 863, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 1131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-johns-illappct-2008.