People v. Jones

449 N.E.2d 547, 114 Ill. App. 3d 576, 70 Ill. Dec. 418, 1983 Ill. App. LEXIS 1774
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 13, 1983
Docket82-320
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 449 N.E.2d 547 (People v. Jones) 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. Jones, 449 N.E.2d 547, 114 Ill. App. 3d 576, 70 Ill. Dec. 418, 1983 Ill. App. LEXIS 1774 (Ill. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

JUSTICE SULLIVAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

After being convicted by a jury, defendant was sentenced to concurrent terms of six years for rape and one year for unlawful restraint. 1 On appeal, he contends that (1) the trial court erred in (a) denying his motion to quash his arrest, (b) allowing identification testimony which was the product of that unlawful arrest, and (c) refusing to admit a photograph of the crime scene; (2) he was denied a fair trial when the State used its peremptory challenges to exclude blacks from the jury; (3) he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (4) he was denied his constitutional right to confront witnesses against him by the trial court’s failure to exclude inadmissible and prejudicial hearsay evidence; and (5) he was improperly convicted of and sentenced for both crimes since they arose out of a single transaction.

At a hearing on his motion to quash his arrest and suppress lineup identifications, defendant testified that he was arrested at approximately 3 a.m. on June 15, 1980, as he stood on the porch of his home. He had spent the entire evening at home watching television with his family, but he and his brother, Raleigh Harris, left the house at about 3 a.m. Harris walked to a restaurant to get a sandwich while he (defendant) walked his dog. When arrested, he was standing on the porch with his dog and was clad only in black slacks and gym shoes.

Officer Raitano testified that he and his partner responded to a radio call of a rape in progress and were met at the scene by the victim and Jerome Chudnow. The latter told them that the offenders were two male blacks who had just run south. The officers, with Chudnow in their car, were driving south in pursuit when they saw two male blacks running through a well-lighted alley about a block and a half from the scene of the rape. When Chudnow said, “Those are the two,” the officers pursued them and arrested one (Harris) in the 1900 block of North Albany. Chudnow identified him as one of the men involved in the rape, and he then described the other as a male black, approximately six feet tall, who was very muscular and wore brown pants. Raitano also testified that, while his initial view of the men in the alley was brief and although he lost sight of them for about five seconds during the chase, he was sure that Harris was one of them and that the other was tall and very muscular.

Officer Penkala testified that he and his partner heard the original report of a rape in progress, and they were in the 1900 block of North Albany when they received another report that officers were in pursuit of a second person involved in a rape who was described as a muscular male black, six feet tall, and wearing brown pants. As they drove south on Albany, they were told by an unidentified woman that a male black had run south past her a few seconds before. A half block further, about two or three blocks from the rape scene, they saw defendant, a tall, muscular male black wearing brown pants, sitting on a porch. He was out of breath, and not seeing anyone else in the area, they placed him under arrest. They did not see a dog on the porch.

Defendant’s sister testified that she was awakened at 3:15 a.m. by the sound of voices and a dog barking. When she looked out the window, the police were putting her brother into a squad car, and she noticed that their dog was on the porch.

Defendant’s motion to suppress was denied, and at trial the victim testified that she left a family party about 12:30 a.m. with a friend who was to drive her home. In the car, they argued and she got out, intending to walk the rest of the way home. As she walked, a Puerto Rican man came up to her, held a gun to her throat, and forced her into nearby Palmer Square Park. He said that he was going to rape her and threatened to kill her if she screamed. She persuaded him to come home with her, hoping that once out of the park she could find help, but as they walked out of the park defendant and Harris approached, and one of them grabbed her while the Puerto Rican pulled a gun, and she started to run but was caught by defendant and dragged into the park under a streetlight where he beat her repeatedly about the face, bit her, tore her clothes, and raped her. She noticed that defendant wore a white shirt and a cap and that Harris wore a blue shirt. When another man approached, defendant and Harris ran away. The police arrived immediately thereafter and took her to the hospital. Later that day, she went to the police station and identified defendant and Harris in a lineup. She acknowledged that she was in the park with the Puerto Rican for a long time but said that he did not strike her or tear her clothes. She did not speak to police officers at the scene, explaining that she does not speak English, and she said that Harris did not strike or rape her.

Jerome Chudnow testified that he was in his home across from Palmer Square when he heard a commotion and, upon looking out the window, saw a Puerto Rican with a gun in his hand pointed at Harris and another man dragging a woman out of the street into the park. He (Chudnow) told a friend to call the police, and after hearing Harris say, “The gun is a toy,” he went out and walked down the street to a point in front of a church directly across the street from defendant and the woman, and when defendant looked up, he (Chudnow) had a clear view of his face. At this point, the police car approached, and the two men ran south through the park and down Albany where they entered an alley. He noted that Harris wore light slacks and a blue shirt, while defendant wore dark brown pants, a white dress shirt, gym shoes, and a golf cap. He told the officers that a rape had occurred, and he got into the squad car, which was driven across the park after the fleeing men. The squad car was driven into the alley where he had last seen the two men, and he saw them again. The officers turned on their headlights and, as they came closer, the men started to run away. He was able to see that they were dressed the same as the men he had seen in the park, but he could not see their faces. One officer jumped out of the car and caught Harris, who was breathing heavily. He (Chudnow) accompanied the officers to the police station, where he saw other officers bringing in defendant whom he identified as the other man in the park. At the station, defendant was wearing only pants and gym shoes.

Officer Restivo testified that when he and his partner were flagged down by Chudnow at about 3 a.m., he saw the victim and noted that her knees were bleeding, her clothes were in disarray, and she was sobbing. Chudnow told them that the victim was raped and that the two men involved ran south on Albany. With Chudnow in their car to direct them, they pursued the two men and, upon entering an alley off Albany, they saw two men walking halfway down the alley. The two men turned and, seeing the police car, they began running. The officers broadcast the details of the pursuit, describing one of the men as being approximately five feet seven inches tall, wearing light pants with a blue shirt, and the other about six feet tall, wearing a light shirt and dark pants. Restivo pursued and caught the man in the blue shirt, and Chudnow identified him as one of the men in the park. Restivo acknowledged that he first saw the two individuals when they were in the alley and twice lost sight of them for a few seconds during the pursuit.

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

Related

People v. Williams
2023 IL App (1st) 221263-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
People v. Shelton
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2010
Robinson v. Johnson
809 N.E.2d 123 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2004)
People v. Robinson
799 N.E.2d 345 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003)
People v. Bobiek
648 N.E.2d 160 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)
People v. Moore
637 N.E.2d 1115 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Malave
595 N.E.2d 117 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Wrightner
579 N.E.2d 573 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
People v. Harris
570 N.E.2d 593 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
People v. Matthews
562 N.E.2d 1113 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Gibson
562 N.E.2d 1142 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Bodoh
558 N.E.2d 178 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Redd
553 N.E.2d 316 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1990)
People v. Garcia
552 N.E.2d 1171 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Pryor
537 N.E.2d 1141 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Rivera
537 N.E.2d 924 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Carr
523 N.E.2d 393 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
People v. Sims
519 N.E.2d 921 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Clark Oil & Refining Corp. v. Johnson
507 N.E.2d 1362 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
449 N.E.2d 547, 114 Ill. App. 3d 576, 70 Ill. Dec. 418, 1983 Ill. App. LEXIS 1774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jones-illappct-1983.