People v. Jones

524 N.E.2d 593, 169 Ill. App. 3d 883
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 13, 1988·No. 85-1765, 85-2063 cons.·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE QUINLAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

In this case, the State alleged that defendants Michael Jones and James Nowden were the perpetrators in an incident which resulted in the beating death of Linda Cain. Michael Jones and James Nowden were found guilty in a joint trial before a jury of murder, aggravated kidnapping, rape, and robbery. The defendants now appeal their convictions and sentences and also appeal the denial of their pretrial motions to quash and suppress and to sever their trials.

Michael Jones was arrested in his home by Chicago police detective Thomas Sherry and four or five other Chicago police officers on April 13, 1984. Jones’ arrest was based on information that Sherry had received regarding the identity of the defendants from Jerry Lloyd, Lawrence Walker, Barbara Henderson, Annie Lloyd, and Maurice Hughes. On April 11, 1984, Lawrence Walker had called Detective Sherry and reported his observation of two men walking with a woman, who one of the men had in a headlock, at about 2 a.m. on March 31, 1984. Sherry then met with Walker on April 12, 1984, and Walker told him that he had seen this same man, who had the woman in a headlock, at a local liquor store earlier that evening. In the early morning hours of April 13, Sherry talked to the security guard at the liquor store, Maurice Hughes, concerning the identity of the man Walker had described. Hughes identified the man as “Big Mike,” a regular customer who had told Hughes that the police were looking for him in connection with the beating of a woman found behind his building on Hamlin Street between Lake and Madison.

After receiving the information from Walker and Hughes, Sherry went to the apartment building at 260 Hamlin and spoke with Mrs. Lloyd and Barbara Henderson. Annie Lloyd told Sherry that “Big Mike” was staying with her son Jerry in an apartment at the 256 Hamlin Street entrance. Sherry and the other police officers then went to the apartment and Jerry Lloyd admitted them and identified the man sleeping on his couch as “Big Mike.” Jones was awakened by the officers, given his rights, arrested, and taken to the station for questioning.

James Nowden was also arrested on April 13, 1984, by Detective Thomas Sherry and other Chicago police officers. Walker had told police he observed two men walking with a woman, who was held in a headlock by one of the men, on the evening of March 30, 1984. Detective Sherry’s conversation with Jerry Lloyd at the time of Jones’ arrest led to the identification of Nowden as the second man involved in the abduction and assault of Linda Cain. Lloyd had told Sherry that on March 31, 1984, he overheard Big Mike, or Michael Jones, and James Nowden talking about having beaten and raped a woman and leaving her in the building stairwell. Lloyd also told Detective Sherry that James Nowden lived with Lloyd’s sister, Barbara Henderson, at 260 Hamlin. Sherry returned to the apartment where he had earlier spoken with Ms. Henderson to ask if Nowden was there. The door was answered by Mrs. Lloyd, who admitted Sherry to the apartment, and James Nowden, who was sleeping in a bedroom of that apartment, was arrested, advised of his Miranda rights, and also taken to the station for questioning. Jerry Lloyd, Lawrence Walker, Barbara Henderson, Annie Lloyd, and Maurice Hughes all later testified at the defendants’ motions to quash their arrests and suppress their statements and at the trial.

After their arrests in the early morning hours of April 13, 1984, Michael Jones and James Nowden gave separate statements to the police. In his first statement, defendant Nowden told police that he had been with his girlfriend, Barbara Henderson, from 6 p.m. on March 30, 1984, until 7 a.m. on March 31, 1984. Barbara Henderson, who was also at the station that morning, told police that Nowden had left her apartment at about 12:30 a.m. on March 31 and that she did not see him again until 9 a.m. that morning at Jerry Lloyd’s apartment. Nowden was granted permission to see Henderson for about five minutes and then Nowden was interviewed a second time by police.

The answers which Nowden gave in this second interview and also those which he gave later in a third interview were recorded by Officer Antonacci in his progress notes. In the second interview, according to the nonverbatim progress notes, Nowden admitted being present but denied any participation in the rape and assault of Linda Cain, claiming instead that he had told Jones to stop beating the woman. The exculpatory content of these notes was admitted into trial through the testimony of Officer Antonacci. The trial court, however, denied Nowden’s motions to send an enlarged copy of the progress notes back to the jury room and to display the enlarged copy during closing arguments because of their unverified and unauthenticated hearsay nature.

Nowden’s fourth version of the events of March 30, 1984, was recorded by Assistant State’s Attorney Epach. In this statement, which he read and signed and which was admitted at trial, Nowden told Assistant State’s Attorney Epach and Chicago police officer Rinchiuso that he had been with Henderson until 12:30 a.m., when he left to visit his father’s house from 1 to 2 a.m. On his way back to Henderson’s apartment at about 2 a.m., Nowden stated that he had met a friend, Michael Jones, who was with a woman at Lake and Avers streets. Nowden identified this woman as Linda Cain from a picture which police officers showed to him. Nowden told Epach that Jones had wanted to take the woman back to his apartment and that when she resisted Jones put his arm around her neck and dragged her into the alley. Nowden said Jones handed him the woman’s coat to carry as the three walked to 254 Hamlin and that he went along because Jones had asked him to be his lookout while he raped the woman. Nowden told Epach and Rinchiuso that the woman attempted to back away and Jones punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground. Nowden stated that while Jones was raping the woman and hitting her with his fists, he stayed just outside the stairwell as a lookout and went through the woman’s coat pockets and purse before he dropped the coat on the ground and threw the purse into the next yard. Nowden stated that he then went upstairs, and while he was waiting for Lloyd to answer the door, he heard a noise that sounded like a body hitting a wall. Nowden returned to the basement area and saw that Jones was still punching the woman, who was now naked. Thereafter, Nowden stated that he and Jones then went upstairs together to Lloyd’s apartment and had a conversation about what had happened. Further, James Nowden said that he had read this statement which Assistant State’s Attorney Epach had put into writing. Nowden signed his name at the end of the statement.

Detective Antonacci also questioned Michael Jones at the police station as to his whereabouts on the evening of March 30, 1984. Jones stated that he had left work at 11 p.m. and then went to a liquor store and three lounges until 4 a.m. when he went to Lloyd’s apartment to sleep. Jones stated that he first knew that a woman had been beaten and left behind his building at about 9 a.m., when Barbara Henderson came to Lloyd’s apartment and told them.

Lawrence Walker was brought to the police station to view a lineup which included Jones and Nowden.

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

People v. Jones, 524 N.E.2d 593, 169 Ill. App. 3d 883 (Ill. Ct. App. 1988).

524 N.E.2d 593 (People v. Jones) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Gordon
2020 IL App (1st) 170326-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Martinez
637 N.E.2d 447 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. King
624 N.E.2d 1165 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Jones
602 N.E.2d 59 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Fauntleroy
586 N.E.2d 292 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Coleman
586 N.E.2d 270 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
Henderson v. State
583 So. 2d 276 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1990)
Smith v. State
581 So. 2d 497 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1990)
People v. Moman
558 N.E.2d 1231 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Chambers
558 N.E.2d 274 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Ptak
550 N.E.2d 711 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Burns
524 N.E.2d 1164 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)