People v. LeFlore

2013 IL App (2d) 100659, 996 N.E.2d 678
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 17, 2013
Docket2-10-0659
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 2013 IL App (2d) 100659 (People v. LeFlore) 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. LeFlore, 2013 IL App (2d) 100659, 996 N.E.2d 678 (Ill. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS Appellate Court

People v. LeFlore, 2013 IL App (2d) 100659

Appellate Court THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Caption KEITH W. LeFLORE, Defendant-Appellant.

District & No. Second District Docket No. 2-10-0659

Filed September 17, 2013

Held Defendant’s convictions for aggravated robbery, robbery and burglary (Note: This syllabus were reversed and the cause was remanded for a new trial where the trial constitutes no part of court failed to comply with Supreme Court Rule 401(a) by not advising the opinion of the court defendant that he was eligible for a maximum term of 6 to 30 years’ but has been prepared imprisonment, based on his eligibility for Class X sentencing, when he by the Reporter of waived his right to counsel; furthermore, the denial of his motion to Decisions for the quash his arrest and suppress evidence was vacated and the cause was convenience of the remanded for a hearing on the issue of whether defendant had standing reader.) to challenge the use of a GPS device on a vehicle he allegedly used.

Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County, No. 09-CF-1251; the Review Hon. Allen M. Anderson, Judge, presiding.

Judgment Reversed and remanded. Counsel on Thomas A. Lilien and Darren E. Miller, both of State Appellate Appeal Defender’s Office, of Elgin, for appellant.

Joseph H. McMahon, State’s Attorney, of St. Charles (Lawrence M. Bauer and Edward R. Psenicka, both of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.

Panel JUSTICE HUTCHINSON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice McLaren concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Birkett concurred in part and dissented in part, with opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Following a jury trial, defendant, Keith W. LeFlore, was found guilty of aggravated robbery (720 ILCS 5/18-5(a) (West 2008)), robbery (720 ILCS 5/18-1(a) (West 2008)), and burglary (720 ILCS 5/19-1(a) (West 2008)). The trial court entered judgment on the aggravated robbery charge and sentenced defendant to 20 years in prison. Defendant now appeals from his conviction, arguing that (1) the trial court failed to properly admonish him under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984); and (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

¶2 I. BACKGROUND ¶3 Defendant was charged on April 26, 2009, in connection with the April 24 robbery of a Mobil gas station in Aurora. The public defender was assigned to represent him at his initial appearance in bond court. When defendant was arraigned on May 21, the trial court admonished him that the first count, charging aggravated robbery, “is a Class 1 felony. A Class 1 felony is a one [sic], or four to 15-year possible sentence [in the] Department of Corrections.” Further, after conferring with the State, the trial court informed defendant that, because of his “past record,” it was a nonprobationable offense. The court admonished defendant about the robbery and burglary charges, including the facts that they might be nonprobationable and “extended term eligible” such that the normal sentencing range of 3 to 7 years could be extended to 3 to 14 years, again based on his past record. ¶4 On July 8, 2009, defendant filed a motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. Defendant’s motion argued that the Aurora police department covertly placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle regularly driven by defendant and used the GPS device to monitor the

-2- vehicle’s movements. The motion argued that “it was solely through information received from the GPS tracking device” that defendant became a suspect in the robbery, and because the officers did not have a warrant, placing the GPS device on the vehicle constituted an unlawful search under the United States and Illinois Constitutions. ¶5 On July 22, 2009, the trial court conducted a hearing on defendant’s motion. Defendant called Officer Jeremy Shufelt, a police officer with the Aurora police department, as a witness. Shufelt testified that, in April 2009, he received an anonymous tip from the Aurora Crime Stoppers that defendant “was possibly” committing burglaries and that the tipster had observed defendant bringing items into his apartment complex. Shufelt testified that, after checking through various records systems, he discovered that defendant was on parole at the time and that his listed parole address was an apartment in Aurora. Shufelt testified that he was able “to connect” defendant to a red Kia Spectra that was registered to Stephanie Powell, who lived at the same address as defendant. ¶6 Shufelt further testified that he, along with other members of the Aurora police department, decided to place a GPS tracking device on the vehicle. Shufelt testified that, a few days later, another police officer dropped him off about a block and a half from defendant’s apartment at approximately 3:50 a.m. Shufelt placed the GPS device on the vehicle, which was parked in a parking lot that was accessible to the public. Shufelt testified that the GPS device transmitted a signal to a satellite that sent a signal to a server, allowing the GPS’s location to be read on a computer. Further, the device could transmit signals as frequently as every 15 seconds; the maximum length of time between signals was 15 minutes. Shufelt testified that the officers also set up a geofence, which was “like an imaginary fence,” for the area surrounding defendant’s apartment. Shufelt testified that anytime the GPS tracker left the geofenced area, he would receive notice on his cell phone. ¶7 Shufelt testified that, “relatively shortly” after placing the GPS tracker on Powell’s vehicle, he received information that a gas station in Aurora had been robbed at approximately 4:40 a.m. Shufelt testified that he checked the GPS and noticed that Powell’s vehicle had left the geofenced area at approximately 4:04 a.m., became stationary a few minutes later in the vicinity of the gas station, and reentered the geofenced area at approximately 4:42 a.m. Shufelt testified that, based on this information, defendant became a suspect. Shufelt testified that he did not obtain a warrant to place the GPS device on Powell’s vehicle. During cross-examination, Shufelt admitted that Powell had indicated to him that defendant would sometimes drive her car and that she would also give him rides if requested. ¶8 The trial court denied defendant’s motion to suppress, finding that using the GPS device did not constitute a search under the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution or under the Illinois Constitution. The trial court concluded that defendant “had no expectation of privacy as to where the Kia was or where it went or to, where it went on the public street or to a publically accessible location.” The trial court further concluded that, “even if this was a search,” defendant did not have standing to challenge the police use of the GPS device on the vehicle. ¶9 On December 2, 2009, defendant informed the trial court that he wished to discharge his

-3- attorney and proceed pro se. The following colloquy then took place: “THE COURT: Okay. Now, you know what you are charged with in this case. THE DEFENDANT: Yes, aggravated robbery I believe it is. THE COURT: Okay. And I think we’ve gone over the minimum and maximum sentence. You recall what that is? THE DEFENDANT: Um, I can’t remember. I think the minimum was 4–4 years and the maximum was 15, something like that. THE COURT: That is correct. THE DEFENDANT: 4 to 15. THE COURT: Was the State claiming any nonprobationable status? MR.

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Bluebook (online)
2013 IL App (2d) 100659, 996 N.E.2d 678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-leflore-illappct-2013.