People v. Luna

2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 30, 2020
Docket2-12-1216
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B (People v. Luna) 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. Luna, 2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B (Ill. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B No. 2-12-1216 Opinion filed September 29, 2020 ______________________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court OF ILLINOIS, ) of Lake County. ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 10-CF-4004 ) DRESHAWN LUNA, ) Honorable ) Mark L. Levitt, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE JORGENSEN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Birkett and Justice Schostok concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 In 2012, a jury convicted defendant, Dreshawn Luna, of first-degree murder (720 ILCS

5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2010)) and aggravated battery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/12-4.2(a)(1) (West

2010)) for crimes that he committed on July 4, 2010, when he was age 15. The trial court sentenced

defendant to consecutive prison terms totaling 51 years for the first-degree murder conviction (26

years for the murder, plus 25 years as an enhancement for personally discharging a firearm that

proximately caused death) and 10 years for the aggravated battery conviction. On appeal, this

court rejected defendant’s arguments concerning ineffective assistance of counsel, the

constitutionality of his sentence, and the jury instructions supporting the firearm enhancement. 2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B

However, we vacated a DNA fee and conducted, per defendant’s request, an in camera inspection

of sealed medical documents. People v. Luna, 2015 IL App (2d) 121216-U.

¶2 Presently, this case returns to us following our supreme court’s entry of a supervisory order

directing us to vacate our prior judgment, consider the effect of People v. Buffer, 2019 IL 122327,

on the issue of whether defendant’s sentence constitutes an unconstitutional de facto life sentence,

and determine if a different result is warranted. People v. Luna, No. 119310 (Ill. Mar. 25, 2020)

(supervisory order). For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s conviction, vacate his

sentence, and remand this matter for a new sentencing hearing.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 A. Trial

¶5 Detailed facts concerning the trial proceedings were set forth in our prior order, and we

need not repeat them here. Luna, 2015 IL App (2d) 121216-U, ¶¶ 7-28. For context, however, we

summarize that, on the evening of July 3, 2010, and into the early morning hours of July 4, 2010,

there was a party at the Ramada Inn in Waukegan. Defendant played dice and lost money; later,

in the parking lot, he complained that he needed his money back. Marquise Coleman asked

defendant for his gun, and defendant removed it from his waistline. Coleman returned to the party

with defendant’s gun and robbed the people playing dice, including Farkhan Jones, at gunpoint.

Coleman then returned to the parking lot, and defendant demanded that Coleman return the gun

and the money that defendant had lost in the game. Coleman did so, and defendant waved at a car

that was driving away, motioning for it to come over. A man, later identified as Patrick Enis,

exited the vehicle and walked up to defendant. Enis and defendant appeared to have an unfriendly

conversation. They walked toward the driver’s side of the car. Coleman saw defendant point the

-2- 2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B

gun at the driver, Jones, and shoot. Jones died from his injuries. Enis ran away, and defendant

shot at him while he was running.

¶6 Enis confirmed that he saw defendant take a gun out from his pocket and hold it near

Jones’s head. Jones leaned back and tried to push the gun out of his face. Enis testified that he

turned to run and heard the first gunshot. He heard more gunshots and felt a bullet pass by him.

Enis looked behind him to see if defendant was following him, and he saw defendant aiming a gun

in his direction. Enis heard another shot and was hit in the back. Enis testified repeatedly that he

was “100%” positive that defendant was the person who shot him. Another witness testified that,

after the shooting, defendant, holding a gun on his lap, said that Jones was shot because he reached

for the gun.

¶7 The jury convicted defendant of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm,

further finding that he personally discharged the firearm used in those crimes.

¶8 B. Sentencing

¶9 On October 12, 2012, the trial court denied defendant’s motion for a new trial and

proceeded to sentencing. The State emphasized that defendant had a history of repeated

delinquency (which included committing burglary with his older brother at age nine), that an expert

deemed him as potentially having antisocial personality disorder, and that, while detained,

defendant had demonstrated a continued lack of respect for authority. The State argued that, in

terms of mitigation, there was “absolutely nothing” to consider, and it requested a term of 90 years’

imprisonment.

¶ 10 Defense counsel disagreed with the State’s position and argued that “the mitigation is

everywhere.” Counsel emphasized that defendant was 15 years old at the time of the offense.

Counsel explained that, while the presentence report included that defendant entered the system at

-3- 2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B

age nine, it also reflected that he was a charming, funny kid who related to his peers, was close to

his family, received good grades, attended church, and actively participated socially. Counsel

argued that the court was sentencing someone who was “not fully formed” at the time of the crimes

and related the principles that had been enunciated in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), just

a few months earlier. Namely, counsel argued that juveniles (1) lack maturity and have an

underdeveloped sense of responsibility, leading to recklessness and impulsivity; (2) are more

vulnerable to negative influences and outside pressures from family and peers; (3) lack the ability

to extricate themselves from crime-producing settings, as they have limited control over their

environment; and (4) do not have a fully-formed character like adults, and their actions are less

likely to evidence irretrievable depravity. Moreover, counsel pointed out that defendant’s

impulsivity had, in fact, been noted in the presentence report and that there was “not an ounce of

planning” in this tragic crime; rather, it reflected the momentary, impulsive act of a 15-year-old,

as opposed to a premeditated act. In addition, defendant came from a broken home, his mother

did not have time to adequately assist him with issues, and, accordingly, starting at a very young

age, he was exposed to gang and crime culture and was in and out of counseling and treatment,

without progress. Counsel argued that the sentencing scheme at play, which subjected a juvenile

offender to the same sentence as an adult, improperly removed youth from the court’s meaningful

consideration. Counsel requested a sentence below the mandatory minimum, arguing that, under

Miller, the mandatory sentence that defendant faced was inappropriate for a juvenile.

¶ 11 The court sentenced defendant to consecutive prison terms totaling 51 years for the first-

degree murder conviction (26 years for the murder, plus 25 years as an enhancement for personally

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Bluebook (online)
2020 IL App (2d) 121216-B, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-luna-illappct-2020.