People v. Magee

CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 29, 2007
Docket1-05-2646 Rel
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Magee (People v. Magee) 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. Magee, (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

THIRD DIVISION JUNE 29, 2007

No. 1-05-2646

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 00 CR 24939 ) TERE MAGEE, ) The Honorable ) Marcus R. Salone, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE GREIMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant, Tere Magee, was convicted of two counts of armed

robbery and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault in conjunction with an incident

involving two women at a beauty salon and was later sentenced to a total of 50 years’

imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends that he was denied a fair trial because the trial

court impermissibly instructed the jury that the eyewitnesses’ level of certainty and the accuracy

of their prior descriptions were relevant factors in assessing the reliability of their identifications.

In addition, defendant contends that the trial court improperly increased his sentence after its

imposition. Finally, defendant contends that his mittimus must be corrected to accurately reflect

the offenses for which he was convicted.

The evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that, at approximately 11:30 p.m. on August

4, 2000, the victims, T.J., a hairstylist, and S.D., her customer, were leaving The Hair Exchange

beauty salon when an armed man, later identified by both women as defendant, approached and

demanded their money. T.J. complied, but defendant instructed the victims, at gunpoint, to 1-05-2646

reenter the locked salon. Once inside, defendant sexually assaulted both women. When

defendant eventually left, he took T.J.’s car keys and her $300, S.D.’s purse and her $53, and

both women’s pants and undergarments. The police arrived on the scene soon after and were

given defendant’s description. Thereafter, the victims separately identified defendant in a

photographic array and a lineup.

At trial, T.J. testified that she had locked the front door to the salon and was in the

process of locking the external gate leading to the salon’s entryway when defendant first

approached and pointed his handgun in her face. It was "brightly” lit outside at the time because

the streetlights were on and light was reflecting from inside the beauty shop. T.J. was looking

directly at defendant’s face when he demanded her money. Then, when he forced her and S.D.

back inside the shop, defendant told them to lie on the ground. Defendant turned off the "side

light” that constantly remained on in the shop; however, T.J. stated that the soda pop machine

continued to give off light. Defendant then closed the front window curtains and paced back and

forth, approximately 12 to 15 feet away from T.J.. She was able to see defendant’s face as he

paced. Defendant subsequently told both women to remove their pants and underwear. He

sexually assaulted T.J. first as she lay on her back looking at defendant. Defendant then

proceeded to where S.D. was lying and also sexually assaulted her. Defendant, however,

remained within T.J.’s view. When he finished, defendant demanded car keys. T.J. grabbed the

keys closest to her and he left with the money she initially gave him, S.D.’s purse, both women’s

pants and underwear. After a few seconds, T.J. stood up and locked the front door of the salon.

T.J. subsequently called her mother because she lived nearby and then called the police. She

-2- 1-05-2646

approximated that the entire incident lasted five minutes.

T.J. described defendant to the jury as a black male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall,

weighing about 165 pounds, with a medium complexion, hazel or green eyes, a big nose and full

lips and having worn black pants, a black sweater and a black skullcap during the offense. T.J.

further testified that, when the police arrived, she provided them with a similar description of

defendant. T.J. recalled that the police then drove S.D. to the hospital, while she and her mother

followed in T.J.’s car. A couple of days later, a detective arrived at T.J.’s house and asked her to

view photographs of possible suspects. T.J. immediately recognized defendant as her assailant in

one of the photographs. Then, on September 19, 2000, T.J. was asked to view a lineup at a

police station, during which she instantly identified defendant. She recalled being absolutely

certain that defendant was the offender both times that she identified him.

On cross-examination, T.J. recalled that defendant initially ordered her and S.D. to lie

facedown on the floor. When they complied, S.D. was close enough to T.J. that the women could

touch. T.J. stated that defendant never "got rid of” his handgun throughout the incident, but she

was not focusing on it so she could not recall exactly where it was at any given time. T.J. testified

that the description she gave to the police was accurate as possible, but could not recall whether

she described defendant as having full lips, being 6 feet tall, weighing 145 pounds or his exact eye

color. T.J. admitted that she had a hard time approximating weight and height; however, she

stated that, during her subsequent identifications, "when [she] saw him, [she] knew it was him.”

She could not recall speaking to a detective while at the hospital. T.J. also could not recall what

the detective said before she viewed the photographic array.

-3- 1-05-2646

S.D. testified consistent with the sequence of events as described by T.J.. She stated that,

while defendant was sexually assaulting T.J., S.D. was not looking at her or defendant. However,

when defendant moved over to S.D., he kneeled over her body with his face approximately 15 to

18 inches away from her own. When defendant left the salon, he took the belongings described

by T.J., as well $53 that S.D. previously had in her pants. S.D. recalled that she was still

frightened and crying when the police arrived at the salon. S.D. stated that she would not have

reported that she was sexually assaulted because, at the time, she understood the term to be

synonymous with rape and she had not been raped. S.D. additionally testified that she identified

defendant in a photographic array held at her house a couple of days after the offense. She also

identified defendant in a lineup held at a police station sometime later. S.D. recalled identifying

defendant quickly, without hesitation, on both occasions.

On cross-examination, S.D. stated that she spoke to the police at the salon and told them

what had occurred; however, she could not recall providing them with a description of defendant.

S.D. recalled that, although defendant turned off the light inside the salon, "[y]ou still could see”

because there was "some light from the back.” S.D. testified that she saw defendant holding his

handgun while in the salon, but she could not recall exactly where it was while he was sexually

assaulting her. She stated that defendant sexually assaulted her for approximately two or three

minutes and that the entire incident lasted about 30 minutes.

Officer Robert Creeth testified that he arrived at the beauty salon shortly after midnight on

August 5, 2000, and spoke to both victims separately. The women told Creeth what had

occurred and described the offender. S.D., however, denied being sexually assaulted. Initially,

-4- 1-05-2646

there were a few discrepancies between the women’s descriptions; therefore, Creeth allowed the

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

Related

North Carolina v. Pearce
395 U.S. 711 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Neil v. Biggers
409 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
People v. Jones
659 N.E.2d 1306 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Hall
743 N.E.2d 521 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2000)
People v. Miller
670 N.E.2d 721 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1996)
People v. Reed
686 N.E.2d 584 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1997)
People v. Graham
593 N.E.2d 1163 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Harris
606 N.E.2d 392 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Edwards
383 N.E.2d 944 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1978)
People v. Kilpatrick
657 N.E.2d 1005 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Rivera
652 N.E.2d 307 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Young
779 N.E.2d 293 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002)
People v. Slim
537 N.E.2d 317 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1989)
People v. Arna
658 N.E.2d 445 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. McCray
653 N.E.2d 25 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)
People v. Evans
808 N.E.2d 939 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2004)
In Re Commitment of Simons
821 N.E.2d 1184 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2004)
People v. Thomas
821 N.E.2d 628 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2004)
People v. Enoch
522 N.E.2d 1124 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Magee, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-magee-illappct-2007.