People v. Nichols

601 N.E.2d 1217, 235 Ill. App. 3d 499, 176 Ill. Dec. 519, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1537
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 22, 1992
Docket1-91-0992
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 601 N.E.2d 1217 (People v. Nichols) 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. Nichols, 601 N.E.2d 1217, 235 Ill. App. 3d 499, 176 Ill. Dec. 519, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1537 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE HARTMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant appeals his conviction by a jury of murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 9 — 1(a)(1), 9 — 1(a)(2)), and attempted murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 8 — 4, 9 — 1). He questions whether (1) the court erred in admitting evidence and extensive State comment regarding his gang affiliation and involvement, and the prevalence of gangs in the area of the occurrence; (2) he was denied his right to due process and a fair trial when the State elicited testimony and commented during closing arguments regarding the connection between gangs and drug trafficking in the area of the offense; (3) the court improperly denied his motion in limine to exclude evidence of the location of his arrest; and (4) the court erred in allowing the State to inquire about his failure to call a supposedly exonerating witness.

Defendant was charged by indictment with two counts of first degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery and one count of attempted first degree murder. The case was tried on the murder and attempted murder counts. Defendant’s motions in limine to exclude evidence of the nature of his prior conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and to bar reference to the fact that he was exiting a courtroom when police arrested him, were denied.

At trial, Chicago police officer Barbara Pillows testified that about 9:25 p.m., January 3, 1990, she responded to a call of a man shot at 7204 South Green Street, where she found the decedent, Farrell Lamont Lee, lying near the curb, who appeared to be dead. Pillows learned there was another man inside the house, Robert Prince, who also had been shot. Decedent was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Robert Prince testified that about 9 p.m. on the evening of the occurrence he left his home with his cousin Socrates Houston and the decedent and drove to Houston’s home at 7204 South Green. The three men exited the car and were conversing outside Houston’s home, when they saw defendant and another youth walking towards them on Green Street. Defendant shouted “BD,” meaning “Black Disciples,” and then pulled a gun out of his pants and began firing in the direction of Prince, Houston and decedent. Prince heard additional gunfire as he fled into the Houston house; he subsequently felt weak and realized he had been shot. The decedent was lying dead on the sidewalk. Prince was later treated for gunshot wounds to the liver and colon. On March 7, 1990, Prince positively identified defendant in a lineup. Prince never “hung out” in the area of 72nd and Green, and testified the decedent had never been there prior to the occurrence.

Prince testified that neither he nor decedent had ever known defendant before the date of the shooting, nor had they known Quintáis Taylor, the youth who had accompanied defendant that night. Prince denied that he or the decedent were street-gang members. He knew the meaning of “BD” because he was surrounded by it on the south side. Although he was unable to remember exactly what defendant or his companion was wearing the night of the shooting, he would never forget their faces.

The parties stipulated that if called, Dr. Mary Jumbelic, a forensic pathologist, would testify that decedent died as a result of a gunshot wound to the neck and the manner of death was homicide.

Kevin Green testified that he lived in the area of 72nd and Green from the time he was 5 years old until age 19, and moved back to 7210 South Green in August of last year. Green, who was a funeral director, described the area in January 1990 as having gang activity, being “drug ridden” and “like a war zone.” Over defense objections, Green described characteristics of the neighborhood gangs around the time of the offense: there were “BD,” or Black Disciples, and “GD,” or Gangster Disciples; both gangs were “folks,” and their colors were black and blue; and both gangs were aligned under the six-point star symbol. The term “BD” was “common knowledge” in the neighborhood because it was heard very frequently. Green had conducted Black Disciples’ funerals, where it was common to see the gang colors as well as wreaths in the shape of a six-point star.

On the night of the occurrence, Green was entering his home when he heard gunshots coming from the direction of the home of his neighbor, Socrates Houston. Green subsequently saw a man who “looked like he was dead” lying on the ground in front of Houston’s house. Green did not know anyone named Robert Prince or Quintáis Taylor, nor did he know defendant. On cross-examination, Green stated that the “vast majority” of young men in his area belonged to street gangs. He did not know whether Houston was a gang member.

Socrates Houston substantially corroborated Prince’s testimony as to the events leading up to the shooting. He heard a male voice holler “BD,” but did not turn around because he “hear[s] it every day around there.” He denied being a member of a street gang.

Cassandra Brown testified that in December Í989, she resided in an apartment at 7108 South Green -with Kim Smith and Kim’s baby. Defendant “got” the apartment for Kim and Cassandra, and initially paid rent. Defendant was a member of the BD street gang. In early January 1990 defendant came to the apartment and unloaded and then reloaded a gun he kept in the apartment closet. When Brown heard sirens and saw an ambulance on Green Street, defendant said-“he just killed some pussy motherfuckers down the street.” Defendant later stated the police would have to kill him before they took him back to jail, and instructed Brown to wear royal blue silk tó his funeral. Brown moved out of the apartment in February 1990. She was beaten up by five men, four of whom she recognized as friends of defendant, on February 26,1990.

Quintáis Taylor testified that he has known defendant about two years. Taylor denied ever being in a gang, or that he knew the meaning of “BD” or Black Disciples. Taylor resided for the past year at 7005 South Carpenter, “not too far” from the shooting, and previously resided about one block from the shooting for approximately three years. Taylor denied seeing defendant on the day of the occurrence, or that he knew the decedent or Prince.

Taylor admitted testifying before the grand jury that he was with defendant the day of the occurrence; that defendant yelled “BD” to a group of people who responded “GD,” after which defendant fired his gun about five times; and that he knew the initials “BD” designated a street gang. Taylor did not know whether black and blue were “gangster colors,” but acknowledged that he wore those colors the previous day.

Chicago police officer James Hardaway testified that on February 26, 1990, during a conversation with Brown regarding an incident unrelated to the shooting, she provided him with information that prompted him to contact Area 3 violent crimes.

Chicago police officer John O’Mara testified he received this call from Officer Hardaway and interviewed Brown, who gave him the names of defendant and Quintius Taylor. On March 7, 1990, having obtained a warrant for defendant’s arrest, O’Mara and his partner, Officer Phillip Collins, proceeded to a courthouse on Chicago Avenue, after learning defendant was there.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
601 N.E.2d 1217, 235 Ill. App. 3d 499, 176 Ill. Dec. 519, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1537, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-nichols-illappct-1992.