People v. Ollins

606 N.E.2d 192, 231 Ill. App. 3d 243, 179 Ill. Dec. 360, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1735
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided October 28, 1992·No. 1-88-0955·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE TULLY

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal by Calvin Ollins, who was found guilty by a jury of murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to natural life for murder with concurrent sentences of 30 years for sexual assault and 15 years for aggravated kidnapping. The defendant argues on appeal: (1) he did not receive a legally adequate transfer hearing pursuant to section 5 — 4(3) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 37, par. 805— 4(3)); (2) the trial court did not properly consider the factors of (a) probable cause, (b) exigent circumstances, and (c) consent when it denied his motion to quash his arrest and suppress the evidence; and (3) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress statements.

Ollins, a 14-year-old, was taken into custody on January 28, 1987, by the Chicago police and charged with the murder and sexual assault of Lori Roscetti. Ms. Roscetti had been a medical student at Rush Medical College. On January 29, 1987, a petition for adjudication of wardship stating the murder and sexual offense charges was filed in juvenile court. The State moved for the defendant to be tried as an adult under the Illinois criminal code. The State duly requested a transfer hearing pursuant to section 5 — 4(3) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 37, par. 805 — 4(3)). A transfer hearing was conducted on March 27, 1987, granting the State’s motion to try the defendant as an adult under the criminal code.

The defendant was indicted by a grand jury along with three other men.' The defendant’s counsel made motions to quash the arrest and suppress the statements. Those motions were denied.

The defendant was then tried by a jury and found guilty of murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and aggravated kidnapping. On March 10, 1988, the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for his natural life without parole for the offense of murder. He was further sentenced to 30 years for the offense of sexual assault and 15 years for aggravated kidnapping. The sexual assault and the kidnapping charge sentences were to run concurrently with the murder sentence.

The defendant filed a notice of appeal from the orders of the juvenile court and the criminal court, the sentences, and the denial of certain post-trial motions.

On October 18, 1986, Lori Roscetti and a fellow medical student were studying for mid-term examinations on campus. At approximately 1 a.m., they left the campus in Roscetti’s beige, four-door Subaru. Roscetti dropped off the other student at his apartment and began to drive to her apartment. Both apartments were located in the vicinity of the medical campus.

On October 18, 1986, a police officer of the Chicago and North Western railroad, on a routine patrol at approximately 4 a.m., discovered a beige four-door Subaru on railroad property near 16th and Loomis. A female body was lying on the ground near the car. No keys to the car were found. At approximately 5:15 a.m., Detective James Capesius of the Chicago police arrived on the scene. He testified later that he saw a partially dressed female in a blue jogging suit lying on the ground. The woman appeared to have been severely beaten. The cause of death was later established by the coroner’s office as multiple blunt trauma injury.

Pursuant to intensive police investigation of the crime, Ollins became a suspect. He was subsequently arrested on January 28, 1987, in the early morning hours at his home. After the defendant was read his Miranda rights, the police searched the defendant’s belongings. At some point during this search the police allege that the defendant made a statement to the effect that “he didn’t have any keys.” The defendant later denied making this statement. At the time of the arrest, a person in the defendant’s apartment signed a consent to search form for the police.

After police custodial processing, the defendant was interviewed by Detective Mercurio and Officer McHugh of the Chicago police department and Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Sussman. The defendant was told there was a possibility he would be prosecuted as an adult. The defendant told Sussman that he had been treated fairly by the police officers. During the interview with Sussman, the defendant said he wished to make a statement. The defendant then made the statement, the statement was read to him, and corrections were made by the defendant and initialed as necessary.

The State made a motion to transfer the defendant from the juvenile court to allow prosecution under the criminal laws which was granted on March 27, 1987. The defendant then moved to (1) quash his arrest, (2) suppress the evidence gathered pursuant to the arrest, and (3) suppress statements. The trial court began hearing evidence on these matters on January 13, 1988. The trial court first considered the evidence as to probable cause for the arrest of the defendant. The court found sufficient evidence to warrant probable cause. The court also found that exigent circumstances were present incident to the arrest of the defendant. Therefore, the defendant’s motion to quash the arrest and to suppress was denied.

The defendant filed a pretrial motion to suppress statements in which he alleged that he was not given his Miranda rights. The defendant said he made certain statements because the police promised him he could go home if he cooperated. Therefore, the statements were not voluntarily given. The trial court found that the State had sustained its burden of proof to establish the voluntariness of the statements made by the defendant.

The first issue the defendant raises on review questions the legal adequacy of the transfer hearing which waived the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The defendant maintains that the trial judge abused his discretion in interpreting the criteria defined by section 5 — 4 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 37, par. 805— 4(3)(a)).

The trial court is bound to consider the criteria enunciated in the Juvenile Court Act. (People v. Clark (1987), 119 Ill. 2d 1, 12, 518 N.E.2d 138.) The Juvenile Court Act lists six specific factors the trial court must consider in making its evaluation whether or not to transfer a juvenile to the criminal court’s jurisdiction. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 37, par. 805 — 4(3Xa).) Those factors are:

“In making its determination on a motion to permit prosecution under the criminal laws, the court shall consider among other matters: (1) whether there is sufficient evidence upon which a grand jury may be expected to return an indictment; (2) whether there is evidence that the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive and premeditated manner; (3) the age of the minor; (4) the previous history of the minor; (5) whether there are facilities particularly available to the Juvenile Court for the treatment and rehabilitation of the minor; and (6) whether the best interest of the minor and the security of the public may require that the minor continue in custody or under supervision for a period extending beyond his minority.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 37, par. 805 — 4(3Xa).

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People v. Ollins, 606 N.E.2d 192, 231 Ill. App. 3d 243, 179 Ill. Dec. 360, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1735 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

606 N.E.2d 192 (People v. Ollins) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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