People v. Olson

556 N.E.2d 273, 198 Ill. App. 3d 675, 144 Ill. Dec. 806, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 852
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 12, 1990
Docket2—89—0231 through 2—89—0233 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 556 N.E.2d 273 (People v. Olson) 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. Olson, 556 N.E.2d 273, 198 Ill. App. 3d 675, 144 Ill. Dec. 806, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 852 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE REINHARD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants, Mark David Olson, David Brian Fontani and Karla Rose Woodward, were each charged in the circuit court of Kane County with unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 56½, par. 1402), unlawful use of weapons (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 24—1), and possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 83—2), arising out of the same incident on October 14, 1988. Defendants Fontani and Woodward filed a joint motion to suppress evidence, and, following an evidentiary hearing on the motion, the circuit court granted the motion to suppress. Subsequently, the State and defendant Olson stipulated to the findings and rulings on the codefendants’ motion to suppress, and the evidence was suppressed as to Olson as well. The State filed certificates of impairment as to each defendant and appeals pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1) (107 Ill. 2d R. 604(a)(1)). The appeals have been consolidated in this court.

Two issues are raised on appeal: (1) whether defendants Fontani and Olson lacked standing to challenge the search; and (2) whether the search was constitutional.

The following pertinent evidence was adduced at the suppression hearing for Fontani and Woodward. On October 14, 1988, at between 1:30 and 2 a.m., Officer Randy Johnson of the North Aurora police department, while on patrol, observed a black vehicle that had been driving around in the parking lot of the Saratoga Hotel. About two hours later he observed the same vehicle parked at the Days Inn Hotel. No one was in the car. He ran a license check which disclosed that Fontani was the registered owner. He further found out that Fontani was wanted on an outstanding residential burglary warrant in Kendall County. Fontani was not registered at the hotel, but eventually Johnson determined Fontani was in a room registered to Betty Woodward. He had seen a number of people entering and leaving Woodward’s room, called that room asking for “David Fontani,” and was told Fontani was there. Johnson hung up upon hearing the response that Fontani was there.

Johnson, who was in uniform, joined by two other uniformed police officers and a third officer in plain clothes, went to Woodward’s room, knocked on the door and announced it was hotel security. Defendant Karla Woodward answered and, upon the officers’ asking if “David” was there, said “Yes, he’s in bed.” The officers could not see the bed because Woodward was standing with the door up against her. She then turned around and started walking back into the room, and the officers then entered the room through the door, which was open two or three feet, without asking permission. Woodward walked toward the bed where defendant Fontani was. Fontani, who was in his underwear, was in the bed closest to the front door and appeared to be sleeping. Officer Johnson went directly to Fontani and handcuffed him. A 15-year-old female juvenile, L.M., was in the other bed with defendant Olson. They were under the covers sleeping or apparently sleeping. The officers had the others sit on the edge of the beds. Officer Johnson believed the lights were on in the room when they entered.

The testifying officers described the hotel room as approximately 12 feet by 12 feet. A bathroom is to the immediate right upon entry into the room, and the bedroom begins at the end of a short hallway from the front door. There were two beds with a desk and nightstand between the beds.

After Fontani was handcuffed, Officer Johnson observed two plastic baggies and a small amount of a white powdery substance on them in the sink in an adjoining bathroom. Johnson, who had some training in narcotics detection, believed the baggies might have contained cocaine. These articles were only observed and never seized. Johnson then went back near the front door and found a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol under some clothes which completely covered the pistol. The pistol was not more than five feet from where Fontani was lying on the bed. Other clothing was all over the room.

Officer Raymond Treve, who was one of the other uniformed officers entering the room with Johnson and was working off duty as a security officer at the hotel that evening, testified that, after Fontani’s arrest, he began a search of the room for weapons or drug paraphernalia. Treve also testified that the search of the area within the immediate reach of an arrestee is for security purposes. Treve opened the desk drawer and found a plastic bag with some powdery substance in it which was determined to be cocaine following a field test. This substance was seized prior to the discovery of the pistol by Officer Johnson. A mirror containing white residue was also found on a table by Officer Johnson and was seized.

The four individuals in the room were removed to a police van. Officer Johnson later reentered the hotel room to look for more narcotics but found none.

L.M. testified that Mrs. Woodward rented the room because she and her daughter, Karla, were evicted from their home and Karla needed a place to stay. Mrs. Woodward was not staying there. L.M. was asleep in bed with her boyfriend, Mark Olson, when the police came in and shined a flashlight in her face.

Mrs. Betty Woodward testified that, following their eviction, her 17-year-old daughter, Karla, was living “on the street” and did not live with her anymore. During that time she had rented a room at different motels for Karla on three occasions. She rented a room for Karla at the Days Inn the day before and the day Karla and the others were arrested. She signed the register for the room.

Following arguments in which the issue of standing for Fontani and Karla Woodward was raised by the State, the trial court found on February 10, 1989, that both defendants had standing to contest the search and seizure. The court further found that the police officers had no right to go into the room, that they were not invited in, and that the occupants had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the room. Finally, as to the seizure of the pistol and the cocaine in the desk drawer, the court stated the officers were looking for those articles and there was no reason for them to do so. Defendants’ motion to suppress was granted.

On March 7, 1989, counsel for defendant Olson and the State stipulated as to the findings of the trial court in the codefendants’ suppression hearing and to the granting of a motion to suppress. No motion to suppress by Olson appears in the record. During the brief discussion between counsel prior to the stipulation, defendant Olson’s attorney stated he might want to supplement the record as to his client because he was not present at the suppression hearing and might wish to present evidence as to where Olson was in the room, what was happening, and whether he was involved in renting the room. However, no further proceedings were undertaken by Olson.

We address first the State’s contention that Fontani and Olson did not meet their burden of establishing standing to challenge the search. In this regard, the State maintains that Fontani and Olson did not show any legitimate expectation of privacy in the hotel room rented by defendant Woodward’s mother.

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

Related

People v. Franklin
2016 IL App (1st) 140049 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
State v. Cleveland
852 A.2d 1150 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2004)
State v. Abdelhaq
588 S.E.2d 647 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2003)
Wilson v. State
98 S.W.3d 265 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Wilson, Billy Dewyane v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002
People v. Brown
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002
People v. Bower
685 N.E.2d 393 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997)
People v. Harre
636 N.E.2d 23 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Armstrong
614 N.E.2d 427 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Bookout
608 N.E.2d 598 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Johnson
605 N.E.2d 98 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Bass
580 N.E.2d 1274 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
556 N.E.2d 273, 198 Ill. App. 3d 675, 144 Ill. Dec. 806, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 852, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-olson-illappct-1990.