People v. Rodriguez

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in People v. Rodriguez. Read the opinion of the Court — 364 Ill. App. 3d 304
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided December 15, 2008·No. 1-07-0137 Rel·Published

Opinion

FIRST DIVISION DECEMBER 15, 2008

No. 1-07-0137

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 00 CR 11338 ) DANIEL RODRIGUEZ, ) Honorable ) Bertina Lampkin, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE ROBERT E. GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Daniel Rodriguez was convicted by a jury on September 21, 2005, of the first-

degree murder of 18-year-old Ricardo Vasquez. In addition, the jury found that defendant

personally discharged the firearm that proximately caused Vasquez’s death. The murder was the

result of a gang-related, drive-by shooting on April 1, 2000, at approximately 9:30 p.m., in the

vicinity of 8707 South Escanaba Street in Chicago. Defendant was sentenced to 45 years of

incarceration, which was the minimum available sentence and which included a 25 year

enhancement for discharging the firearm that proximately caused the victim’s death. On

appeal, defendant makes two claims. First, defendant claims that the trial court abused its

discretion by giving a portion of Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Criminal, No. 3.15 (4th ed.

2000) (IPI Criminal 4th). Defendant claims that social science evidence indicates that part of the

instruction is based on a mistaken assumption, namely that an identification is more credible if the No. 1-07-0137

witness is more certain. Second, defendant claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing

to file a motion to suppress a show-up identification of defendant by two witnesses an hour after

the murder.

For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction.

BACKGROUND

Defendant’s trial began on September 19, 2005. At trial, eight witnesses testified; and all

eight were called by the State. Of the eight, four were witnesses to the shooting: (1) Carlos Luna;

(2) Camelia Prado; (3) Joseph Gonzalez; and (4) Antoine Lacy. Francisco Ortiz, an acquaintance

of defendant, testified that, on the morning of the shooting, defendant stated that he had “some

business” with members of a rival gang because they had damaged his vehicle, the night before.

The remaining three witnesses were law enforcement personnel: (1) Officer Edward Maras, an

officer with the Chicago police department, who detained defendant after the shooting; (2) Scott

Rochowicz, a forensic scientist with the Illinois State Police, who tested gunshot residue

recovered from defendant’s hands; and (3) Adrienne Segovia, a deputy medical examiner with

Cook County, who performed an autopsy on the shooting victim.

Of the four event witnesses, two were able to identify defendant as the shooter: (1)

Antoine Lacey; and (2) Joseph Gonzalez. Lacey and Gonzalez identified defendant during a

show-up procedure shortly after the shooting. Prado, who was also present at the show-up, was

unable to identify defendant.

Carlos Luna testified that he was 25 years old, and that in 2000, he was a member of a

gang called the Latin Dragons. On April 1, 2000, he was standing with a few friends in front of a

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house located at 8707 South Escanaba Avenue. There were approximately 10 people standing in

front of the house, and approximately 6 were gang members. The streetlights were on, as well as

a porch light. Luna observed a four-door grey Cadillac Seville come from east 87th Street and

head west on Escanaba Avenue. Luna approached the vehicle, arriving within 15 feet of it, and

the vehicle was traveling slowly. Luna testified that “[t]he driver threw his head back and the

passenger opened fire.” Luna was unable to observe the passenger’s face “[b]ecause of the gun

flash.” Later that night, when Luna was shown an array of photographs at a police station, he

was unable to identify either the driver or the passenger of the vehicle.

Luna further testified that he heard four shots fired. When he heard the first shot, he fell

to the ground. Luna identified photographs of: Ricardo Vasquez, the shooting victim; the

shooter’s vehicle; and the house in front of which Luna was standing. When Luna stood up after

the shooting, he saw that Vazquez had been shot.

Camelia Prado testified that she was 29 years old and that in 2000, her aunt lived at 8707

South Escanaba Avenue. At 9:20 p.m., Prado was outside that address with her cousins Anna

Rosa and Albert Campos, as well as Carlos Luna, Joseph Gonzalez, Antonio Lacy, Ricardo

Vasquez and “other friends.” At that time, Prado was a member of the Latin Dragons. Prado

was on the porch with her cousin Anna and another cousin and “the kids,” while Joseph Gonzalez

and Alberto Campos were on the steps. The porch and street lights were on, but the street lights

were “like orange” and “dim.”

Prado testified that at about 9:20 p.m., a four-door “short-bodied” Cadillac “came off of

East 87th Street” on to Escanaba Avenue, and “slowed up in front of [her] aunt’s house.” Prado

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watched this vehicle “[b]ecause it’s a hot block.” Prado explained that when she used the term

‘hot block,’ she meant “because of the gangs and stuff like that it was always shooting, drive-bys

and stuff like that.” Prado observed two occupants in the vehicle, a driver and a passenger; and

that the driver’s window was down.

Prado testified that when the vehicle slowed down, Luna approached it and then “[t]he

guy on the passenger side started shooting.” The passenger “kind of leaned toward the driver,

and we just starting seeing like the fire in front of the driver’s face, and the driver threw himself

back.” Prado heard three or four shots, and “the car kept driving and it crashed into a van that

was parked.” When the first shots were fired, everyone scattered and Prado hid behind a column

on the porch. The victim, Vasquez, “started running towards the corner away from the car” when

he was shot. After the vehicle crashed into the van, “[i]t kept going straight up the block to 91st

Street and made a left.”

Prado testified that she called the police. When the police arrived, she provided a

description of the shooter’s vehicle. Approximately an hour later, the police returned and asked

her to look at a vehicle to “see if it’s the car you just saw.” Prado went with Antoine Lacy and

Joseph Gonzalez to view the vehicle. Prado was able to identify the vehicle as the shooter’s

vehicle, but she was not able to identify the shooter. On the witness stand, Prado identified

photographs of Ricardo Vasquez, her aunt’s building and the shooter’s vehicle

On cross-examination, Prado denied having told the 911 operator that there were four

people in the vehicle. The defense played the 911 tape. On redirect examination, Prado explained

that, while she was on the telephone with the 911 operator, someone said to her that there had

4 No. 1-07-0137

been four people in the vehicle. Prado repeated that as a question to the person who had stated it.

When the 911 operator repeated that statement, Prado first responded “yes” and then responded

“no.”

Joseph Gonzalez testified that he was a convicted felon, for possession of a handgun. On

April 1, 2000, he was “[a]bout 18 maybe.” At 9:20 p.m., he was “hanging out” at 8707 South

Escanaba Avenue, with a few friends, including Ricardo Vasquez, Camelia Prado, Carlos Luna

and Antoine Lacey. Gonzalez was on the first or second step from the bottom, in front of the

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