People v. Salas-Pineda

2024 IL App (2d) 240017-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 4, 2024·No. 2-24-0017·Unpublished

Opinion

No. 2-24-0017

Order filed April 4, 2024

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23(b) and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court OF ILLINOIS, ) of Kane County.

)

Plaintiff-Appellee, )

)

v. ) No. 24-CF-10 )

PATRICIO J. SALAS-PINEDA, ) Honorable ) Salvatore LoPiccolo Jr., Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding.

JUSTICE JORGENSEN delivered the judgment of the court.

Presiding Justice McLaren and Justice Mullen concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The trial court did not err in denying defendant pretrial release. Affirmed.

¶2 In this interlocutory appeal, defendant, Patricio J. Salas-Pineda, appeals from the trial court’s order granting the State’s petition to deny him pretrial release under article 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/art. 110 (West 2022)), as amended by Public Act 101-652 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023), commonly known as the Pretrial Fairness Act (Act). 1 See Pub.

1 The Act is also commonly known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-

Act 102-1104, § 70 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023) (amending various provisions of the Act); Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248, ¶ 52 (lifting stay and setting effective date as September 18, 2023). For the following reasons, we affirm.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 On January 2, 2024, defendant was charged with: aggravated criminal sexual assault - armed with a dangerous weapon other than firearm (720 ILCS 5/11-1.30(a)(1) (West 2022)), a Class X felony; aggravated criminal sexual assault - acts in a manner that threatens the life of the victim (720 ILCS 5/11-1.30(a)(3) (West 2022)), a Class X felony; two counts of aggravated domestic battery - strangle (720 ILCS 5/12-3.3(a-5) (West 2022)), a Class 2 felony; aggravated unlawful restraint (720 ILCS 5/10-3.1(a) (West 2022)), a Class 3 felony; unlawful restraint (720 ILCS 5/10-3 (West 2022)), a Class 4 felony; domestic battery - bodily harm (720 ILCS 5/12- 3.2(a)(1) (West 2022)), a Class A misdemeanor; domestic battery - physical contact (720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(2) (West 2022)), a Class A misdemeanor; and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence (720 ILCS 5/12-3.5(a) (West 2022)), a Class A misdemeanor.

¶5 A. State’s Petition

¶6 On the same day, the State petitioned to detain defendant. 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 (West 2022). It alleged that defendant was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated domestic battery, aggravated unlawful restraint, and domestic battery, all of which the court could use to find probable cause to detain defendant. The State also alleged that defendant should be denied pretrial release on the bases that he posed a real and present threat to the safety of any

Today (SAFE-T) Act. Neither name is official, as neither appears in the Illinois Compiled Statutes or public acts.

person or the community and that he had a high likelihood of willful flight to avoid prosecution. Id. § 110-6.1(a)(1.5), (4), (5), (6), (8). Finally, as an additional ground to deny defendant release, the State alleged that defendant had a prior conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) in 2019, he entered this country illegally through Texas in 2008 from Honduras, was charged with alien inadmissibility, and was issued a warrant/notice to appear, which appeared to be outstanding.

¶7 At the hearing on the State’s petition, the State tendered the charging document, defendant’s criminal history, and an extensive police synopsis. The synopsis related as follows. On Saturday, December 30, 2023, at about 6:25 a.m., several sheriff’s deputies, and, later, Algonquin police, responded to 445 Natoma Trail in Algonquin. En route, dispatch advised that the caller, Michelle Miller, had been physically assaulted, battered, held at her residence for several hours, had a knife held to her neck, was kicked in the head and face multiple times, had been choked, forced to have sex, and was told multiple times that she was going to die.

¶8 Defendant was identified as the offender but had left Miller’s residence in his vehicle when police arrived. Ultimately, defendant’s vehicle came to rest in the front yard of 1165 Manhatas Trail in Algonquin. Defendant stated that he was at Miller’s residence when an unknown male arrived, kicked him in the face, and told him to leave. In the process, defendant lost a tooth. When defendant was being taken into custody, he resisted arrest.

¶9 Miller was in her residence and had visible signs of injury, including to her face/head, neck, arms, back, and noticeable redness in her eyes. (Photos were taken of her injuries, but they are not contained in the record on appeal.) Miller stated that she and defendant had been in a relationship for about two months. The night prior, they arrived home from being out, and, at about 1 a.m., they began arguing after defendant observed what he thought was information on Miller’s phone that showed she was cheating on him. Defendant retained control of Miller’s phone during the

argument. The verbal argument escalated to defendant throwing water bottles and alcoholic beverages at Miller and, eventually, to him hitting Miller. Defendant then choked Miller multiple times; she described the acts as occurring 50 times between 1 a.m. and 6:25 a.m. With one hand, defendant grabbed the front of her neck and squeezed and pushed. He also did this while pushing Miller to the floor and onto her back. Miller had trouble breathing. At one point, she reported, she felt that she was going to defecate. The choking incidents occurred in the family room and the floor of the guest bedroom.

¶ 10 Further, Miller related that she attempted to run out of the residence at one point; however, defendant pursued her and tackled her in the attached garage, held a knife to her neck while she was on the garage floor with him on top of her, and told her something to the effect of not to move or he would kill her. Defendant forced her back into the residence at knife point. From this moment on, there were about 20 to 25 times during which defendant put the knife to Miller’s neck and threatened harm or death, including a jabbing motion where the tip of the blade made contact with Miller’s neck.

¶ 11 At some point later, defendant told Miller that he wanted to have sexual intercourse. Miller did not believe she could say no, and they had sexual intercourse, which started in the guest room and moved to the family bedroom (the same bedroom where Miller had been choked, pinned down, kicked in the head, and held at knifepoint).

¶ 12 At 3:01 a.m., Miller sent a text message that stated “Help” to her sister’s husband, Jack Settepani. However, he did not see the message until about 5:55 a.m., and the incident continued. Miller reported that she had just finished having intercourse with defendant when her sister, Stephanie Settepani, and Jack arrived at the residence. Jack’s arrival allowed Miller to get her phone and call 911. Jack intervened and forced defendant out of the residence.

¶ 13 Upon entering Miller’s residence, a deputy observed a bottle of an alcoholic beverage on the dining room table, a chair turned on its side, two open and empty water bottles on the floor, dried liquid (presumably an alcoholic beverage) on the floor, and other miscellaneous items thrown throughout the residence.

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People v. Salas-Pineda, 2024 IL App (2d) 240017-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

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