People v. Sandoval

2024 IL App (4th) 230771-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 18, 2024
Docket4-23-0771
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2024 IL App (4th) 230771-U (People v. Sandoval) 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. Sandoval, 2024 IL App (4th) 230771-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

NOTICE 2024 IL App (4th) 230771-U This Order was filed under FILED Supreme Court Rule 23 and is December 18, 2024 NO. 4-23-0771 not precedent except in the Carla Bender limited circumstances allowed 4th District Appellate under Rule 23(e)(1). IN THE APPELLATE COURT Court, IL

OF ILLINOIS

FOURTH DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Henry County ALEX J. SANDOVAL, ) No. 22CM204 Defendant-Appellant. ) ) Honorable ) Colby G. Hathaway, ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE GRISCHOW delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Cavanagh and Justice Doherty concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The appellate court reversed, concluding the State failed to prove defendant was a “licensee” and therefore failed to prove an essential element of a violation of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

¶2 Following a jury trial in May 2023, defendant, Alex J. Sandoval, was convicted of

one count of violating the Firearm Concealed Carry Act (Concealed Carry Act) (430 ILCS

66/70(d) (West 2022)) for carrying a concealed firearm under the front passenger seat of his car

while under the influence of alcohol. Defendant appeals, arguing (1) the evidence was insufficient

to sustain his conviction; (2) his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to (a) object to the

testimony of the police officer who administered his horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test on the

basis of its inadmissibility due to lack of proper foundation or (b) request a jury instruction

specifically defining “carrying” a weapon “on or about” one’s person; and (3) the State failed to prove he was issued a license to carry a concealed handgun and therefore failed to prove an

essential element of a violation of the Concealed Carry Act. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 On September 23, 2022, defendant was charged with one count of violating the

Concealed Carry Act for knowingly carrying a Glock firearm under the front passenger seat of his

car while under the influence of alcohol (id.), one count of disorderly conduct (720 ILCS 5/26-

1(a)(1) (West 2022)), and, in a separate case (Henry County Case No. 22-DT-73), one count of

driving under the influence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501 (West 2022)). These charges were in

connection with defendant’s alleged conduct at Grease Monkeys Sports Bar & Grill (Grease

Monkeys) in Colona, Illinois, on September 22, 2022.

¶5 A. Jury Trial

¶6 1. The State’s Evidence

¶7 a. Keziah Lehman

¶8 Keziah Lehman worked as a bartender at Grease Monkeys on September 22, 2022.

Lehman testified defendant was drinking and gambling inside the establishment that night.

Defendant finished two beers and drank about half of a third. At approximately 11:30 p.m.,

Lehman announced “last call.” Defendant “told the guys that were still sitting there that they could

stay as long as they want because he tipped [Lehman] $10.” Shortly thereafter, Lehman began

cleaning the bathroom approximately 10 feet from where the group of patrons was seated. Lehman

heard defendant say “something about knocking all of the guys out,” and she then “heard all of the

chairs scoot back at once.” When Lehman came out of the bathroom to see what was going on, she

observed defendant put his beer on the table and “r[u]n right past” her, leaving the bar “very

quickly.” Lehman grabbed the arm of someone who was trying to follow defendant out the door.

-2- Lehman locked the door to keep defendant from coming back inside. While looking out the

window, Lehman observed defendant “circle the front of the building, and then go across the street,

go around the block, and park across the block with his lights off” on a grassy overflow parking

area. Lehman called 911 and noticed defendant’s “dome light was on” and he was “moving

around” in his car.

¶9 b. Emily Duran

¶ 10 Colona police officer Emily Duran testified she was dispatched to Grease Monkeys

to respond “to a disturbance that occurred” on September 22, 2022. When Officer Duran arrived,

she found defendant in the driver’s seat of his car on the north side of the parking lot facing south

towards the doors of the establishment. When defendant exited his car, Officer Duran believed she

smelled alcohol. Later, defendant was transported to the Colona Police Department and performed

standardized field sobriety testing. Officer Duran asked defendant if he would take a breath test,

but he refused.

¶ 11 c. Maxwell Steele

¶ 12 Colona police officer Maxwell Steele was dispatched to Grease Monkeys at about

11:30 p.m. on September 22, 2022, to respond to a call about a patron who “made some threats

and left and came back and sat in the parking lot” with his “headlights turned off in a suspicious

manner.” Officer Steele noticed “a strong odor of alcohol and slurred speech” while speaking with

defendant. Officer Steele asked defendant if he had a gun on him. At first, defendant “denied

having one.” After being asked again, defendant responded “that he had [a] weapon in his vehicle.”

Two other officers discovered a Glock firearm “under the passenger seat of the vehicle.”

¶ 13 Defendant was transported to the Colona Police Department and agreed to perform

the standardized field sobriety tests, including the HGN test. Defendant did not indicate he had

-3- any issues with his eyes which would inhibit his performance on the test. Officer Steele testified

there are six clues to be observed in this test. They are “lack of smooth pursuit, onset prior to 45

degrees, and nystagmus at a maximum deviation,” in each eye. A minimum of four clues is

necessary to indicate a person is potentially impaired by alcohol. Officer Steele observed all six.

¶ 14 Officer Steele next administered the walk-and-turn test. For the walk-and-turn test,

eight clues are observed, with a minimum of two indicating potential impairment by alcohol.

Officer Steele observed five. When asked to describe his observations of defendant’s performance

on this test, Officer Steele explained:

“I observed that he made an improper turn when turning. He did a

shuffling movement with his feet, when in the instructions you’re supposed

to have your—whatever foot planted, you’re supposed to keep it planted

when turning. On his seventh step of his first nine steps, he stopped to regain

balance and used his arms for balance as well. He also grabbed the wall in

doing so.”

¶ 15 Finally, Officer Steele administered the one-leg stand test. For this test, four clues

are observed, with a minimum of two indicating potential impairment by alcohol. Although Officer

Steele “observed zero” clues for this test, he continued to note the “odor of alcohol” on defendant

and his “slurred speech.” Based on his training and experience and his observations of defendant

both while at Grease Monkeys and at the station, Officer Steele believed defendant was under the

influence of alcohol. The video of defendant performing these tests was admitted into evidence

and played for the jury.

¶ 16 d. Zachary Bollinger

¶ 17 Colona police sergeant Zachary Bollinger testified he responded to the incident at

-4- Grease Monkeys and found defendant sitting in his car facing the establishment. While conducting

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Bluebook (online)
2024 IL App (4th) 230771-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sandoval-illappct-2024.