People v. Sawyer

2024 IL App (2d) 240035-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 4, 2024·No. 2-24-0035·Unpublished·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Nos. 2-24-0035 & 2-24-0036 & 2-24-0037 cons.

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 McHenry County.

)

Plaintiff-Appellee, )

)

v. ) Nos. 21-CF-169, 22-CF-1039, 22-CF-684 )

JONATHAN B. SAWYER, ) Honorable ) Tiffany E. Davis,

Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding.

JUSTICE HUTCHINSON delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Birkett and Schostok concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The evidence supported the trial court’s findings that defendant committed a detainable offense and is a willful flight risk. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering defendant’s detention.

¶2 I. BACKGROUND

¶3 This consolidated appeal is born of three separate sets of criminal charges against defendant, Jonathan B. Sawyer.

¶4 A. Case No. 21-CF-169

¶5 On March 15, 2021, defendant was charged with possession of a controlled substance, less than 15 grams of cocaine (720 ILCS 570/402(c)), possession of drug paraphernalia (720 ILCS 600/3.5(A)), and possession of methamphetamine, less than 5 grams (720 ILCS 646/60(a)(1)). Defendant posted bond on March 23, 2021, and was released from custody. On May 21, 2021, he failed to appear for court. His bond was forfeited and a bench warrant was issued. Defendant was subsequently arrested in Wisconsin and bond was reinstated at $20,000. Defendant did not post bond.

¶6 On May 2, 2022, defendant was admitted into the Drug Court Program. He pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 30 months’ probation. Defendant failed to appear before the court on August 4, 2022. A bench warrant for his arrest was issued and bond was set at $30,000. On September 14, 2022, the state filed a motion to discharge defendant from the Drug Court Program citing seven positive tests in July 2022 for methamphetamine and cocaine.

¶7 B. Case No. 22-CF-1039

¶8 On December 2, 2022, defendant was charged with two counts of retail theft (720 ILCS 5/16-25) for stealing $820.81 worth of clothing and a vacuum from a Walmart in Johnsburg; one count of driving while license revoked (625 ILCS 5/6-303(a)); one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer (625 ILCS 5/11-204); and one count of failure to signal when required (625 ILCS 5/11-804(b)).

¶9 C. Case No. 23-CF-684

¶ 10 On July 14, 2023, defendant was charged with (1) deliver or possess with intent to deliver methamphetamine (720 ILCS 646/55(a)(1)), 15 grams but less than 100 grams; (2) manufacture/deliver controlled substance-cocaine (720 ILCS 570/401(a)(2)(A)), 15 grams but less than 100 grams; (3) manufacture/deliver controlled substance-fentanyl (720 ILCS

570/401(a)(1.5)(A)), 15 grams but less than 100 grams; (4) possession of methamphetamine (720 ILCS 646/60(a)), 15 grams but less than 100 grams; (5) possession of controlled substance-cocaine (720 ILCS 560/402(a)(2)(A), 15 grams but less than 100 grams; (6) possession of controlled substance-other drug (720 ILCS 570/402(c)), less than 200 grams of any substance containing fentanyl; (7) unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (720 ILCS 600/3.5(a)); and (8) resisting officer, firefighter, or correctional employee (720 ILCS 5/31-1(a)(1)).

¶ 11 D. Facts of Detention Hearing

¶ 12 Defendant filed a motion for hearing for release on conditions related to all three case numbers. The State filed a verified petition to deny pretrial release on case No. 23-CF-684, stating that the no conditions set forth in 725 ILCS 5/110-10(b) could mitigate (1) the real and present safety of any person or persons or the community based on the specific articulable facts of the case or (2) defendant’s willful flight for class 3 or greater felony offenses.

¶ 13 The trial court held a pretrial detention hearing on all of the case numbers on January 3, 2024. The State proceeded by way of proffer on case No. 23-CF-684, and recounted to the trial court as follows:

“On July 14th of 2023, Detective Nicholas Clesceri *** with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force received information from a source that he indicated was credible who advised that [defendant] would be conducting a narcotics transaction at the Thorntons gas station on Illinois Route 120 in McHenry. This source of information advised that [defendant] would be showing up with a ball of crack cocaine, which is approximately 3.5 grams of cocaine, and that he would be utilizing a cellphone number ending in 3323 to arrange that deal.

Officers were able to determine that [defendant] had two active failure to appear warrants out of both McHenry and Lake County at that time and they were valid and within the geographical limitations.

Members of the task force set up surveillance around the gas station and adjacent parking lots at that Thorntons gas station I previously mentioned. And while they were surveilling that location, a white in color Kia sedan pulled into the gas station and that vehicle parked on the south side of the lot. The passenger’s door opened and a male exited the vehicle who was positively identified by the detectives involved as [defendant]. And actually, I’m sorry, he exited the vehicle prior to the vehicle finding a parking space.

[Defendant] began walking northbound through the parking lot and was on his phone and looking around. The Kia parked in front of the Thorntons gas station store entrance, and the driver exited the vehicle and walked towards the front door.

Detective Clesceri was the front seat passenger in a department-issued vehicle that was being driven by a Sergeant Roehrkasse *** and Sergeant Roehrkasse drove up behind defendant and the emergency lights on the vehicle were activated. When the defendant saw the emergency lights, he immediately fled on foot northwestbound behind the Thorntons gas station. Detective Clesceri gave chase at that time, and Detective Clesceri began issuing commands for [defendant] to stop and to get on the ground. The defendant did not respond to the commands to stop and get on the ground and attempted to jump over the fence on the northern part of the property but was unable to get over the fence.

Ultimately [defendant] was taken into custody and secured with handcuffs and a search of his person was performed. In the defendant’s right front pocket in a clear plastic baggy was an off-white chunky substance that based on Detective Clesceri’s training ***

appeared to be approximately 3.5 grams of crack cocaine. There was also a glass smoking pipe with a bulb at the end in his right front pocket with a white residue, and that pipe appeared to be a pipe that would be used for the ingestion of methamphetamine into the body based on Detective Clesceri’s training.

Detectives were able to make contact with the driver of the vehicle who is identified as the codefendant in this case, a Michael Mantor. Ultimately Mantor was also found to have crack cocaine on his person. The vehicle the defendant and his codefendant arrived in was searched after a narcotics detecting canine was deployed indicating the presence of narcotics within the vehicle.

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People v. Sawyer, 2024 IL App (2d) 240035-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

2024 IL App (2d) 240035-U (People v. Sawyer) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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