People v. Smith

552 N.E.2d 1061, 195 Ill. App. 3d 878, 142 Ill. Dec. 320, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 289
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 7, 1990
Docket5-87-0752
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 552 N.E.2d 1061 (People v. Smith) 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. Smith, 552 N.E.2d 1061, 195 Ill. App. 3d 878, 142 Ill. Dec. 320, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 289 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE CHAPMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, John T. Smith, was charged with murder in the death of Steve Smith (no relation). After a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the defendant contends that: (1) he was denied a fair trial because the jury was improperly instructed; (2) his defense counsel was ineffective; (3) the trial court considered improper factors in sentencing the defendant; and (4) he is entitled to two additional days’ credit against his sentence of imprisonment.

Although the testimony of the witnesses differs with regard to various details, there was general agreement concerning the series of events which culminated in the shooting of Steve Smith. The defendant and the victim were at the house of their friend, Johnnie Bean, at 9:30 p.m. on January 21, 1987. Bean’s two brothers, Steven and Dion, were also present, as was Damon Williams. The victim was trying to sell some shirts, which were apparently stolen, to Steve Bean. The defendant advised Steve not to buy the shirts because the asking price was too high. This angered the victim, who told the defendant to “stay out of his business” and that “if he was on the streets *** he would get killed.” Thereafter the defendant remained quiet, but a short time later the victim, apparently still angry, began to demean the defendant, calling him a “punk” and making fun of his clothes. The victim then asked the defendant to “come walk with him outside” after Johnnie Bean told them not to argue in his house. Everyone went outside, and the defendant and the victim walked near the driveway. The victim pushed the defendant and they began fighting. After some minutes the defendant got the upper hand in the fight, and was on top of the victim, and the defendant then indicated that he wished to stop fighting. Steve Bean then broke up the fight. The victim then began arguing with Steve Bean, threatening to “whoop” him.

After the fight was broken up the defendant went home and got a .22 caliber rifle. He returned to the Bean residence, carrying the rifle, 5 to 10 minutes after the fight had ended. The victim was still outside the Bean residence, and as the defendant approached, the defendant fired a shot into the street. Upon hearing the shot and seeing the defendant, the victim ran a short distance away, out of the sight of the defendant. About that time a police car drove nearby and the defendant threw the rifle on the ground. After the car had gone, the defendant picked the rifle up and started up the porch steps of the Bean residence. The victim suddenly appeared near the porch, saying “shoot me punk motherfucker” or “if you want to be a man and shoot me, shoot me.” The testimony indicated that the victim then rushed at or lunged at the defendant, and the defendant turned and shot the victim, firing three to five times. There was conflicting evidence concerning whether the defendant continued to fire at the victim after he had fallen on the ground. It was established at trial that the defendant’s rifle had a lever action which had to be operated each time before a shot could be fired.

After he was shot, the victim got up, ran across the street and collapsed. The defendant ran home. An autopsy revealed that the victim had been shot in the upper left chest, the left buttock, and in the back of the left upper arm. The victim died as a result of blood loss from the wounds.

The defendant’s theory at trial was that he had acted in self-defense. He testified that he thought the victim was armed, although he did not state that he ever saw a weapon. Some of the witnesses testified that the victim was a dangerous person who was known to carry and sell guns. In a statement given to the police after his arrest, the defendant did not mention that he thought the victim was armed. In addition, the defendant’s statement indicated that he saw the victim begin walking back towards him, challenging him to shoot, at a distance of one-half of a city block. The jury found the defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

The defendant first contends that he was denied a fair trial because the jury was instructed on the use of force by an initial aggressor. At the conference on jury instructions, defense counsel objected to People’s instruction No. 12 (Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No. 24—25.09 (2d ed. 1981)) (hereinafter IPI Criminal 2d No. 24—25.09), which read:

“A person who initially provokes the use of force against himself is justified in the use of force only if the force used against him is so great that he reasonably believes he is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, and he has exhausted every reasonable means to escape danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the other person.”

The instruction was given over the defendant’s objection. The court also gave, without objection, an instruction on self-defense (Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No. 24—25.06 (2d ed. 1981)).

The defendant maintains that the court erred in giving IPI Criminal 2d No. 24—25.09 because the victim was the initial aggressor in the instant case. The defendant argues that it is error to give such an instruction where the evidence does not show the defendant to be the initial aggressor (People v. Slaughter (1980), 84 Ill. App. 3d 1103, 405 N.E.2d 1295) and that in the instant case it is “undisputed” that the defendant was not the initial aggressor. The defendant contends that the events leading up to the shooting must be viewed either as one incident, in which case the victim was clearly the initial aggressor, or as three incidents, in which case the victim was the initial aggressor at the time of the shooting because he charged the defendant from behind. We do not agree.

The defendant’s suggestion that the events which occurred must be viewed as either one incident or three incidents ignores an obvious alternative: that the events may be viewed as two incidents. It is clear that the initial physical confrontation between the defendant and the victim ended when the fight was broken up and the defendant went home. The defendant then returned 5 to 10 minutes later and provoked a second, much more dangerous, confrontation with the victim when he returned carrying a loaded rifle. Whether this incident was terminated when the victim briefly fled the scene, and was then followed by a third incident in which the victim was again the aggressor was, we believe, a question for the jury to decide.

As the court stated in People v. Fleming (1987), 155 Ill. App. 3d 29, 37, 507 N.E.2d 954, 959:

“The aggressor instruction in question states that a person may not provoke the use of force and then retaliate claiming self-defense. This instruction is appropriate and permissible when there is evidence that the defendant provoked the deadly affray. [Citation.] The giving of this instruction does not erroneously assume the defendant was the initial aggressor. [Citation.] The question of self-defense, specifically whether the defendant was the initial aggressor, is a question of fact for the jury to decide.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
552 N.E.2d 1061, 195 Ill. App. 3d 878, 142 Ill. Dec. 320, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-smith-illappct-1990.