People v. Suastegui

871 N.E.2d 145, 374 Ill. App. 3d 635, 312 Ill. Dec. 745, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 639
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 13, 2007·No. 1-05-2429·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE KARNEZIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant Manuel Suastegui was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment; (2) the trial court erred in excluding defendant’s exculpatory evidence; (3) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (4) his sixth amendment rights were violated because testimonial evidence was admitted without the opportunity for cross-examination; and (5) photographs of his tattoos were irrelevant and the admission thereof was highly prejudicial. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

On September 26, 1995, at about 9:15 p.m., the victim, Daniel Mafias, was shot and killed near 1745 North Keystone Avenue in Chicago. Jessica Rivera was walking with the victim at the time but was not harmed. According to Rivera, she did not see the shooter. Another individual, Christina Herrera, also witnessed the shooting. At trial, Herrera testified that she saw a person standing on top of the railroad viaduct shoot at the victim, who was walking on the street below. The person who was shooting had dark clothing and was wearing a black hoody. She did not see the shooter’s face.

Dr. Edmund Donoghue performed an autopsy on the victim. He testified that the victim had been shot five times and the wounds were consistent with being shot from an elevated location. Dr. Donoghue recovered bullet fragments from two locations within the body, but he could not determine what type of bullets they were from. He further stated that the victim had several tattoos, including a “YLO” tattoo. 1

Several years later, in January 1998, Ignacio Salgado was arrested for selling narcotics. He was questioned about the victim’s murder and gave a statement implicating defendant. Defendant was subsequently arrested for the victim’s murder in September 1999.

Salgado testified at trial that in 1995, he was a member of the Insane Spanish Cobras (Spanish Cobras) street gang. At that time, the Cobras were “at war” with another gang, the Young Latin Organized Disciples (YLO Disciples). Salgado stated that the president of the section of the Spanish Cobras of which he was a member was Ramiro Alvarez, who also went by the nickname Tiger. The section was referred to as “Keeler and Dickens,” which referred to the street names that encompassed the gang’s boundaries. He stated that defendant was also a member of the Spanish Cobras and went by the nickname Gato. Defendant served as an “enforcer,” which meant that he helped enforce the laws of the gang. Alvarez called weekly meetings, and at the meeting shortly before the victim was shot, Alvarez told the members that they had to “take care of business” and “pop a D,” which Salgado explained meant to shoot a YLO Disciple. Alvarez pulled a couple of people aside, including defendant and another individual, Andy Montanez. Salgado saw Alvarez hand defendant a gun. About 5 to 10 minutes later, while Salgado was at a taco stand at the corner of Keeler Avenue and Armitage Avenue, he heard gunshots coming from the nearby train tracks. Shortly thereafter, he saw defendant run past him from the direction of the train tracks. Defendant told Salgado that he “shot a D.” Salgado stated that defendant was carrying a revolver and it looked like the same gun that was given to defendant at the meeting. He described the revolver as blue.

On cross-examination Salgado admitted that during his grand jury testimony, he had testified that defendant served as a soldier in the gang, rather than an enforcer. He also admitted that he had testified before the grand jury that the revolver was black, rather than blue. He further admitted that he had not told police officers or the grand jury that he heard gunshots prior to seeing defendant run past him. He also stated that he did not tell police officers about the gang’s weekly meetings. Salgado also stated that when he saw defendant running, he saw that defendant had something in his hand, but was not sure whether it was a gun. Salgado further admitted that he pled guilty and received probation for the charges stemming from his arrest for selling narcotics.

Sergeant Anthony Wojcik testified that defendant was arrested on September 1, 1999, at about 5:30 p.m. At about 10:15 p.m., Sergeant Wojcik and his partner advised defendant of his Miranda rights and interviewed defendant for about 45 minutes to an hour. Defendant told them that he had been a member of the Spanish Cobras from the age of 13 to the age of 18 or 19. Defendant indicated that the knew Alvarez and Salgado. The officers took pictures of his tattoos and ended the interview. At about 1:30 a.m. the next day, defendant was interviewed again. After reading defendant his Miranda rights, they specifically told him that they were investigating the victim’s murder. Sergeant Wojcik stated that defendant began shaking and pacing and they took him to the bathroom, where he was sick. Defendant denied knowing anything about the murder. The interview ended at about 3 a.m. At about 5 a.m., defendant was read his Miranda rights and was interviewed again. Defendant identified the victim, whom he knew by the name “Snoop.” Defendant told officers that the Latin Kings had killed the victim. Officers showed defendant a picture of Montanez and told defendant that they had been told a different story. Defendant then told officers that Montanez shot the victim and that he was with Montanez at the time. At about 10 a.m., defendant was interviewed by an assistant State’s Attorney.

Sergeant Wojcik further testified that in 1998, the Chicago police department launched an operation in which they attempted to obtain information on several unsolved gang-related murders. Undercover officers would buy narcotics from gang members, arrest them, and then attempt to obtain information regarding the unsolved murders. Officers did not offer any “deal” or “quid pro quo” for a gang member’s cooperation. He stated that Salgado was arrested as a result of the operation.

Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Stephens testified that she read defendant his Miranda rights before interviewing him and the interview lasted about an hour. Defendant told Stephens that on the night the victim was shot, defendant encountered Montanez at the corner of Keeler Avenue and Dickens Avenue. Montanez was carrying a revolver. Montanez indicated that a Spanish Cobra had been beaten by a YLO Disciple earlier that evening and that he wanted to “take care of the D’s.” Defendant and Montanez walked toward Cortland Street and Keystone Avenue, which was the YLO Disciples’ territory. They were walking along the train tracks when Montanez pointed the revolver down toward the street and shot five times. Defendant later heard that the victim had been shot. Defendant did not mention encountering Salgado at a taco stand. Defendant further indicated that he only acted as a lookout while Montanez shot the victim.

On appeal, defendant first contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment. Defendant argues that he was indicted pursuant to the “Illinois Compiled Statutes 1992, as amended,” and because the Illinois Compiled Statutes did not become effective until 1993, his conviction is based on a nonexistent statute and is void.

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People v. Suastegui, 871 N.E.2d 145, 374 Ill. App. 3d 635, 312 Ill. Dec. 745, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 639 (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

871 N.E.2d 145 (People v. Suastegui) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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