People v. Testa

466 N.E.2d 1126, 125 Ill. App. 3d 1039, 81 Ill. Dec. 324, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2084
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 29, 1984
Docket82-1313
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 466 N.E.2d 1126 (People v. Testa) 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. Testa, 466 N.E.2d 1126, 125 Ill. App. 3d 1039, 81 Ill. Dec. 324, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2084 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE BUCKLEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant Thomas Testa was convicted of rape (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 11 — 1(a)) and sentenced to 50 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, to be served consecutively with a 15-year sentence for a prior felony conviction. Defendant appeals, raising the following issues for review: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence; (2) whether the denial of his motion to suppress photographic identification was error; (3) whether the court erred in denying his motion to exclude the dates of prior convictions; (4) whether the court erred in denying his request to cross-examine the victim as to her interest in a civil lawsuit; (5) whether he received a fair trial as a result of certain alleged prejudicial remarks made by the State in closing argument; (6) whether the court abused its discretion in sentencing him to a 50-year extended-term sentence to run consecutively with a prior 15-year sentence; and (7) whether his verdict should have been modified to a finding of guilty but mentally ill. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

The record reveals that on April 17, 1980, the victim was employed as a singer at a hotel in suburban Rosemont. On said date, at approximately 2 a.m., she left work and walked to her car at the far end of the hotel’s parking lot. Upon approaching her car, the victim was grabbed from behind, spun around and held by the throat. Her attacker demanded she open her car door and, when she refused, began strangling her. After forcing her into the car, the attacker held her and began grabbing her hair. During the ensuing struggle, the attacker pulled out handfuls of the victim’s hair. He then forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. Later, after telling the victim he loved her and asking for her forgiveness, he left the car.

Thereafter, the victim drove to the Rosemont police station. She gave the police a description of her attacker and told them she had scratched him under his left eye. The victim was then treated at a hospital and at that time shown a photographic lineup. The victim identified a photograph of defendant as her attacker, a warrant was issued for his arrest and, shortly thereafter, the police arrested defendant at his apartment and seized various items of clothing and hair from his bedroom which were later used as evidence at trial.

Prior to trial, defense counsel made motions to suppress identification and evidence. The physical lineup wherein defendant was present was suppressed by agreement, but the photographic identification was permitted to be used in evidence. Defendant’s motion to suppress the articles of clothing taken from his bedroom was also denied.

At trial, the State called as a witness the victim, who testified to the facts previously stated. The State’s other witnesses included arresting Officer Lee Mayer, who testified that defendant had a scratch above and below his left eye when he was arrested. Also testifying for the State was a forensic scientist who analyzed the physical evidence and stated that the blond hair fibers found on defendant’s clothing were consistent with the victim’s hair and could have originated from her. The only witness for the defense was defendant, who raised an alibi defense.

Based on the foregoing evidence, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. At sentencing, the State waived aggravation and the defense called in mitigation two witnesses who testified as to defendant’s mental condition. Defendant was sentenced to serve 50 years, consecutively with a 15-year sentence for a prior felony conviction.

I

Defendant initially urges that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress evidence consisting of two plaid shirts and two pairs of blue jeans. He alleges the trial court erred in finding that the seizure of such evidence was proper under the plain view doctrine. We disagree.

At the hearing on the motion to suppress, Officers Lee Mayer and Joel Smith testified that when they arrived at defendant’s residence to arrest him, he was wearing only his underwear. Following his arrest, defendant indicated he wanted to get dressed before going to the police station, and the officers escorted him to his bedroom to change. The officers further testified that as they entered defendant’s bedroom they observed two pairs of blue jeans and two plaid shirts on the floor, and noticed long blond hair fibers on one of the shirts. Officer Smith then took the plaid shirts and jeans and placed them in bags. Officer Mayer also stated that during an interview with the victim approximately two hours prior to the arrest, she stated that her attacker was wearing a plaid jacket or shirt and blue jeans. She also told them that he had pulled out large amounts of hair from her head. Officer Mayer described the victim’s hair as blond and fairly long.

In Illinois, the seizure of evidence is proper under the plain view doctrine when the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the object seized is in plain view; (2) the officer views the object from a position where he has a right to be; and (3) the facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time he acts give rise to a reasonable belief that the items seized constitute evidence of criminal activity. People v. Montgomery (1980), 84 Ill. App. 3d 695, 698, 405 N.E.2d 1275; People v. Holt (1974), 18 Ill. App. 3d 10,12, 309 N.E.2d 376.

In the present case, the State met all three requirements for a plain view seizure. First, arresting officers Mayer and Smith testified that the clothing in question was in plain view when they entered defendant’s bedroom. We note that defendant testified he believed the clothing was in his bedroom closet, which was closed when the officers entered the bedroom; however, defendant contradicted himself at one point with regard to whether he had put away the pair of jeans he wore the previous night. The trial court found the officers’ testimony to be credible. At a hearing on a motion to suppress, it is the function of the trial court to assess the credibility of witnesses (People v. Brown (1980), 81 Ill. App. 3d 271, 274, 401 N.E.2d 310), and the court’s findings should not be disturbed unless manifestly erroneous (People v. Stamps (1982), 108 Ill. App. 3d 280, 291, 438 N.E.2d 1282). Here, the trial court was able to observe the witness’ demeanor, and there is no showing that its findings were manifestly erroneous.

The second requirement for a plain view seizure is also satisfied here because the officers viewed defendant’s clothing from a position where they had a right to be. Officers Mayer and Smith testified that when they arrested defendant at the door to his residence he was wearing only his underwear and asked to put on some clothes. At this point, the officers quite properly accompanied defendant into his bedroom while he dressed. Ordinary prudence dictates nothing less to assure the safety of the arresting officer.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
466 N.E.2d 1126, 125 Ill. App. 3d 1039, 81 Ill. Dec. 324, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2084, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-testa-illappct-1984.