People v. Trent

228 N.E.2d 535, 85 Ill. App. 2d 157, 1967 Ill. App. LEXIS 1139
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 5, 1967
DocketGen. 10,854
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 228 N.E.2d 535 (People v. Trent) 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. Trent, 228 N.E.2d 535, 85 Ill. App. 2d 157, 1967 Ill. App. LEXIS 1139 (Ill. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

SMITH, J.

Defendants were jointly tried and convicted of the crime of armed robbery and were each sentenced to the penitentiary. Trial errors alleged as a ground for a new trial are as follows: (a) the trial court erred in refusing to suppress certain evidence obtained through an unreasonable search of the defendant’s automobile, (b) the court erred in admitting into evidence a prior conviction of the defendant Pfoutz which was not infamous, (c) that the pieces of tape used in the robbery were not properly identified and not properly traced through an unbroken chain of possession, and (d) that the defendants were not advised of their constitutional rights prior to a search and seizure of the automobile.

Two men held up the Redbird Service Station at gunpoint in Decatur about 11:00 p. m. on October 7, 1964. After obtaining about $170 from the attendant, he was taken into the back room of the station where his wrist and ankles were taped with adhesive tape. Around 2:00 in the early morning of October 8, the defendants were cruising around in the downtown streets of Springfield, Illinois. Police officers stopped them because a portion of the defendant’s rear license plate was obscured with mud. The defendant Trent, who was driving, could produce no driver’s license and was arrested for driving without a license. Defendant Pfoutz was also placed under arrest for allowing an unauthorized person to drive his automobile. Trent was immediately placed in a squad car and taken to police headquarters. After he left, Pfoutz got out of the automobile and talked with Detectives Wright and Lampkin. They testified that they asked him if it was o. k. to search his automobile and he said “go ahead.” Pfoutz denies this. In plain sight on the seat was a blue baseball cap. They also found a roll of adhesive tape, two pairs of sunglasses, and a pair of brown jersey gloves. None of the items mentioned were removed from the car at the time of the arrest and Pfoutz was permitted to drive his own car down to the police station in the company of a police officer. The items in controversy were not actually removed from the car until some time later the same afternoon. The station attendant testified that the man with the gun had on a pair of brown jersey gloves and was wearing sunglasses. The second man was about 21 years old, wearing blue wrap around bubble sunglasses, and a blue sportsman’s hat with a fish emblem in the center of the hat in front. The hat was light blue or powder blue. The police officers testified that when they first arrested the defendants on the street, they believed that they could have been the persons involved in the Decatur robbery. They also testified that the report they had was that the men were between 20 and 24 years old, one wearing toe clips or toe caps and both wearing sunglasses, one pair wraparound, and one wore a blue baseball cap. The search at the scene of the arrest revealed the items to which we have just referred.

Our statute pertaining to search and seizure provides that when a lawful arrest is effected, the police may reasonably search the person arrested and the area within such person’s immediate presence for the purpose of: “(d) Discovering any instruments, articles or things which may have been used in the commission of, or which may constitute evidence of, an offense.” Ill Rev Stats 1965, c 38, § 108-1. Such search may be made without a search warrant. The police officers testified and the trial court found in his order denying the motion to suppress the evidence that the defendant Pfoutz, the owner of the automobile, consented to the search of the automobile at the scene of the arrest. The consequences of such a consent is concisely stated in People v. Harris, 34 Ill2d 282, 285, 215 NE2d 214, 215, as follows:

“Consent is a waiver of the constitutional privilege against unreasonable search, (People v. Henderson, 33 Ill2d 225; People v. DiGerlando, 30 Ill2d 544; People v. Fiorito, 19 Ill2d 246; Zap v. United States, 328 US 624, 90 L Ed 1477,) and where the evidence on the issue of consent is in conflict, this court will accept the finding of the trial court unless it is clearly unreasonable. (People v. DiGerlando, 30 Ill 2d 544; People v. Fiorito, 19 Ill2d 246; People v. Peterson, 17 Ill2d 513.) We cannot say that it was unreasonable to believe the officers’ testimony on the issue of consent. See People v. Henderson, 33 Ill2d 225.”

It is clearly established in Illinois that some traffic violations would justify a present search of the automobile. The total absence of license plates, People v. Berry, 17 Ill2d 247, 161 NE2d 315, or an obscured license plate upon a car being driven in the early morning hours, People v. Esposito, 18 Ill2d 104, 163 NE2d 487, could reasonably suggest a serious violation of the law. People v. Watkins, 19 Ill2d 11, 166 NE2d 433. The argument that the items were not removed from the car until later on in the afternoon of the same day suggests that the search originally was unreasonable is not well founded. These articles were discovered at the time of the original search and the automobile from that time on was then in the custody and possession of the police officers until the articles were removed. See People v. Jeffries, 31 Ill2d 597, 203 NE2d 396. In any event the consent given by the defendant to the search obviates any constitutional questions of illegal search and seizure. There is nothing in this record to suggest that the testimony of the police officers as to the consent is unreasonable and nothing that militates against the truth of their testimony. The trial court correctly denied the motion to suppress the evidence.

The defendants further argue that the consent thus given by the defendant Pfoutz is invalid for the reason that he was not previously advised of his constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure and was not advised of his rights to consult with an attorney prior to giving the consent. This contention is without merit for several reasons. The constitutional protection given by both the Illinois and the Federal Constitutions against unreasonable search and seizure is wholly different than the constitutional protection against self-incrimination. The suggestion that Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 16 L Ed2d 694, and its philosophy is applicable to illegal searches and seizures is without merit for the reason just stated and for the further reason that the Miranda decision was announced on June 13, 1966, while this case was tried in 1964. In Johnson v. New Jersey, 384 US 719, the Supreme Court held that the rule of Miranda did not apply to trials concluded before the date of the Miranda decision. A final reason why this point is not now before us is that it was not raised nor passed on in the trial court.

The defendants further contend that the admission of a prior conviction of Pfoutz in Iowa into evidence was error for the reason that the crime for which he was there convicted is not an infamous crime under the laws of the State of Illinois. Burglary is an infamous crime in Illinois. Ill Rev Stats 1965, c 38, § 124-1. Defendants contend that the Iowa conviction, denominated “breaking and entering,” is not comparable with or analogous to our burglary statute. The Iowa information charged that Pfoutz did break and enter the building of the Ruben Motor Company contrary to section 708.8 of the 1946 Code of Iowa. Our statute, chapter 38, section 19-1, Ill Rev Stats 1965, states “(a) A person commits burglary when without authority he knowingly enters . . . a building . . .

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
228 N.E.2d 535, 85 Ill. App. 2d 157, 1967 Ill. App. LEXIS 1139, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-trent-illappct-1967.