People v. Warren

2014 IL App (4th) 120721
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided September 5, 2014·No. 4-12-0721·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

Illinois Official Reports

Appellate Court

People v. Warren, 2014 IL App (4th) 120721

Appellate Court THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Caption JOSEPH W. WARREN, Defendant-Appellant.

District & No. Fourth District Docket No. 4-12-0721

Filed June 6, 2014 Modified upon denial of rehearing August 29, 2014

Held Defendant’s conviction for unlawful possession of a controlled (Note: This syllabus substance with intent to deliver was upheld over his contention that the constitutes no part of the State’s case was based on the incredible testimony of the woman who opinion of the court but was with him at the time of his arrest, but the cause was affirmed in has been prepared by the part and vacated in part and remanded with directions for the trial Reporter of Decisions court to reimpose certain mandatory fines that were improperly for the convenience of imposed by the circuit clerk rather than the trial court and to review the the reader.)

information provided by the appellate court in Williams in connection with the imposition of statutorily mandated fines in criminal cases.

Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Champaign County; No. 11-CF-443; Review the Hon. Heidi N. Ladd, Judge, presiding.

Judgment Affirmed in part and vacated in part; cause remanded with directions.

Counsel on Michael J. Pelletier, Jacqueline L. Bullard, and Martin J. Ryan, all of Appeal State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Springfield, for appellant.

Julia Rietz, State’s Attorney, of Urbana (Patrick Delfino, David J. Robinson, and Denise M. Ambrose, all of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.

Panel JUSTICE KNECHT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Appleton and Justice Pope concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Following a May 2012 trial, the jury found defendant guilty of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, a Class 1 felony (720 ILCS 570/401(c)(2) (West 2010)) (count I), and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony (720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a), (e) (West 2010)) (count II). In July 2012, the trial court sentenced defendant to a 30-year term on count I and a concurrent 10-year term on count II. Defendant appeals, arguing (1) the State failed to produce sufficient evidence to sustain his conviction on count I; (2) he is entitled to a vacation of certain assessments imposed pursuant to his conviction; and (3) he is entitled to additional sentencing credit for time served. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand with directions.

¶2 I. BACKGROUND

¶3 On March 21, 2011, the State charged defendant with unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. The charges arose from a traffic stop and later search of a hotel room rented by defendant.

¶4 A. The Traffic Stop

¶5 On March 18, 2011, Officer Jeremiah Christian of the Champaign police department, who was assigned to the Community Action Team, observed defendant driving a green Oldsmobile Bravada. Upon recognizing defendant as the driver, Officer Christian “conducted surveillance to see where [defendant] was going.” Officer Christian followed defendant to the Red Roof Inn on Anthony Drive. Officer Christian observed defendant exit his vehicle and enter a guest room at the hotel. Officer Christian then left the area to meet with other members of the Community Action Team.

¶6 The team formulated a plan to return to the area around the hotel to continue surveillance on defendant’s activities. If defendant was observed leaving the hotel, an officer would follow

and wait for defendant to commit a violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/1-100 to 20-402 (West 2010)). The officers would then stop the vehicle and further their investigation.

¶7 Officer Christian returned to the hotel to continue his surveillance. At some point during his surveillance, Officer Christian observed defendant return to the Oldsmobile Bravada. He was accompanied by a white female, later identified as Kimberly Rosas. Defendant drove the vehicle away from the hotel and headed toward Neil Street. Officer Christian went to hotel management to see whether defendant had rented a room at the hotel. Officer Christian learned defendant had been renting a room at the hotel since March 8, 2011. The rental agreement listed only defendant’s name. Officer Christian then went to the room and stood watch to ensure nobody entered or left the room. Shortly thereafter, Officer Phillip McDonald observed defendant commit a traffic violation while turning right onto Neil Street, and initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Neil Street and Interstate 74. Several other Champaign police officers, including Katherine Thompson, Marshall Henry, and Robert Sumption, arrived on the scene to provide backup.

¶8 Officer McDonald approached the vehicle and asked defendant to shut off the car. He detected an odor of cannabis emanating from the vehicle. Officer Henry also detected the odor of cannabis. Because the officers detected the odor of cannabis, Officer McDonald asked defendant to step out of the vehicle so it could be searched. Defendant responded by attempting to lock the driver’s door and reaching for the key still in the ignition. Officer McDonald then reached inside the car and grabbed defendant’s arm. Officer Henry assisted Officer McDonald in removing defendant from the vehicle. After the officers removed defendant from the vehicle, a lengthy struggle ensued and defendant resisted the officers’ attempts to place him under arrest.

¶9 During this struggle, Officer Sumption asked Rosas whether anything illegal was located inside the car. At first she indicated there was not, but she later informed the officer a gun was in her purse. This prompted Officer Sumption to draw his weapon and point it at Rosas. Officer Sumption relayed this information to the other officers at the scene. Officer Sumption then removed Rosas from the vehicle and placed her under arrest. She was escorted to the backseat of Officer Thompson’s squad car. Officer Sumption removed the gun from Rosas’s purse and determined the gun was loaded with a magazine containing six rounds of .25-caliber ammunition. He also determined no rounds were in the weapon’s chamber. While sitting in the backseat, Rosas told Officer Sumption defendant carried the purse containing the handgun to the vehicle.

¶ 10 B. Rosas’s Postarrest Interview

¶ 11 As Officer Thompson escorted Rosas to her police car, she asked Rosas whether she had anything “crotched,” meaning concealed within her undergarments or inside her vaginal or anal cavity. Rosas stated she did not. While seated in the back of the police car, Rosas told Officer Sumption that defendant carried the gun in her purse to the car. Rosas told Officer Sumption approximately half an ounce of crack cocaine was located in the hotel room. Rosas was then transported to the Red Roof Inn to confirm the location of the room in which she and defendant had been staying.

¶ 12 Officer Thompson transported Rosas to the Champaign police department to speak with Officer McDonald. After being informed of and waiving her Miranda rights (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)), Rosas stated she had a current addiction to crack cocaine.

Officer McDonald inquired about the gun recovered during the traffic stop. Rosas stated defendant had the gun in his waistband until Officer McDonald initiated the traffic stop, when defendant placed the handgun in Rosas’s purse.

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People v. Warren, 2014 IL App (4th) 120721 (Ill. Ct. App. 2014).

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