People v. Wilcoxson

2024 IL App (4th) 231373-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 13, 2024
Docket4-23-1373
StatusUnpublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2024 IL App (4th) 231373-U (People v. Wilcoxson) 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. Wilcoxson, 2024 IL App (4th) 231373-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

2024 IL App (4th) 231373-U

NOS. 4-23-1373, 4-23-1374, 4-23-1375 cons. NOTICE This Order was filed under IN THE APPELLATE COURT FILED Supreme Court Rule 23 and is February 13, 2024 not precedent except in the OF ILLINOIS Carla Bender limited circumstances allowed 4th District Appellate under Rule 23(e)(1). Court, IL FOURTH DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Tazewell County BLAKE T. WILCOXSON, ) Nos. 23CF155 Defendant-Appellant. ) 23CF490 ) 23CF574 ) ) Honorable ) Christopher R. Doscotch, ) Judge Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE HARRIS delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Steigmann and DeArmond concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: (1) The trial court’s pretrial detention order is vacated in part where the court lacked the authority to order defendant detained in a case that involved a pending petition to revoke his probation and his alleged violations of his probation were not criminal offenses.

(2) The trial court’s detention order is reversed in part and the matter remanded where the court erred by ordering defendant detained in the absence of a verified petition filed by the State to deny his pretrial release.

¶2 Defendant, Blake T. Wilcoxson, appeals the trial court’s decision in three

underlying criminal cases to deny him pretrial release under article 110 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/art. 110 (West 2022)), hereinafter as amended by Public

Act 101-652 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023), commonly known as the Pretrial Fairness Act (Act). Defendant’s

appeals have been consolidated on review. For the reasons that follow, we vacate in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 On March 6, 2023, the State charged defendant—in Tazewell County case No. 23-

CF-155—with two counts of retail theft (720 ILCS 5/16-25(a)(1) (West 2022)), both of which

were Class 4 felony offenses. Defendant was arrested and the trial court set his bond at $3000,

with 10% to apply. On March 7, 2023, defendant posted bond and was released from custody. On

March 23, 2023, he failed to appear for his arraignment in the case. The court issued a warrant for

defendant’s arrest and ordered his bond forfeited.

¶5 On April 25, 2023, the warrant was executed, and defendant was arrested and held

without bond. On May 8, 2023, he pleaded guilty to his retail theft charges and was sentenced to

24 months of high-risk probation. Defendant was also ordered to serve a total of 105 days in jail,

with credit for 15 days served. The remaining 90 days in jail were “stayed pending a remission

hearing” set for November 9, 2023, to determine whether defendant was in full compliance with

the conditions of his probation.

¶6 On July 3, 2023, the State filed a petition to revoke defendant’s probation. It alleged

he violated his probation by failing to (1) report as directed to the adult probation department on

May 8, 2023, and June 7, 2023; (2) keep his probation officer informed of his current address; and

(3) respond truthfully when a probation officer asked his name on June 6, 2023.

¶7 Also on July 3, 2023, the State charged defendant in a separate case—Tazewell

County case No. 23-CF-490—with unlawful possession of less than five grams of a substance

containing methamphetamine (720 ILCS 646/60(a) (West 2022)), a Class 3 felony. Defendant was

arrested and bond was set in both of his cases at $7500, with 10% to apply. On July 28, 2023,

defendant posted bond and was released from custody.

-2- ¶8 On August 7, 2023, the State filed a third criminal case against defendant—

Tazewell County case No. 23-CF-574. It charged him with (1) unlawful possession of a stolen or

converted vehicle (625 ILCS 5/4-103(a)(1) (West 2022)), a Class 2 felony; (2) burglary (720 ILCS

5/19-1(a) (West 2022)), a Class 3 felony; and (3) unlawful possession of less than five grams of a

substance containing methamphetamine (720 ILCS 646/60(a) (West 2022)), a Class 3 felony.

¶9 On August 10, 2023, defendant failed to appear in court for a review in case No.

23-CF-155 and for a pretrial scheduling conference in case No. 23-CF-490. Again, a warrant was

issued for his arrest and his bond was forfeited. On August 24, 2023, defendant was arrested. He

appeared in court on all three cases the following day and was ordered to be held in custody without

bond.

¶ 10 On September 18, 2023, the Act’s provisions became effective. See Rowe v. Raoul,

2023 IL 129248, ¶ 52, 223 N.E.3d 1010. On September 19, 2023, defendant filed a motion for

reconsideration of his pretrial release conditions in case No. 23-CF-155, citing section 110-7.5 of

the Code, as amended by the Act (725 ILCS 5/110-7.5 (West 2022)). Defendant asked the trial

court to set the matter for a hearing and “reconsider the conditions of pretrial release.”

¶ 11 On November 9, 2023, defendant filed a motion to reinstate bond and release him

from custody in all three of his cases. Citing section 110-7.5(b) of the Code (id. § 110-7.5(b)), he,

again, asked the trial court to “reconsider the conditions of pretrial release.” No responsive

pleading was filed by the State to either of defendant’s motions.

¶ 12 On November 14, 2023, the trial court conducted a hearing relative to all three

cases. Defendant’s counsel asked the court to consider defendant’s November 9, 2023, motion and

proceeded first, “[by] way of proffer.” Counsel represented to the court that defendant failed to

appear in court on August 10, 2023, “because he had just confused his court date.” Counsel also

-3- asserted that defendant’s mother, who was present in court, was prepared to sign an affidavit

“accepting responsibility to provide supervision for [defendant] and to report violations.”

According to counsel, defendant’s mother resided “in the Pekin area,” and she would allow

defendant to reside in her home while his cases were pending. Counsel asked the court to either

reinstate defendant’s originally posted bond or, alternatively, release him from custody.

¶ 13 In response, the State noted defendant had a pending petition to revoke in case No.

23-CF-155, was placed on high-risk probation in that case, and “completely failed to do anything”

relative to his probation, including to “report” after his release from custody. The State represented

that defendant gave a false name to a probation officer who recognized him before he “basically

ran away.” It maintained that defendant had a substantial criminal history, as well as ties to

Arkansas and Missouri. In addition to defendant’s Tazewell County cases, he was arrested in

Peoria County while on bond and high-risk probation. The State further asserted that defendant

had prior failures to appear in two 2023 Peoria County misdemeanor cases, and that he faced 90

days’ jail time in case No. 23-CF-155, which had been stayed pending a remission hearing that

had not yet been conducted. It argued defendant presented a flight risk and asked the trial court to

deny him release from custody.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2024 IL App (4th) 231373-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-wilcoxson-illappct-2024.