People v. Williams

470 N.E.2d 1140, 128 Ill. App. 3d 384, 83 Ill. Dec. 720, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2439
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided October 22, 1984·No. 4-83-0770·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE MILLER

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Johnny Williams, was convicted of murder and attempted rape following a jury trial. He was sentenced to natural life imprisonment for murder and a concurrent term of 30 years’ imprisonment for attempted rape. Defendant appeals, raising 13 issues: (1) whether his arrest was illegal because there was neither consent nor exigent circumstances justifying a warrantless entry; (2) whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress statements which were allegedly involuntary because he had difficulty understanding the words “murder” and “waive”; (3) whether the trial court erred in prohibiting a defense expert from giving his opinion whether defendant was intelligent enough to understand the rights waiver form; (4) whether his constitutional right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury was violated when the trial court excused for cause all prospective jurors who expressed reservations about capital punishment; (5) whether the examination of prospective jurors in accordance with the standards promulgated in Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968), 391 U.S. 510, 20 L. Ed. 2d 776, 88 S. Ct. 1770, resulted in the selection of a jury biased in favor of the prosecution; (6) whether defendant was denied his right to a fair and impartial jury because of the prosecution’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude certain blacks from the jury on the basis of race; (7) whether the State proved defendant guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt; (8) whether the State proved defendant guilty of attempted rape beyond a reasonable doubt; (9) whether Dr. Sheldon Rudnick was a qualified expert in bite-mark comparisons; (10) whether permitting the jury to view photographs of the murder victim was prejudicial error; (11) whether it was reversible error to refuse the defense request that the jury be given both paragraphs of the circumstantial evidence instruction; (12) whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing defendant to natural life imprisonment for murder; and (13) whether the trial court erred in sentencing defendant to an extended term of imprisonment for attempted rape because it was not the most serious offense of which defendant was convicted. We affirm the convictions.

Defendant was charged with five counts of murder and one count of attempted rape stemming from the April 1, 1983, beating death of an 80-year-old woman at the Holland Apartments in Danville, Illinois. At about 9:15 p.m. on April 1, 1983, Pauline Hayne saw defendant inside the Holland Apartments. The victim was sitting in a chair by the elevator door, a short distance from the defendant. Defendant was wearing a blue or red jacket. At about 10 p.m., Hayne saw defendant run out of the building toward the parking lot of the Quality Inn. Defendant was not then wearing his jacket.

A short time later Officer Calvin Showers encountered defendant 2V2 blocks away from the Holland Apartments. Defendant asked Showers for a ride home. Showers saw a large quantity of blood on the defendant’s hands, arms, and clothing. The blood “pretty much covered” the defendant’s hands and arms. The defendant was not wearing a jacket although it was cool and raining slightly. When asked about the blood, defendant said he had been in a fight but did not want to press charges. When questioned later, he was unable to state with whom he had the fight or where it had occurred. During the ride home, the defendant asked Showers, “Are you taking me to jail?” The defendant also said, “I got blood all over me, Cal Showers. I got blood all over me.”

At about 11:35 p.m., the victim was found in the basement of the Holland Apartments. The body was nude from the waist down with the exception of her pantyhose, which had been torn and pulled down to her ankles. A man’s blue and orange coat and a blue comb were found near the body.

When defendant was later picked up at his home, he was still wearing the bloody clothes. The police officers who were with the defendant on April 2 and 3 noted that he had a small cut on his right hand, that his right hand was swollen, and that there were traces of blood under his fingernails and in the cracks of his skin. At the station, defendant’s clothing was taken from him and he was given a pair of coveralls to wear. The forensic expert testified that the bloodstains on defendant’s clothing were the same type as the victim’s.

The defendant was interviewed by the police on April 2 and again on April 3. In these conversations, defendant repeatedly denied being given a ride home by Officer Showers. He also denied being near the Holland Apartments and claimed he had been in a fight with an unknown man at an unspecified location some 16 blocks from the crime scene. When confronted with the coat and comb found near the victim’s body on April 2, the defendant initially said that he had been wearing a different coat. He then admitted that the coat and comb were his. The defendant stated, however, that they had not been found near where anyone was killed.

After being confronted with Hayne’s statement that she saw him inside the building, the defendant admitted that he had seen her when he went into the apartment to visit some friends. Defendant admitted that his statement about the fight was not true and stated that he got the blood all over him when he tried to help a woman he had heard screaming in the basement. The defendant stated that he dropped her and fled when some lady yelled, “Leave that lady alone.” When asked about a bloodstain in the elevator, the defendant stated that he had dragged the woman into the elevator and had taken her to the first floor, where he left her when confronted by the unknown woman.

Defendant first contends that his arrest was illegal because there was no consent or exigent circumstances justifying a warrant-less entry. The evidence indicated that two police officers dressed in street clothes went to defendant’s apartment at about 1 a.m. on April 2. Defendant’s mother answered the door. The officers identified themselves to her, showed her their badges, and told her that they wanted to speak with the defendant. She recognized Officer Showers and invited both officers in. She pointed to the defendant, who was asleep on the couch. After defendant was awakened, the officers told him that they would like him to come with them to the station to talk with an investigator. Defendant agreed and the officers drove him to the station.

The defendant filed a pretrial motion to quash arrest and to suppress evidence seized and statements made pursuant to the arrest. The motion alleged that the arrest was illegal because it was made without a warrant and no exigent circumstances existed to excuse a warrant. The trial court, in its written order denying the motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence, stated:

“[T]he officers’ entry was consensual. Officer Showers had shortly before let the defendant off at his direction at this building and address. When he knocked he was invited in by the defendant’s mother without complaint by the defendant’s brother. Evidence indicates that the defendant’s mother may, in fact, reside in the next apartment. Legal residency is not the issue. The defendant’s mother was clearly an occupant of the premises at the time she invited the officers in, and her invitation was a valid consent to enter.

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People v. Williams, 470 N.E.2d 1140, 128 Ill. App. 3d 384, 83 Ill. Dec. 720, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2439 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

470 N.E.2d 1140 (People v. Williams) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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