People v. Booker

• Decision Date: 25 January 1991
• Docket Number: No. 1-89-0519,1-89-0519
• Citation: 209 Ill.App.3d 384,154 Ill.Dec. 211,568 N.E.2d 211
• Parties: , 154 Ill.Dec. 211 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles BOOKER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 211

568 N.E.2d 211

209 Ill.App.3d 384, 154 Ill.Dec. 211

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles BOOKER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-89-0519.

Appellate Court of Illinois,

First District, Fifth Division.

Jan. 25, 1991.

Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, Leslie Wallin, Asst. Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

John M. O'Malley, State's Atty., Cook County, Chicago (Renee Goldfarb, Jane E. Loeb, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice MURRAY delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Charles Booker (Booker) was tried before a jury for the August 7, 1987, murder of his girl friend, Lucy Williams. He was found guilty and subsequently sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He now brings this appeal, raising these issues: (1) whether the trial court erred when it denied his motion to quash his arrest and suppress the inculpatory statements he made to police, (2) whether the trial court improperly admitted evidence at trial which it had previously ordered suppressed, and (3) whether he was denied a fair trial because of the improper admission of an inflammatory photograph depicting the victim. For reasons we shall discuss, we reverse Booker's conviction, but remand for further proceedings.

Booker filed two pretrial motions, one to quash arrest and another to suppress statements. Evidence was taken at two hearings and the trial court considered all of the evidence received when it ruled on the two motions. At the hearings on these motions, Booker contended that he was illegally detained or "arrested" prior to the time of his formal arrest. Alternatively, he argued that there was no probable cause to arrest even at the time of his formal arrest. Additionally, he argued that the inculpatory statements he made to the police subsequent to his illegal arrest were tainted and must be suppressed.

The State responded by arguing that Booker had not been illegally detained prior to his formal arrest and that there had been probable cause for his arrest at that time. As the hearings progressed, however, the State indicated that it would attempt to show that Booker's inculpatory statements need not be suppressed even if the court should find that the arrest had been made without probable cause. However, the trial court interjected a finding of probable cause for Booker's arrest and the State abandoned its alternative argument.

The testimony given and evidence presented at the pretrial hearings is as follows:

At about 8:30 a.m. on August 7, 1987, while working at the Red Star Laundromat, Booker received a telephone call from a woman who asked him if he knew the whereabouts of Lucy Williams, since she was not at her place of employment. Booker then telephoned Lucy's home and spoke to Lucy's son, Curtis, who informed him that Lucy had been raped and murdered. Booker left the laundromat, drove the one block to 7108 S. Cottage Grove, where Lucy lived, and proceeded to the back of the apartment building. There he was stopped by police investigating the crime scene. Booker then went upstairs to Lucy's third-floor apartment, where he introduced himself as Lucy's boyfriend to a female police officer. This officer asked him a few preliminary questions, including where he worked and how long he knew the victim.

Booker claimed that shortly after arriving he attempted to leave the apartment in order to purchase cigarettes, but that he was prevented from doing so by the female police officer. He then made some coffee and conversed with Lucy's friends and relatives who had gathered at the apartment. Shortly thereafter, at about 10 a.m., Detectives Owens and Lewis arrived at the apartment. Booker informed these detectives that he was Lucy's boyfriend and that he was willing to help the investigation in any way that he could. Thus, when asked to accompany them to the police station, Booker readily agreed.

As they left Lucy's apartment, Booker and Detective Owens walked to a nearby store, where they purchased some cigarettes. Booker then rode with the detectives in their vehicle to Area One Headquarters at 51st and Wentworth, arriving at about 11:30 that morning. Booker sat in the large processing room, where he drank coffee while the two detectives went about their business.

Booker testified that, at some point after his arrival at Area One, he asked the detectives why he was being held. He was informed that he was not being held but that the detectives in charge of the investigation were not back from the crime scene yet and that they wished to speak to him. Booker accepted this explanation and did not refuse to remain at the station. He expressed no desire to leave and did not ask if he could come back at some later time. Booker was not kept in a closed or locked room, he was not handcuffed or restrained in any way and he was not restricted from using the telephone, which he used to call his brother.

While waiting at Area One, Booker was asked if he would allow one of the detectives to inspect his hands, fingernails, shoes, feet and ankles, but he was not questioned about the killing. Booker permitted the inspection, which apparently revealed nothing noteworthy. Despite this fact, when Detectives Kelly and Ward, who were in charge of the investigation, arrived at Area One sometime after 1 p.m., they apparently had some suspicions concerning Booker's involvement in the murder. Detective Kelly explained that a friend of Lucy's, who was at the scene, had told him that Booker was a heavy drinker who often could not account for his actions and that he was "the jealous type." For this reason, at about 2 p.m., when Detectives Kelly and Ward questioned Booker for the first time concerning his relationship with Lucy and his whereabouts on the previous night, they advised him of his Miranda rights before questioning him.

The questioning took place in a conference room on the second floor of Area One station. Booker was not handcuffed or told that he was under arrest. He acknowledged his rights and agreed to speak with them. He told the detectives that on the previous night he had gone to the home of Matilda Clark, another girl friend, at about midnight and had remained there until 7:40 that morning, at which time he left for work.

Following this conversation, Booker agreed to be fingerprinted and to submit to a polygraph test. At about 3 p.m. he went with the detectives to a station at 11th and State, where his fingerprints were taken and a polygraph test was administered. The polygraph test lasted from about 3:20 to 4:20 p.m., after which the detectives and Booker were informed that he had failed the test and that the examiner believed that he had given false answers to questions he had been asked. At this point Booker admitted to the examiner that he had lied, but indicated only that he had driven past Lucy's house a couple times on the previous evening and that he had chosen not to inform the detectives of this fact because he did not want to become involved in the investigation. The examiner relayed this information to the detectives and, at about 5 p.m. as the detectives left the station at 11th and State, they informed Booker that he was under arrest.

Booker was returned to Area One Headquarters and then Detectives Ward and Kelly continued their investigation of the murder by checking Booker's alibi. They went to the home of Matilda Clark and learned from her that Booker had not been at her apartment the entire time between midnight and 7:30 a.m., as he had indicated earlier. After the detectives left Clark's residence, at about 8:30 p.m., they received a message on the police radio notifying them that Booker had made an inculpatory statement. They then returned to Area One to resume questioning Booker.

We note that at this point in the hearing, the trial court indicated that there appeared to have been absolutely no probable cause to arrest Booker for murder. The State then asked to be allowed to present evidence for an alternative method of finding the statements admissible. The trial court declined, interjecting that it would deny the motion to quash, "but not for the reason anybody assumes." The trial court then held that there had been "ample probable cause" to arrest Booker for providing false information to the police and that the motion to quash would be denied on that basis. The trial court did agree, however, to hear additional evidence with respect to the motions.

Subsequently, Detective Glynn testified that he became involved in the murder investigation at about 6:30 p.m. on August 7, 1987, and that he began questioning Booker at about 8 p.m. that same evening. He advised Booker of his rights and, after Booker acknowledged his rights and agreed to speak with him, he questioned Booker about his whereabouts on the previous night. During this questioning, Booker initially admitted, contrary to his previous statements, that he had seen Lucy on the previous night and that she had given him $260. Shortly thereafter, Booker stated that he wanted to "tell the truth about the entire incident." He then confessed that he met with Lucy sometime after 2 a.m. on August 7, 1987, that they had argued and that he beat her to death with a pipe. After receiving this information Detective Glynn terminated the questioning and notified Detectives Kelly and Ward of the admissions Booker had made.

Detective Ward testified that, after becoming aware of the admissions Booker had made, he and Detective Kelly resumed their questioning of Booker at approximately 11 p.m. on August 7, 1987. At that time they re-advised Booker of his Miranda rights and he again acknowledged these rights and agreed to speak with them. The conversation lasted for approximately 45 minutes, after which the detectives contacted Assistant State's Attorney Inge Fryklund and relayed the information th...