People v. Wallace, 1-96-2299

Decision Date21 September 1998
Docket NumberNo. 1-96-2299,1-96-2299
Citation701 N.E.2d 87,233 Ill.Dec. 444,299 Ill.App.3d 9
Parties, 233 Ill.Dec. 444 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Andre WALLACE, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 87

701 N.E.2d 87
299 Ill.App.3d 9, 233 Ill.Dec. 444
The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Andre WALLACE, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 1-96-2299.
Appellate Court of Illinois,
First District, First Division.
Sept. 21, 1998.

Page 89

[299 Ill.App.3d 11] [233 Ill.Dec. 446] Public Defender of Cook County, Chicago (Rita A. Fry, Michael Davidson, of counsel), for Defendant-Appellant.

State's Attorney of County of Cook, Chicago (Richard A. Devine, Renee Goldfarb, Janet Powers Doyle, Mari-Rose Vanecko, of counsel), for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Justice GALLAGHER delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant Andre Wallace was convicted of first degree murder for the shooting death of Herb Handy. The trial court sentenced defendant to serve a term of 26 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on the first degree murder conviction. Defendant next filed this appeal, asserting: (1) the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to quash his arrest and suppress statements; (2) the assistant State's Attorney who transcribed defendant's inculpatory statement improperly advised him of his Miranda rights; (3) the trial court erred in excluding defense evidence regarding the victim's allegedly violent and aggressive character; (4) the trial court erred in admitting prejudicial hearsay offered into evidence by the State; and (5) defendant's conviction for first degree murder should be reduced to second degree murder because defendant was sufficiently provoked by the victim.

The victim, Herb Handy, was shot and killed on January 17, 1994, at 825 North Lawndale Avenue in Chicago. Handy had been hired by a real estate company to housesit the residence at that address. The police recovered several 9 millimeter shell casings from the murder scene, and another housesitter, Robert Banks, claimed to have encountered the assailant face-to-face after the shooting. On January 19, 1994, Chicago police officers took defendant to the Area 4 police station for questioning regarding Handy's death. On January 20, 1994, defendant was arrested for the murder of Handy. At the time of the murder, defendant was 15 years old.

Conflicting testimony was offered at the hearing on defendant's motion to quash his arrest and suppress statements. Laron

Page 90

[233 Ill.Dec. 447] Jackson, testifying on behalf of defendant, stated that he and defendant were walking along the 800 block of North Lawndale Street in Chicago at approximately 8 p.m. on January 19, 1994. At that time, several police officers arrived and stopped Jackson and defendant. The police then searched the two young men, handcuffed them, placed them in a police car and drove them to the Area 4 police station at Harrison and [299 Ill.App.3d 12] Kedzie Streets. Jackson testified that neither he nor defendant was asked to accompany the police to the station. At the police station Jackson and defendant were placed in separate rooms and questioned. Ultimately, police placed both men in a lineup.

Coloia Wilkerson also testified for the defense. She stated that she, too, was picked up, handcuffed, placed in a police car and brought to the Area 4 station on January 19, 1994. She stated that she saw defendant in a holding room while at Area 4. Wilkerson further testified that, after being held for seven or eight hours at Area 4, she was released between 3 and 4 a.m. on January 20, 1994.

Defendant testified on his own behalf at the hearing. He corroborated Jackson's version of how and when the police took him to the Area 4 station on January 19. After waiting alone in an interview room for approximately 45 minutes, an officer entered the room and began questioning him about the shooting of Handy on January 17, 1994. Roughly 90 minutes after this initial questioning, Chicago police detective Kristen Kato entered the room and began to question defendant. Defendant stated that he asked Kato if he could go home, to which Kato responded that they would have "to wait and see." Subsequently, Kato left defendant alone--locked in the interview room. Kato later returned and proceeded to question defendant "a lot." Defendant testified that he was handcuffed throughout his stay at the police station and that the police denied him the opportunity to make a phone call. Defendant stated that Detective Kato informed him around 9:15 p.m. that defendant was being charged with Handy's murder.

On cross-examination, defendant testified that he informed police he was a juvenile once he discovered he was being charged with murder. He also testified that he was placed in a police lineup some four or five hours after arriving at the police station. On redirect, defendant stated that he was never advised of his rights during the evening of January 19 and early morning hours January 20. On recross, defendant acknowledged that he was presented with a form advising him of his rights, but only after he made his inculpatory statement the next day; moreover, defendant claimed that he never read the form and that no one ever read the form to him.

Chicago police detective Eugene Roy testified for the State. Roy said that, around 8 p.m. on January 19, 1994, he and several other police officers obtained the name of defendant and Jackson from unknown individuals engaged in narcotics sales. These unknown individuals indicated to the police that defendant was "working security" for the narcotics operations near the murder scene around the time of the victim's death. Shortly thereafter, Detective Roy, Detective [299 Ill.App.3d 13] Kato and three other police officers located defendant and Jackson and asked the two young men to accompany them to the police station. Defendant and Jackson agreed, and the two were searched, placed in separate cars and driven to Area 4. Once they arrived at Area 4, defendant and Jackson were placed in separate interview rooms. The room defendant was placed in was locked. Defendant was never handcuffed. When asked, defendant lied to the police regarding his age and claimed to be 17. Although Roy did not consider defendant under arrest, he and Detective Kato advised defendant of his Miranda rights. This was done as a precaution, in the event that defendant might make a statement inculpating himself in Handy's homicide.

Roy further testified that defendant told the detectives that, while "working security" on January 17, the night of the murder, he overheard an argument between his cousin and the victim. After his cousin disappeared down a gangway, defendant heard the sound of three or four gunshots. Acting on this information, the detectives left Area 4 around midnight in an attempt to locate defendant's

Page 91

[233 Ill.Dec. 448] cousin and other individuals mentioned by defendant in this initial statement. Coloia Wilkerson was one individual mentioned by defendant. Roy and Kato successfully located her and Cedric Smith and brought them to Area 4. When questioned, Ms. Wilkerson gave an account of...

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24 cases
  • Wallace v. Kato
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • February 21, 2007
    ... ... People v. Wallace, 299 Ill.App.3d 9, 17-18, 233 Ill.Dec. 444, 701 N.E.2d 87, 94 (1998). According to that court (whose determination we are not reviewing ... ...
  • People v. Johnson
    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • December 18, 2003
    ... ... 592, 564 N.E.2d 1254 (1990), People v. Halmon, 225 Ill.App.3d 259, 167 Ill.Dec. 567, 587 N.E.2d 1182 (1992), and People v. Wallace, 299 Ill.App.3d 9, 233 Ill.Dec. 444, 701 N.E.2d 87 (1998) ], a reasonable person, innocent of any crime, would not have felt free to leave in these ... ...
  • People v. Centeno
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • August 14, 2002
    ... ... People v. Wallace, 299 Ill. App.3d 9, 16, 233 Ill.Dec. 444, 701 N.E.2d 87, 93 (1998) ; People v. Eyler, 132 Ill. App.3d 792, 798, 87 Ill.Dec. 648, 477 N.E.2d 774, ... ...
  • People v. Lopez
    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • June 19, 2008
    ... ... See McKinney, 277 Ill.App.3d at 894, 214 Ill.Dec. 554, 661 N.E.2d 408; People v. Wallace, 299 Ill.App.3d 9, 17-18, 233 Ill.Dec. 444, 701 N.E.2d 87 (1998); Barlow, 273 Ill.App.3d at 950, 210 Ill.Dec. 924, 654 N.E.2d 223. We recognize ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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