People of The State of Ill. v. ADAMS
| Decision Date | 30 August 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 3-09-0004.,3-09-0004. |
| Citation | 934 N.E.2d 1073,343 Ill.Dec. 470,403 Ill.App.3d 995 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Romney ADAMS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.
Verlin R. Meinz, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for Romney Adams.
Terry A. Mertel, Deputy Director, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Ottawa, James Glasgow, State's Attorney, Joliet, Thomas D. Arado, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Ottawa, for People.
The defendant, Romney Adams, was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2006)) and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. On appeal, the defendant contends that the prosecutor made improper and prejudicial remarks during closing argument, which require that the matter be reversed and remanded for a new trial. The State maintains that the prosecutor's arguments were permissible. We reverse the defendant's conviction and remand for a new trial.
The defendant's jury trial was held on October 15, 2008. In opening statements, the prosecutor told the jury that he expected the jury to hear evidence from two witnesses, Sergeant Joe Boers and crime lab technician Cynthia Koulis.
Sergeant Boers testified that on March 3, 2006, at approximately 7:42 p.m., he and two other officers were in a semi-marked police vehicle in the parking lot of a liquor store in Joliet Township. Boers observed a tan Oldsmobile in the parking lot and ran the vehicle's license plate number. Boers received information that the defendant was the registered owner of the vehicle and that he had a suspended driver's license. Boers also received a physical description of the owner, which matched the appearance of the person then driving the vehicle.
The defendant backed the vehicle out of a parking spot and passed in front of the police vehicle. The defendant left the parking lot and pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store across the street. Boers followed the defendant's vehicle and activated the police car's emergency lights. After effectuating the stop of the defendant's vehicle, Boers exited the police car, approached the defendant's vehicle, and asked the defendant for his driver's license. The defendant produced his license and two traffic citations for previous driving offenses. Boers asked the defendant to exit his vehicle and then walked the defendant to the rear of that vehicle. Boers arrested the defendant for driving while his license was suspended and handcuffed the defendant.
Boers then searched the defendant. Boers found a small plastic sandwich bag containing a white powder in the defendant's left front pocket. Boers suspected that the substance was cocaine and conducted a field test of the substance. The substance tested positive for the probable presence of cocaine. Boers then placed the defendant into the police vehicle. Another officer searched the defendant's car, but did not find anything.
Boers testified that there was nothing on the ground in front of the defendant before Boers searched him. Boers did not find any narcotics on the ground and denied picking up any narcotics and placing them on the defendant's person. Further, Boers testified that the defendant's arrest took place in a high drug activity area. Boers estimated that he had made approximately 20 other arrests for drug crimes in that general area.
When searching a suspect, Boers usually starts at the top, and also briefly touches the outside of any pockets to make sure there is nothing in the pockets that would cut him. Boers testified that he does not search a suspect's pockets first. Boers testified that no other officer was involved in the search of the defendant, and no other officer conducted a field test of the substance. Boers testified that Officer Buck, who was on patrol with Boers, was a female officer, and she would not have assisted in the search of a male suspect.
Cynthia Koulis testified that she was a forensic scientist employed by the Illinois State Police and specialized in the analysis of controlled substances and cannabis. Koulis performed several different tests on the substance collected during the defendant's arrest. That substance weighed 0.8 grams and tested positive for cocaine.
The defendant testified that on March 3, 2006, at approximately 7:30 p.m. he went to a liquor store to buy a lottery ticket and then drove across the street to the grocery store to buy some ice and water. The defendant parked and exited his vehicle. As he got out of his vehicle, a police car pulled up behind him with its lights flashing. An officer told him to halt, and he did. Boers asked the defendant for his driver's license, and the defendant produced two traffic citations. Boers told the defendant he was under arrest and to put his hands behind his back. Boers took the defendant by the hand and walked him to the rear of the police vehicle. Boers did not handcuff the defendant at that time.
According to the defendant's testimony, Boers told him to empty his pockets and then told him that he was moving too slowly and to put his hands behind his back. Officer Buck then searched the defendant's right pants pocket and took out his keys and his pocketknife. Boers searched the defendant's left pants pocket and pulled out money and business cards. Boers then said, “What is this?” Boers moved his foot and looked down on the ground. The defendant looked and saw a piece of plastic with a white substance in it. The defendant said he did not know what it was, and Boers said, “[Y]ou're not going to say I dropped it.” The defendant, who had his hands behind his back, said, “[Y]ou know I didn't drop it.” The defendant further testified that he had never seen before the piece of plastic with the white substance. The defendant did not notice whether the plastic baggie was on the ground before he was searched or whether it was dropped to the ground by someone else.
Boers said, “[Y]ou had better hope that it doesn't come back positive.” Boers then handed the substance to the third officer who was present, Deputy Schumacher. That officer took the substance to another police vehicle that had arrived. Boers then told the defendant to sit in the back of his police car, and Boers asked the defendant if he knew any drug dealers or if he had any information regarding any murders or guns. Boers also told the defendant that he knew the defendant was a drug dealer and that the defendant had been previously charged with a crime involving heroin. The defendant testified that he had never had any dealings with heroin and that he did not know to what Boers was referring. Approximately 15 minutes later, Schumacher opened the door of the police vehicle and sat in the back next to the defendant. Schumacher told Boers, “[I]t came back blue.” Boers told the defendant that he was facing possession charges and transported the defendant to the Will County jail.
At the jail, another police officer told the defendant that Boers wanted him to sign a paper that stated the defendant had possessed over 30 grams of heroin. The defendant told the officer that he did not know anything about heroin and the officer told him he did not have to sign the paper.
In rebuttal, the State presented the testimony of Deputy Schumacher. Schumacher testified that on March 3, 3006, at approximately 7:45 p.m., he was on patrol with Boers and Buck. Schumacher testified that the officers were parked in a parking lot and ran the license plates of a vehicle. The vehicle was registered to the defendant, whose driver's license was suspended. Boers was driving the police vehicle, and he pulled over the defendant in a grocery store parking lot. Schumacher testified that Boers approached the vehicle while the defendant was still seated inside. Boers asked the defendant for his driver's license and confirmed that the license was suspended. Boers then asked the defendant to step out of his vehicle. Boers patted down the defendant and then searched the defendant's pocket. Schumacher observed Boers pull a white substance out of the defendant's pocket. Schumacher did not see Boers retrieve anything from the ground or drop anything on the ground. Schumacher testified that he never took possession of the white substance and did not test the substance. Schumacher also testified that he believed that the defendant was handcuffed after he was searched. Schumacher testified that he did not believe that Buck searched the defendant.
Following Schumacher's testimony, the Stated presented its closing argument. The prosecutor first summarized the testimony of Sergeant Boers. At the conclusion of this summary, the prosecutor stated that Boers's memory of the events surrounding the defendant's arrest was clear and that Boers “generated a report on this matter shortly after this stop.” In addition, the prosecutor stated, A little later in his argument, the prosecutor stated, In addition, the prosecutor argued:
“I have no idea what the defendant is going to say before this trial starts, and that is why I say again, I go back to when I prefaced my opening statements with I think this is what the evidence would show because I don't know what the defendant is going to say.
Based on what he said, I brought in an additional witness.”
Later in his argument, the prosecutor stated:
“The defense is based simply on the defendant's story that he told you on the stand and a typo on a booking sheet. That is their defense.
What did the...
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