People v. Bobe, 1-89-0878

• Decision Date: 27 March 1992
• Docket Number: No. 1-89-0878,1-89-0878
• Citation: 227 Ill.App.3d 681,592 N.E.2d 301,169 Ill.Dec. 814
• Parties: , 169 Ill.Dec. 814 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Manuel BOBE, Defendant-Appellant. First District, Sixth Division
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 301

592 N.E.2d 301 227 Ill.App.3d 681, 169 Ill.Dec. 814 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Manuel BOBE, Defendant-Appellant. No. 1-89-0878. Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Sixth Division. March 27, 1992.
Rehearing Denied April 22, 1992.

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[227 Ill.App.3d 684] [169 Ill.Dec. 815] Michael J. Pelletier, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago (Linda Eigner, of counsel), for defendant-appellant.

Jack O'Malley, State's Atty., of Cook County, Chicago (Renee Goldfarb, Howard D. Weisman, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

[227 Ill.App.3d 685]

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[169 Ill.Dec. 816] Presiding Justice EGAN delivered the opinion of the court:

A jury convicted the defendant, Manuel Bobe, of the murder of three persons under the accountability statute. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 5-2.) He was sentenced to three concurrent terms of natural life imprisonment. He first argues that the State's proof failed to identify him as a participant in the murders beyond a reasonable doubt; alternatively, he maintains that numerous errors denied him a fair trial. He does not argue that the evidence was insufficient to establish guilt on the basis of accountability.

On the night of November 7, 1986, a group of teenagers were gathered for a party in the basement at 6318 South Washtenaw in Chicago. Shortly after midnight, there was a knock at the basement door. When the door was opened, an intruder looked around the door, fired several shots into the party, and retreated. The shots struck four teenagers, killing three of them.

Holly McGuire testified that there were about 30 people at the party, drinking, talking and listening to music provided by a DJ. Around 12:30 a.m., there was a knock at the back door. Jessie Villagomez started to open the door, and the door was pushed open and then partially closed. She saw Jason Gray in the doorway with a gun in his hand. She had known him from school for two years and knew he was a member of the Two-Six gang. She also saw shadows of two or three other people in the doorway, but she could not see who they were. Gray fired and shot Michael Villasenor, who fell to the floor. She became frightened and lay on the floor. About six or seven shots were fired. When the shots ended, she got up and saw four bodies on the floor. Michael Villasenor, Joseph Torres and Mario Martinez were killed; Jose Mendez was wounded.

Jessie Alvarez testified that he was a member of a gang, the Two-Two Boys, enemies of the Two-Sixers. He saw four Mexican boys and a blond white boy in the doorway. He knew that three of the Mexican boys were No-Neck Rabbit, Inky and Stony; he did not know their real names. The fourth Mexican boy was the defendant, whom Alvarez knew from Kelly High School. He knew him by a nickname, "Little Hulk." Both the white boy and the defendant were holding guns. The white boy then fired his gun into the crowded party. After the gun was fired, Michael Villasenor fell backwards onto Alvarez, knocking him to the floor. He heard six shots. After the shooting stopped, Alvarez ran outside. He saw five people running down the alley; one was the defendant, who turned and shot at him. The five boys got into a green Cadillac Eldorado and left. A brown car, parked [227 Ill.App.3d 686] behind the green one, followed. The occupants of the brown car were giving Two-Six hand signals. Alvarez viewed a lineup the following day and identified the defendant as one of the persons he saw in the basement doorway holding a gun. He identified Jason Gray as the person who fired into the crowd.

Alvarez also described encounters he had had with the defendant and others earlier that evening. Alvarez first went to a party at 63rd and Rockwell with six of his friends, two of whom later became victims of the shooting. As they were leaving the party they met a friend who told them that there was another party nearby at 63rd and Washtenaw. After spending about an hour at the party on Washtenaw, Alvarez left with Sam Rahder to pick up some more friends in Cicero. On their way to Cicero, they stopped at a 7-11 store to buy cigarettes. When they pulled into the parking lot, they saw a blond white boy and a Mexican boy beating up two other boys. Rahder and Alvarez got out of their car, and the blond boy and the Mexican boy got into a green Eldorado. As the Eldorado pulled out of the lot, Alvarez saw that the defendant was driving.

As Alvarez and Rahder continued down Kedzie to get to the expressway, the same green Eldorado pulled alongside them. The occupants were throwing bottles at Rahder's car and displaying Two-Six hand signals. Alvarez and Rahder responded with Two-Two hand signals and then pulled onto the expressway.

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[169 Ill.Dec. 817] After picking up their friends in Cicero, Alvarez and Rahder headed back toward the party at 63rd and Washtenaw. When they got off the expressway at California Avenue, the Eldorado pulled up alongside them again. The same three boys were in the car, but the Mexican boy was now driving. The Eldorado pulled ahead of Alvarez and Rahder and then stopped. The white boy and the defendant got out of the car, displaying hand signals and saying, "Come on." Alvarez and two boys from Cicero jumped out of their car; the blond boy and the defendant jumped back in the Eldorado and drove to the next block where they blocked the intersection with their car. As Rahder's car approached, the Eldorado drove away. Rahder and Alvarez then proceeded back toward the party.

Alvarez was interviewed by Detective Leroy Almanza several hours after the shootings. Almanza testified that Alvarez said he had seen "four dudes" in the doorway at the party: Stony, Inky, Rabbit and Hawk. Alvarez said that he did not know their real names. Alvarez did not tell Almanza that he knew the defendant from Kelly High School or that he had seen a blond white boy in the doorway. Alvarez did not mention his earlier encounters with the defendant [227 Ill.App.3d 687] that evening. However, Alvarez did tell him that the shooters left in a green Eldorado and a brown car, which he thought might have been an Oldsmobile.

Rahder, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, corroborated Alvarez's testimony about the encounters with the green Eldorado before the shootings. He identified the white boy as Jason Gray and the defendant as the driver of the green Eldorado. After the trial, he recanted his testimony. He said that he had not seen the defendant or a green Eldorado at the 7-11 and that, during the encounter near the expressway, he had seen a third person but could not identify him. He said that he testified as he did at the trial because the assistant State's Attorney told him to and because the prosecution had convinced him that the defendant had "done it."

Sylvia Onoroto testified that her mother dropped her off at the party on Washtenaw around 7:15 or 7:30 p.m. She looked out the front window to see if her mother was still out there. While Sylvia was watching her mother, she noticed an old green Eldorado driving around very slowly. She could not see inside the car. The car circled the block four times, slowing each time it passed in front of the house. When she noticed that her mother was gone, Sylvia went down into the basement. People were drinking, talking and dancing to music provided by a DJ.

Around 8 or 8:30 p.m., two girls came into the party. Both girls were wearing identical jackets of beige and black, Two-Six colors. The girls walked around the party without talking to anyone and were escorted out. Shortly after the two girls left, Sylvia heard a knock at the door. She was standing next to the DJ, and she heard gunshots. The DJ threw her on the floor and told her not to get up. About five or ten minutes later, Sylvia got up and went upstairs.

The defendant was arrested by Officer John Bloore and taken to Area 3 Violent Crimes Headquarters at 39th and California Avenue. Bloore testified that he did not question the defendant about the shootings, but he gave the defendant Miranda warnings.

Officer Michael Kill was a member of the Area 3 Violent Crimes Unit. Around midnight of the day after the shooting, Kill, who was not assigned to this investigation, saw the defendant sitting in one of the interview rooms of the police station. The defendant asked Kill if he was in trouble, and Kill said he did not know. The defendant then asked if he could talk to Kill, who said, "Sure, go ahead." The defendant said that he was outside the party but did not do the shooting; Jason Gray did the shooting and did it with a nine millimeter gun. After the shooting, the defendant and Gray ran from the yard. As they [227 Ill.App.3d 688] were running, people were chasing them, and the defendant turned and fired a starter pistol at the people. He and Gray then fled. After that conversation with the defendant, Kill told Assistant State's Attorney Bilyk what the defendant had said.

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[169 Ill.Dec. 818] Bilyk questioned the defendant and wrote down what the defendant told him. The defendant then read what Bilyk had written down and signed what was identified as People's Exhibit No. 38. (The statement was introduced but has not been made part of the record on appeal.) Bilyk read the contents of the statement to the jury.

The defendant told Bilyk that at 8:30 p.m. on November 7 he was at 28th and Hamlin with Chavo, Crook and Juan Miguel. The defendant was a member of the Two-Sixer Boys and Crook and Juan Miguel were members of the City Boys street gang. A boy named Chavo drove up in a red Cadillac and said that some members of the Ambrose street gang came over to K-town and shot at them. The defendant saw a bullet mark in the trunk. Three other cars drove up; one of them was a brown Pontiac Bonneville. In the three cars were members of different branches of the Two-Sixers gang. They all discussed going to look for the members of the Ambrose gang who had shot at Chavo. He got in...