People v. Boose

• Decision Date: 28 March 2018
• Docket Number: No. 2–17–0016,2–17–0016
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. John Carlos BOOSE, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

2018 IL App (2d) 170016

100 N.E.3d 167

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.John Carlos BOOSE, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 2–17–0016

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

Opinion filed March 28, 2018

Joseph P. Bruscato, State’s Attorney, of Rockford (Patrick Delfino, Lawrence M. Bauer, and Adam Trejo, of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.

Michael J. Pelletier, Thomas A. Lilien, and Andrew Smith, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Elgin, for appellee.

JUSTICE SCHOSTOK delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant, John C. Boose, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/9–1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2014) ) in connection with the death of his wife, Regina Boose. Defendant moved to quash a search warrant and to suppress evidence seized as a result of the execution of the warrant. Defendant pointed out that the items to be seized, as described in the warrant, would have pertained to the investigation of a drug offense. The officers who executed the warrant seized items related to the investigation of the death of the victim, but those items were not described in the warrant. The Winnebago County circuit court denied the motion to quash and suppress. However, defendant moved to reconsider and the trial court granted the motion. The State appeals. We affirm.

¶ 2 The warrant was obtained by Jeff Schroder, a detective with the Rockford Police Department. Schroder prepared a complaint for a search warrant and an accompanying affidavit. The complaint stated as follows:

"I, Detective Jeff Schroder being first duly sworn on oath, say that certain instruments, articles or things, which may constitute evidence of Violation of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act and/or Violation of the Cannabis Control Act are located within the described place situated in the County of Winnebago, State of Illinois, to wit:

That such instruments, articles or things, are more particularly described as follows: Cocaine, Cannabis, United States currency, narcotic paraphernalia, including but not limited to plastic baggies, zip lock bags, and/or paper folds, scales, grinders or mixing devices, spoons, pots, pans, kitchen utensils, kitchen appliances, any instruments or devices used to cook or process cocaine, straws, glass tubes, syringes, pipes and powders used to adulterate cocaine, pagers, safes, binoculars, intercom systems, two way radios, scanners, cellular telephones, video cameras, firearms and ammunition, broom handles, bludgeons, wooden handles, extension cords, ropes, belts, any binding agents [,] records (both written and recorded) and computer hardware and software describing names, quantities of currency and narcotics sold, purchased or possessed, and any documents listing the name of the person or persons who receive mail or who own or rent the premises, or any clothing or personal effects indicating who resides at the premises, or who was in possession of any of the above mentioned items, or who rents, owns, or otherwise controls the premises located at 2204 Van Wie Avenue, Rockford, Illinois .

That complainant has probable cause to believe that aforesaid facts are true for the following reasons: see attached affidavit, which is incorporated by reference herein." (Emphases added and in original.)

¶ 3 The affidavit indicated, inter alia , that at 10 a.m. on January 30, 2015, two Rockford police officers were dispatched to Rockford Memorial Hospital. The officers learned that the victim had been taken to the hospital and was deceased. One of the officers met with the victim's seven-year-old granddaughter, who lived with defendant and the victim at their home at 2204 Van Wie Avenue. She told the officer that, the previous night, she saw defendant beat the victim with a broom. The officers met with two deputy coroners, who took them to the trauma room where the victim's body was located. The deputy coroners showed the officers various injuries that the victim had sustained, including bruises, abrasions, and lacerations to her nose, forehead, and forearm. The victim's granddaughter was later interviewed by a detective. She told the detective that she saw defendant beat the victim numerous times in the head, face, legs, arms, stomach, and back with a broom.

¶ 4 The warrant, which was signed by Judge Steven L. Nordquist, stated, in pertinent part:

"Whereas, a written complaint under oath has been made before me this day stating facts sufficient to show probable cause for search of the following described place, to wit: The premises located at 2204 Van Wie Avenue, Rockford, Illinois * * *.

* * *

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to execute this search warrant * * * by searching the premises herein described and seizing the instruments, articles or things herein described, if found therein * * *." (Emphases in original.)

¶ 5 The warrant's description of the items to be seized was identical to the complaint's description of items that would be relevant to the investigation of a drug offense. However, the warrant did not include the following items listed in the complaint that were germane to the investigation of the victim's death: "broom handles, bludgeons, wooden handles, extension cords, ropes, belts, [and] any binding agents." In his motion to quash and suppress, defendant argued that the warrant was defective because the affidavit did not establish probable cause to seize the items listed in the warrant. No witnesses testified at the hearing on the motion. In denying the motion, the trial court stated that the warrant "contains incorporation language ‘whereas a written complaint under oath has been made before me this day stating facts sufficient to show probable cause for search of the following described premises.’ " The court reasoned that

"by incorporating and cross referencing the Complaint for Search Warrant and Affidavit a valid search warrant is set forth. So when read together with the Complaint for Search Warrant, which incorporates the Affidavit and includes the particularized homicide related items seized at 2204 Van Wie, the Search Warrant is valid."

Finding that Schroder had both "signed and submitted the Search Warrant" and participated in the search, the court reasoned that "there was no confusion, no possibility of error and no room for discretion in determining the property to be searched and seized."

¶ 6 Defendant moved to reconsider, arguing that there was no evidence that Schroder had executed the warrant. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on the motion to reconsider. Schroder was among the witnesses who testified at the hearing. Schroder testified that Sergeant Joe Stevens of the Rockford Police Department briefed several detectives about the incident at 2204 Van Wie Avenue. Stevens asked Schroder if he would obtain a search warrant for the premises at that address. Schroder prepared the complaint for a search warrant, the affidavit, and the warrant itself. After Judge Nordquist signed the warrant, Schroder advised Stevens that he had obtained the warrant. Schroder proceeded to the scene and left the warrant there. Schroder did not leave the complaint or the affidavit at the scene. There were several officers at the scene. Schroder did not notify them of the contents of the warrant and he did not search the premises. Stevens gave him another assignment and he left.

¶ 7 In granting the motion to reconsider, the trial court reasoned as follows:

"[T]he detectives who conducted the search did so with no particularized description of the items to be searched. In addition there is no evidence that the affidavit prepared by Detective [Schroder] was attached to the search warrant dropped off at defendant's residence. The Court finds that in the absence of Detective [Schroder] under these circumstances, the detectives on the scene transformed the search warrant into a general search warrant, which is a violation of the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights. * * *

When * * * issuing its initial ruling from this Court's prospective [sic ], Detective [Schroder] was the common thread between the supporting the [sic ] affidavit, complaint for search warrant, the search warrant, and the execution of the search warrant * * *. Without Detective [Schroder] present to execute the search warrant, there was room for confusion. There was room for discretion as to the property to be seized."

¶ 8 Upon review of a ruling on a motion to suppress, the trial court's findings of fact are entitled to great deference, and we will reverse those findings only if they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. People v. Jarvis , 2016 IL App (2d) 141231, ¶ 17, 405 Ill.Dec. 211, 58 N.E.3d 18. The trial court's legal conclusion whether to suppress the evidence is subject to de novo review. Id. "To be valid, a search warrant must state with particularity the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized." People v. Garcia , 2017 IL App (1st) 133398, ¶ 41, 412 Ill.Dec. 135, 74 N.E.3d 1058. This requirement is designed to "prevent the use of general warrants that would give police broad discretion to search and seize." People v. Burmeister , 313 Ill. App. 3d 152, 158, 245 Ill.Dec. 903, 728 N.E.2d 1260 (2000).

¶ 9 The State challenges the analysis the trial court employed in granting defendant's motion to reconsider. As noted, the trial court reasoned that "in the absence of Detective [Schroder] * * * the detectives on the scene transformed the search warrant into a general search warrant which is a violation of the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights." According to the State, "[t]he trial court's reasoning and analysis is incorrect because it focused on the execution of the warrant, rather than the warrant itself." The State cites People v. Turnage , 162 Ill. 2d 299, 205 Ill.Dec. 118, 642 N.E.2d 1235 (1994), in which the defendant sought to suppress evidence obtained as a result of his arrest pursuant to an invalid warrant. The Turnage co...