People v. Cameron Fort
| Decision Date | 23 December 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-11-3315,1-11-3315 |
| Parties | PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CAMERON FORT, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Honorable Vincent M. Gaughan, Judge Presiding
Held: Minor defendant's sentence for his second degree murder conviction was not void where he was tried in criminal court on charges of first degree murder, the second degree murder conviction arose from the same incident, and no hearing was held to determine if he should be sentenced as an adult under the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/5-130(c)(ii) (West 2010)) (Act). Illinois case law is clear that the automatic transfer statute of the Act (705 ILCS 405/5-130 (West 2010)) does not violate the eighth amendment or substantive or procedural due process. Defendant's sentence of 18 years' imprisonment for second degree murder did not constitute abuse of discretion where trial court acknowledged the harm to the victim, spoke to the victim's father at sentencing and considered defendant's age, numerous letters submitted by friends and family, and noted other mitigating factors before imposing the sentence.
¶ 1 Defendant Cameron Fort was charged with first degree murder in the March 16, 2009, shooting death of Lee Ivory Miller. Defendant, who was 16 years-old at the time of the commission of the crime, was tried in a bench trial as an adult under the Criminal Code of 1961 and convicted of second degree murder based upon an unreasonable belief that he was acting in self defense. Following argument in aggravation and mitigation, the trial judge sentenced defendant to 18 years' imprisonment with 2 years' mandatory supervisory release. Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence.
¶ 2 Defendant argues that his conviction and sentence must be vacated and the matter remanded for entry of an adjudication of delinquency under the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/5-100, et seq. (West 2010)) (Act), because he was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced without a request by the State for a sentencing hearing under the Criminal Code in violation of section 5-130(1)(c)(ii) of the Act (705 ILCS 5-130(1)(c)(ii) (West 2010)). Defendant contends that the trial court considered improper factors and the 18-year sentence imposed was excessive given his age, minimal criminal history, and potential for rehabilitation. Defendant also argues that the automatic transfer provision of the Act (705 ILCS 405/5-130 (West 2010)) (Act) is unconstitutional. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
¶ 4 Defendant was charged with multiple counts of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder. Defendant was 16 years-old at the time of the offense, but was tried in criminal court on one count of intentional murder, one count of knowing murder, and two counts of felony murder. The remaining counts were nolle prossed and the parties proceeded to a benchtrial where the State presented the testimony of three witnesses as well as a video of the interrogation of defendant by an assistant State's Attorney and detective.
¶ 5 Keva Donaldson testified that on March 16, 2009, she attended Hyde Park Academy and after school met a group of friends at the intersection of East 64th Street and South Stony Island Avenue. While Donaldson was speaking with another girl, 'Bolo,' a boy she knew from school, tapped her on her back. Donaldson testified that she ignored Bolo but, after he continued to tap her, she told him to stop. When she told him to stop, Bolo got irritated, the two "got into it" and Bolo hit Donaldson in the face leaving a mark on Donaldson's face from Bolo's ring. Bolo and his friends ran away after he hit Donaldson.
¶ 6 Donaldson testified that she recognized the boys in the group because they fought with her friends almost every day and that defendant was in the group. Donaldson borrowed a cell phone to call a friend to come and confront or talk to Bolo. Airreon Sykes, Elijah Sullivan, Gerome Freeman, Lamont Nichols, and the victim arrived shortly thereafter. Donaldson testified that she remained with her friends at the corner for a long time, eventually leaving to purchase some chips from a convenience store.. When she exited the store, Sykes and another boy ran up to Donaldson and told her that defendant had shot the victim a block away. Donaldson testified that she did not hear any shots fired.
¶ 7 Freeman testified that on March 16, 2009, he arrived at 1516 East 65th Place and saw Donaldson along with Sykes, Sullivan, Nichols, the victim and two others he identified as "Roberts Lee" and "Makita." Freeman and the group began walking down East 65th Place toward a viaduct and then crossed the street to talk to a group of females. Freeman testified that he then crossed back over East 65th Place to rejoin his friends who were congregated in a vacantlot. Freeman stated that Nichols was about three to four houses down the street from the vacant lot.
¶ 8 Freeman testified that, as he got closer to his friends, he noticed that they had strange looks on their faces that he described as shock and surprise. Freeman looked to the east and saw defendant pointing a gun at the group from about ten steps away. Freeman testified that defendant hesitated for about a second and then fired gunshots at Freeman and his friends.
¶ 9 Freeman testified that two or three shots were fired and that he turned to run before the first shot was fired so he did not actually see the shooting. He did, however, recount that he saw the victim, who may have been holding a stick in his hand, fall after the first shot. Freeman did not see the victim make any move toward defendant prior to the shooting. Freeman also denied that he or any of his friends had guns or other weapons during the shooting. About ten minutes later, Freeman returned to the scene and remained with the victim until an ambulance arrived, but Freeman did not talk with the paramedics or any police officers about the shooting at any time as he was afraid to do so.
¶ 10 Sykes testified that at the time of the trial he was incarcerated for unlawful use of a weapon and also had prior convictions for misdemeanor possession of cannabis and criminal trespass to land. Sykes testified that on March 16, 2009, he was on the corner of East 65th Street and South Stony Island Avenue with Sullivan, Freeman, Nichols, Donaldson, and the victim, when an acquaintance approached him and "said that he had seen someone walking towards our way that we had got into it with like a week or two ago." Sykes knew defendant from Hyde Park High School and claimed that defendant was the person who had swung a belt during the fight a week or two before the shooting. However, Sykes testified that he was not at that fight.
¶ 11 Sykes saw defendant walking on the east side of South Stony Island Avenue toward Sykes and his group of friends and then cross to the west side of the street before heading west onto East 65th Place. Sykes and the group of friends remained on the corner for a while before Nichols suggested that the group go and see if defendant was still down the block. Sykes testified that Nichols went down East 65th Place while Sykes, Freeman, Sullivan, and the victim walked toward the vacant lot through an alley that ran parallel to East 65th Place. Sykes testified that the group split up out of instinct.
¶ 12 When the group reached the vacant lot they started talking and laughing with each other. Sykes testified that because they were distracted they did not notice the defendant was right in front of them but facing the other direction. Sykes testified that no one in the group had any weapons and no one picked up any stick or pole while in the vacant lot. Sykes stated that when defendant turned around he looked surprised and reached for his coat pocket and pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sykes.
¶ 13 Sykes testified that he immediately ran away but defendant did not fire any shots for a couple of seconds. Sykes heard the first shot hit the ground. After he heard the second shot fired, he heard the victim scream After he heard the third, and final shot, Freeman screamed and fell to the ground. Sykes admitted that he was not looking at what was happening while he ran away and that he got Freeman up and they ran through the alley to East 65th Street and South Stony Island Avenue.
¶ 14 About ten minutes after the shots were fired, Sykes heard that the victim had been shot and he returned to the intersection of East 65th Place and South Stony Island Avenue. Sykes testified that Sullivan remained at the scene of the shooting the entire time alongside the victimuntil the ambulance arrived. Sykes stated that he was a " " gang member and defendant was probably a member of the Gangster Disciples, but Sykes denied that anyone was shouting gang slogans before the shooting.
¶ 15 The parties stipulated to the testimony of the medical examiner, forensic investigator, and forensic analyst, who would have testified that three bullet wounds and two bullets were discovered during the autopsy of the victim and the cause of death was homicide. A cartridge case was recovered from the scene and the two bullets recovered from the victim were tested and determined to have been fired from the same firearm.
¶ 16 The State concluded its case by presenting a DVD video of defendant's interrogation by a detective and assistant State's Attorney on January 9, 2010, a day after he was arrested. Defendant stated that on March 14, 2009, he had found a gun in the alley and was going to return the gun to that location on March...
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