People v. Ceja

Decision Date17 April 2003
Docket NumberNo. 89553.,89553.
Citation789 N.E.2d 1228,204 Ill.2d 332,273 Ill.Dec. 796
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Raul CEJA, Appellant.

Charles Schiedel, Deputy Defender, Charles W. Hoffman, Assistant Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for appellant.

James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, Joseph E. Birkett, State's Attorney, Wheaton (Joel D. Bertocchi, Solicitor General, William L. Browers, Jay Paul Hoffmann, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Du Page County, defendant, Raul Ceja, was convicted of the first degree murder of Alfredo Garcia and Richard Sanchez (see 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a) (West 1998)) and of the unlawful possession of a stolen or converted motor vehicle (see 625 ILCS 5/4-103(a)(1) (West 1998)). At a separate sentencing hearing, the court, sitting without a jury, found defendant eligible for the death penalty and further determined that there were no mitigating circumstances sufficient to preclude imposition of that sentence.

Accordingly, the court sentenced defendant to death on the murder convictions and to a seven-year prison term on the stolen-vehicle conviction. The death sentence has been stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a).

Defendant raises issues pertaining both to the guilt phase of the trial and to the aggravation and mitigation phase of the death sentencing hearing. Subsequent to the filing of defendant's appeal, former Governor George Ryan commuted defendant's death sentence to natural life imprisonment without possibility of parole or mandatory supervised release.

An appellate issue is moot when it is abstract or presents no controversy. People v. Blaylock, 202 Ill.2d 319, 325, 269 Ill.Dec. 490, 781 N.E.2d 287 (2002). An issue can become moot if circumstances change during the pendency of an appeal that prevent the reviewing court from being able to render effectual relief. People v. Jackson, 199 Ill.2d 286, 294, 263 Ill.Dec. 819, 769 N.E.2d 21 (2002). Commutation removes a judicially imposed sentence and replaces it with a lesser, executively imposed sentence. People ex rel. Johnson v. Murphy, 257 Ill. 564, 566, 100 N.E. 980 (1913); see Black's Law Dictionary 274 (7th ed.1999).

Therefore, the commutation rendered defendant's sentencing issues moot. See, e.g., Lewis v. Commonwealth, 218 Va. 31, 38, 235 S.E.2d 320, 325 (1977)

; State v. Mitchell, 239 Or. 87, 88, 396 P.2d 572, 573 (1964).1 We exercise our discretion to retain jurisdiction of the nonsentencing issues in this case. See, e.g., McGill v. Illinois Power Co., 18 Ill.2d 242, 244, 163 N.E.2d 454 (1959). Addressing only the viable, nonsentencing issues, we now affirm defendant's convictions.

BACKGROUND

Defendant and Rene Soto were separately charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and first degree murder. The charges arose, respectively, from the July 24, 1998, theft of a Chevrolet Tahoe, a sports utility vehicle, from an automobile dealership, and the July 26, 1998, fatal shooting of Garcia and Sanchez by the occupants of that stolen vehicle. Soto was tried separately.

The State's theory of the case, as explained in its opening statement, was that defendant, Soto, and a third unknown individual were members of the Maywood Latin Kings street gang. They killed the victims, who were suspected members of the rival Franklin Park Imperial Gangsters street gang, in an act of gang retaliation. Although the evidence did not establish which particular shooter killed which particular victim, defendant was criminally accountable for the murders.

The State's case was essentially as follows. On Friday, July 24, 1998, Elizabeth Camacho was a salesperson at Team Chevrolet at 720 Kingery Highway in Westmont. The dealership building had glass walls. From inside the dealership one could see the inventory parked outside.

As Camacho drove into the dealership's parking lot at approximately 9:30 a.m., she saw two Hispanic males looking at a new, dark-red Chevrolet Tahoe. Camacho believed that the two men were either porters, i.e., dealership employees, or a porter with a customer who was waiting for a salesperson. Camacho entered the building. Camacho then saw other porters outside the building. She walked outside and asked them who the two men were. They responded that the two men did not work at the dealership.

Camacho reentered the dealership building and stepped onto a high podium located in the middle of the sales floor. The podium afforded a general view of the inventory parked outside and, specifically, an unobstructed view of the Chevrolet Tahoe parked in front of the dealership. The podium was approximately 30 to 60 feet away from the Tahoe.

On the podium, Camacho saw the two men enter the Tahoe and drive it away at high speed. The men did not have permission to take the Tahoe from the dealership. Camacho subsequently identified defendant as the man who drove the Tahoe from the dealership.

Melrose Park police officer Patrick Scavone testified that he responded to a report of gunshots at defendant's home on July 24, 1998, at 11:05 p.m. Scavone spoke with defendant's mother, who was upset. Scavone saw a bullet hole in the front of the house. The bullet had pierced the wall and had lodged in a chair. He did not attempt to recover the bullet because he did not want to destroy the chair. There were several persons in the house at the time of the shooting, including a small child, but defendant was not present.

Another State's witness, Refugio Reyna, was a member of defendant's gang. Reyna recounted that in the early morning of July 25, Soto approached him and asked for a Smith & Wesson. After they spoke, Soto walked toward where the guns were kept.

On Sunday, July 26, 1998, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Kevin Oldaker, Stephanie Alfano, and their eight-month-old son were driving in the west-bound lanes on Grand Avenue in Elmhurst. They halted at a red traffic light at the intersection of Grand and Oak Lawn Avenues.

A red Lincoln with two men inside pulled up to the intersection on Oldaker's left side. When the traffic light turned green, a Chevrolet Tahoe sped up in the left-turn lane, to the left of the Lincoln. The maroon Tahoe had three occupants: the driver, a front seat passenger and a back seat passenger. The passengers began shooting at the occupants of the Lincoln. Approximately nine shots were fired.

To avoid crossfire, Oldaker drove about 20 feet forward into the intersection and stopped. The Tahoe made a fast U-turn into the east-bound side of Grand Avenue and stopped alongside the Lincoln. The driver of the Tahoe shot at the Lincoln approximately five times, and then sped east on Grand Avenue. The Lincoln made a U-turn and tried to follow the Tahoe. However, a short distance from the intersection, the Lincoln veered off the street and crashed into a sign.

Oldaker also made a U-turn and followed the Tahoe and the Lincoln. He intended to chase the Tahoe, but stopped to aid the occupants of the crashed Lincoln.

Both Oldaker and Alfano described the driver of the Tahoe and the Tahoe's front passenger as being two Hispanic males wearing hooded sweatshirts, with the driver being heavyset. Oldaker and Alfano did not see the face of the back seat passenger. Neither Oldaker nor Alfano identified defendant as being in the Tahoe.

That evening, Elmhurst police officer Kenneth Lafin was in his patrol car when he heard a radio dispatch regarding the shooting. The dispatch described a dark-red, Suburban-type vehicle traveling east on Grand Avenue. Lafin proceeded to Interstate 290. As Lafin entered the highway, he observed, several car lengths ahead, a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe also entering the highway. Lafin followed the Tahoe. At one point Lafin maneuvered to the right side of the Tahoe. He observed that the Tahoe's right-rear passenger window was either rolled down or broken out. He saw two persons sitting in front and one person sitting in the rear. The only face Lafin observed was that of the driver, whom Lafin described as a heavyset Hispanic male.

Lafin followed the Tahoe as it exited the highway and proceeded north on Mannheim Road. The Tahoe accelerated. After the Tahoe sped through a restaurant parking lot, Lafin activated his emergency siren and lights. A high-speed chase ensued on narrow residential streets, with Lafin in pursuit one or two car lengths behind the Tahoe.

The Tahoe turned into an alley and stopped. Lafin saw two persons exit the vehicle; one from the driver's side, who ran east, and one from the passenger side, who ran west. Lafin continued driving in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept the person who ran east. Lafin was eventually directed to return to the abandoned Tahoe and secure it for evidence. Its engine was still running and glass was in the rear seat of the vehicle. He remained there until other police officers arrived to process the vehicle.

That evening, Michael Heiberger was hosting a party at his home at 614 Marshall Avenue in Bellwood. Heiberger was sitting with visitors in his backyard, facing the alley. His backyard had a view of his carport and of the alley. Among those with Heiberger was Richard Deveris and his family.

At approximately 9:35 p.m., Heiberger heard an emergency siren and squealing tires. A Chevrolet Tahoe sped down the alley and came to an abrupt halt at his property. Three individuals fled the Tahoe and ran in different directions. The driver, a heavyset man, ran through the carport and towards the gate of Heiberger's backyard fence. Heiberger, joined by his guests, approached the gate and shouted at the driver, "Don't even think about it." The driver then turned and ran down the alley. Heiberger could not identify defendant as one of the persons who fled...

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