People v. Cox

• Decision Date: 21 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 1-05-3436.,1-05-3436.
• Citation: 377 Ill.App.3d 690,879 N.E.2d 459
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Quentin COX, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

879 N.E.2d 459

377 Ill.App.3d 690

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Quentin COX, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-05-3436.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

November 21, 2007.

Rehearing Denied December 20, 2007.

Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, Ann B. McLennan, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for Appellant.

Richard A. Devine, Cook County State's Attorney, James E. Fitzgerald, Rimas F. Cernius, Sheila A. Morrissey, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel, Chicago, for Appellee.

Justice MURPHY delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Quentin Cox, was convicted of first-degree murder after a jury trial and sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment for the murder and a 25-year enhancement for personally discharging a firearm. On appeal, defendant contends that (1) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because the identification evidence was unreliable; (2) the State improperly bolstered identification testimony by introducing hearsay; (3) the State made an argument in closing that was unsupported by the evidence; and (4) his sentence is excessive. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On October 3, 2003, 17-year-old James Davis died from a single gunshot wound to the back. Defendant was charged with first-degree murder, and four occurrence witnesses testified at his trial: Clifford Jones, Jeremy Jones, Dominique Bullitt, and Charles Lewis.

A. Clifford Jones

Clifford Jones testified that on October 3, 2003, he planned to attend a high-school football game with his brother, Jeremy Jones, and his cousin, James Davis. Just before 7 p.m., when the streetlights were on, he left his grandmother's house at 99th and Charles to pick up his friend Lance Flowers, whose house was on the next block at 99th and Malta. When he arrived at 99th and Malta, he saw a man walking toward him on 99th Street, across from Beverly, which was located one "house yard" further down. Although it was warm out, the man was wearing a jacket and a skull cap with a red symbol on the front. Clifford identified the man in court as defendant.

After Clifford picked up Lance, he saw defendant for a second time at 99th and Beverly. Defendant crossed the street with his hand in his coat, then pulled out a gun and started waving it around. At that time, Dominique Bullitt, Kelly, and Charles Lewis turned the corner and began to run away. When defendant began running toward Clifford and his group, they turned and ran. Clifford turned into an alley, heard two shots, and ran to his grandmother's house. Neither James nor Jeremy had returned to his grandmother's, so he went back to 99th Street, where he discovered his cousin being put into an ambulance.

Clifford testified that on the night of the shooting, he described the shooter to the police as 17 or 18 years old, 5 feet 7 inches, 150 pounds, and dark-skinned, wearing a black jacket, black hat, black pants, and white shirt. The next morning, the police showed Clifford a black-and-white photo array, but he told the police that the shooter was not in the array.¹

On October 20, 2003, the police showed Clifford a color photo array containing six pictures. He picked out the second picture as the person that was the "most similar" to the shooter, but told the police he would need to see him in person or in a lineup. The "most similar" person turned out not to be defendant, who was pictured in the third photo of the array. However, Clifford testified that the photo was too dark and he could "not really" see defendant's face. At trial, he still could not decipher whether the third photo pictured defendant because it is "black on black." Clifford's older brother, Jeremy, was present when he viewed the photo array and also had an opportunity to view it, but Jeremy identified someone else.

On December 1, 2003, Clifford went with his brother to the police station to view a lineup. He sat in a room with his mother and a detective, who told him that the shooter may or may not be in the lineup. He identified defendant, "no. 4 in lineup," as the shooter. After viewing the lineup, he went into a different, bigger room, which contained a television. He denied talking to anyone else before the lineup or telling anyone that day whom to pick out of the lineup.

B. Jeremy Jones

Jeremy Jones testified that on October 3, 2003, at 7 p.m., he, Clifford, and James walked from his grandmother's to Lance Flowers's house in anticipation of going to a football game. The streetlights were on but it was not yet dark. On the way, he noticed a man two or three houses from Beverly who was wearing a black jacket and skullcap with a red logo and walking toward them. Jeremy identified the man in court as defendant. Jeremy found defendant's attire unusual because it was hot out and he was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. They went to Lance's house, and when they got to the intersection of Malta and Beverly, he saw defendant at the corner of 99th and Beverly, walking in the middle of the intersection with his hand in his pocket. He pulled a long, silver revolver out of his jacket pocket, waved it in the air, and pointed it at Jeremy's group.

Jeremy noticed Dominique, Charles, and Kelly turn the corner at the intersection of 99th and Beverly and start running toward him. When defendant began following Dominique, Charles, and Kelly, Jeremy and his group also began to run. As he was running, he looked back to see that defendant stopped running and began firing the gun. When Jeremy arrived at the alley between Malta and Charles, he turned around and saw his cousin falling to the ground and defendant running in the opposite direction.

The night of the shooting, Jeremy talked to the police and described the shooter as a black, dark-skinned male between 17 and 18 years old who weighed about 155 pounds and was wearing a quilt jacket with white lining, black pants, a black skullcap with a red emblem, and a white T-shirt. He testified that he did not give the police an exact height; however, Detective Alejandro Almazan, a Chicago police detective, interviewed Jeremy Jones on the night of the shooting and testified that Jeremy described the shooter as weighing approximately 155 pounds.

The next morning, Jeremy viewed an array of four black-and-white photos. He was unable to identify the shooter from the photos, but he did identify someone who "had a similar face to the shooter." The person he identified as looking similar to the shooter was not defendant. On October 20, 2003, when the police showed him a color photo array, he identified defendant but told the police he would need to see him in person. He denied discussing the photo array with his brother.

On December 1, 2003, Jeremy went to the police station to view a lineup. He was placed in a small room with his mother and brother. Clifford left the room to view the lineup first, then Jeremy went. Jeremy identified defendant and told the detective "that was the guy, unless he had a twin brother." Jeremy denied speaking to Clifford between the time Clifford left to view the lineup and when Jeremy left to view the lineup. After viewing the lineup, he was placed with his brother in a different room containing a television. There, he saw Charles Lewis, Dominique Bullitt, and Lance Flowers. The five discussed that they were there to view a lineup but did not discuss whom they picked out.

C. Dominique Bullitt

Dominique Bullitt testified that on October 3, 2003, at 7 p.m., he was at a bus stop on the corner of 99th and Beverly Street, near his home. It was getting dark, but the streetlights were not on yet. He was with Charles Lewis and Kelly, whose last name he did not know. While they were standing at the bus stop, a man wearing a black jacket and black hat approached them from the east. The man was approximately 15 feet away when he reached into his coat and withdrew a silver handgun and aimed it in their direction. Dominique moved behind a tree, and when he saw the man walk down the street a little, the three ran toward Charles Street. He encountered Jeremy Jones, Clifford Jones, and James Davis on 99th and Malta, and that group also started running toward Charles Street. He heard about three gunshots from behind, so he turned into an alley and waited there until the gunshots stopped. When he returned to 99th Street, he found James Davis on the ground.

Dominique did not speak to the police until they sought him out a couple of weeks after the shooting. He testified that he told the police that he was not present at the time of the shooting.

Dominique testified at trial that he had not seen the gunman's face. However, he admitted that on December 18, 2003, he testified before a grand jury, where he identified defendant as the gunman. He further admitted that he identified defendant in the lineup that occurred on December 1, 2003. He testified at trial that while waiting to view the lineup, he spoke with Charles, Clifford, Jeremy, and Lance. When Charles returned to the conference room that they were in, he told Dominique that he had identified the person standing in position number 4. Dominique thought Clifford also said that number 4 was the shooter. Dominique identified the same person because others picked him out, even though he did not see the gunman's face on the night of the shooting. He testified that he further identified defendant at the grand jury because it was the same man he had identified in the lineup.

Dominique admitted that he was arrested for failing to appear at court for this case.

D. Charles Lewis

Charles Lewis testified that on October 3, 2003, at 7 p.m., he was at the bus stop at 99th and Beverly talking to his cousin Kelly and Dominique Bullitt. He saw a man with a gun and began running; as he ran, he heard gunshots. When he got to his house, someone called him on his cellular phone and told him that Little...