People v. Crosby
| Decision Date | 14 July 2020 |
| Docket Number | NO. 4-18-0086,4-18-0086 |
| Citation | 2020 IL App (4th) 180086 -U |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JORDAN L. CROSBY, 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 Circuit Court of Vermilion County
Honorable Thomas M. O'Shaughnessy, Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE HOLDER WHITE delivered the judgment of the court.
¶ 1 Held: The appellate court affirmed, finding (1) the evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant and (2) the trial court was not required to conduct a Krankel inquiry. The appellate court remanded where the trial court committed plain error in failing to set a restitution payment deadline as required by statute.
¶ 2 Following an August 2017 jury trial, defendant, Jordan L. Crosby, was found guilty of two counts of armed robbery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(2) (West 2016)) and one count of unlawful vehicular invasion (id. § 18-6(a)). In October 2017, the trial court sentenced defendant to 24 years in prison and ordered him to pay $690.61 in restitution.
¶ 3 Defendant appeals, arguing (1) the evidence was insufficient to prove defendant guilty of armed robbery and unlawful vehicular invasion beyond a reasonable doubt, (2) the trial court failed to conduct a preliminary inquiry pursuant to People v. Krankel, 102 Ill. 2d 181, 464 N.E.2d 1045 (1984) following defense counsel's posttrial admission that he failed to present newly discovered potential alibi evidence, and (3) the trial court's order requiring defendant to pay restitution should be vacated. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's conviction and sentence and remand to allow the court to set a restitution payment deadline for its restitution order.
¶ 5 On November 14, 2016, the State charged defendant by information with the following: two counts of armed robbery with a firearm, both Class X felonies (720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(2) (West 2016)); two counts of aggravated robbery, both Class 1 felonies (id. § 18-1(b)(1)); two counts of robbery, both Class 2 felonies (id. § 18-1); and two counts of vehicular invasion, both Class 1 felonies (id. § 18-6).
¶ 7 On August 8, 2017, defendant's case proceeded to a jury trial where the following evidence was presented.
¶ 10 Caleb Cordes testified he was from Danville, Illinois, and was 18 years old. On October 28, 2016, Cordes was a high school student. Around 4 p.m. that day, Cordes was leaving a friend's house to pick up another friend and play basketball. Cordes was driving north on Oak Street in Danville with Dwayne Laseter, who was in the passenger's seat of Cordes's Chevrolet truck. When he approached the intersection of Oak and Voorhees Streets, he saw, from the east, "[t]wo men come around the corner walking down the sidewalk, and one pulled a gun out." The two men approached Cordes's truck from the passenger's side. Cordes identified defendant as the man with a gun.
¶ 11 Cordes testified that as defendant approached the truck, defendant put the gun to Laseter's chest, who "bumped" the gun. Defendant reacted by cocking the gun. Cordes testified he was not very familiar with guns but described the gun defendant used as "gray and black" and "semi-automatic." When defendant cocked the gun, Cordes heard him say, " 'Give me everything or I'm going to blow your head off.' "
¶ 12 The other man who was with defendant "opened the door and told [Cordes] to put [his] hands up, and he started going through [Cordes's] pockets and taking everything." Cordes testified this man did not appear to have any weapons. Cordes testified that the man took his iPhone, $50, and his wallet, which contained his driver's license, credit card, and gift cards. Cordes saw defendant take Laseter's Android mobile phone and some amount of cash. The two men fled. Cordes attempted to see where they were going but could not find them and proceeded to drive home to call his mother. Cordes testified he remembered defendant had lighter skin, long hair, a bigger build, and a "wispy" mustache.
¶ 13 On cross-examination, Cordes testified he made a prior statement to the police where he stated defendant was wearing a blue and orange jacket that said "Illini" across the front during the robbery. Cordes also testified that later on October 28, 2016, he saw a picture of Juan Ortiz on Laseter's Facebook page. He recognized Ortiz as the man who robbed him and identified Ortiz from a photograph line-up at the police station on November 1, 2016. Cordes was called to the police station again on November 4, 2016, where he identified defendant from a photographic lineup as the other man involved in the robbery and the one who had the gun.
¶ 14 b. Jacob Troglia
¶ 15 Jacob Troglia testified he is a police officer with the Danville Police Department. On October 28, 2016, Officer Troglia was on patrol with another Danville police officer, OfficerCrawley. Around 4:25 p.m., he received a dispatch regarding an armed robbery that took place in the area of Oak and Voorhees Streets. After searching the area but not finding any suspects matching the descriptions he was provided, Officer Troglia went to the home of Caleb Cordes. When he arrived, Cordes and Laseter were still in Cordes's truck. Officer Troglia testified that Cordes gave him a statement but Laseter was not as cooperative.
¶ 16 On cross-examination, Officer Troglia testified that to his knowledge, no gun, cell phones, bank card transactions, or clothing was recovered in this case.
¶ 17 c. Juan Ortiz
¶ 18 Juan Ortiz testified he was 19 years old and had lived in Danville all his life. Ortiz testified he was currently residing in the Danville Public Safety Building in connection with armed robbery charges related to the events in this case. Ortiz testified that he had entered into a plea agreement with the State in which he would receive four years in the Department of Corrections in exchange for his truthful testimony in the present case.
¶ 19 Ortiz testified that on October 28, 2016, he was on Franklin Street at the home of his child's mother, Alexus Crosby, along with defendant, who he knew through Alexus. Defendant asked Ortiz to walk with him to go pick up some marijuana; defendant did not want to go alone because he believed the people from whom he intended to buy the marijuana might have a gun. Ortiz testified defendant showed him that he was carrying a black gun by lifting his shirt and showing Ortiz where it was tucked into his pants.
¶ 20 Ortiz testified that as he and defendant approached the intersection of Oak and Voorhees Streets, he saw a tan truck pull up. Ortiz saw that there was a white male in the driver's seat and a black male in the passenger's seat. Ortiz testified that as defendant approached the passenger's side of the truck, defendant said to the passenger, " 'Give me everything or you'lldie.' " Defendant was pointing the gun at the passenger. Ortiz testified defendant directed him to approach the driver's side of the car to find the marijuana. Ortiz proceeded to the driver's side of the car and took a bag of marijuana from the driver's lap but did not take anything else or say anything to the driver. Defendant took a "big black" bag of weed from the passenger. Afterwards, Ortiz and defendant returned to the house on Franklin Street.
¶ 21 d. Bill West
¶ 22 Bill West testified he is currently retired and previously worked as a detective with the Danville Police Department. On November 4, 2016, Detective West acted as an independent administrator of a photograph lineup in connection with this case. Detective West testified that an independent administrator is one who "doesn't have anything to do with *** a particular case," and "shows [witnesses] the pictures, which they look at, and if the person that is involved with [that] case is in the photo lineup, they are instructed to circle it, initial it and date it."
¶ 23 The State then introduced State's Exhibit No. 2, which was a copy of the photograph lineup that Detective West administered to Caleb Cordes on November 4, 2016. Detective West testified that Cordes circled the photo in the middle of the top row of the lineup and signed his initials next to it. The court admitted the exhibit into evidence over defendant's objection and allowed publication to the jury. Detective West had no further involvement in this case.
¶ 24 On cross-examination, Detective West testified that because he was the independent administrator, he did not prepare the photograph lineup. Detective West denied tapping on the photo in the middle of the top row prior to administering the lineup to Cordes. On redirect examination, Detective West testified he did not know who the suspect was when he administered the lineup.¶ 25 e. Phillip Wilson
¶ 26 Phillip Wilson testified he has been a detective with the Danville Police Department since 2006. Detective Wilson testified that on November 1, 2016, Detective Dunham asked him to administer a photograph lineup to Cordes in connection with this case. As an independent administrator, Detective Wilson did not prepare the lineup and did not know who the suspect was.
¶ 27 The State then introduced State's Exhibit No. 1, which Detective Wilson identified as a copy of the photograph lineup he administered to Cordes. Detective Wilson testified that Cordes circled the photo located on the bottom right and signed his initials next to it. After Detective Wilson administered the lineup, he later met the individual whose picture Cordes circled and stated his name was Juan Ortiz. State's Exhibit No. 1 was then admitted into evidence.
¶ 28 The State then showed Detective Wilson a copy of State's Exhibit No. 2, about which Wilson testified he had no personal experience. Detective Wilson...
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