People v. Enis

• Decision Date: 17 August 1987
• Docket Number: No. 67451,67451
• Citation: 564 N.E.2d 1155,151 Ill.Dec. 493,139 Ill.2d 264
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Parties: , 151 Ill.Dec. 493 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Anthony ENIS, Appellant. . Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, Springfield, and James E. Chadd, Asst. Defender, Chicago, both of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, for appellant. Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Springfield (Robert J. Ruiz, Sol. Gen., and Terence M. Madsen and Arleen C. Anderson, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, of counsel), for the People. Justice RYAN delivered the opinion of the court: Defendant, Anthony Enis, was charged by indictment in the circuit court of Lake County with one count of intentional murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1)) and three counts of knowing murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(2)). A jury trial followed and the jury returned a general verdict finding defendant guilty of first degree murder. A death sentence hearing was held and the jury found present the aggravating factor in section 9-1(b)(8) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(8) (committed murder to prevent murdered individual from testifying against defendant in criminal prosecution)), and that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude a sentence of death. Defendant was sentenced to death and the sentence was stayed (107 Ill.2d R. 609(a)) pending appeal to this court (Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 107 Ill.2d R. 603). The victim in this case, Melinda Entrata, was a complainant in a criminal sexual assault case against defendant. The sexual assault case was scheduled for trial on

Page 1155

564 N.E.2d 1155

139 Ill.2d 264, 151 Ill.Dec. 493

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Anthony ENIS, Appellant.

No. 67451.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, Springfield, and James E. Chadd, Asst. Defender, Chicago, both of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Springfield (Robert J. Ruiz, Sol. Gen., and Terence M. Madsen and Arleen C. Anderson, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

Justice RYAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Anthony Enis, was charged by indictment in the circuit court of Lake County with one count of intentional murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1)) and three counts of knowing murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(2)). A jury trial followed and the jury returned a general verdict finding defendant guilty of first degree murder. A death sentence hearing was held and the jury found present the aggravating factor in section 9-1(b)(8) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(8) (committed murder to prevent murdered individual from testifying against defendant in criminal prosecution)), and that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude a sentence of death. Defendant was sentenced to death and the sentence was stayed (107 Ill.2d R. 609(a)) pending appeal to this court (Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 107 Ill.2d R. 603).

The victim in this case, Melinda Entrata, was a complainant in a criminal sexual assault case against defendant. The sexual assault case was scheduled for trial on August 17, 1987. However, Entrata was found dead in the hallway of her apartment building on the morning of August 10, 1987. She had been shot in the head four times. At defendant's trial for Entrata's murder, the State attempted to establish that defendant had the motive to murder her and that he had been identified as the gunman beyond a reasonable doubt. In his defense, defendant claimed that he was the victim of mistaken identification. He also claimed that he did not rape Entrata and that the sexual assault case was not strong. Therefore, he did not have the motive to murder Entrata.

Facts

The State presented extensive evidence during the trial, including the testimony of seven persons who were near the scene of the murder. John Twardy lived in the same apartment complex as Entrata but in a different building, although it was nearby and on the same street as her building. On August 10, 1987, at 6:45 a.m., Twardy was looking out his bedroom window when he saw a man running. The man jumped over a hedge, dropped something, stopped to pick it up, and then continued running. At that point he lost track of the man. A few seconds later he saw a maroon car with a front hubcap missing pull out of the parking lot. The following day police officers took Twardy to defendant's residence and showed him a maroon car that belonged to the woman with whom defendant lived. Twardy stated the car looked the same as the one he had seen and it was missing the same hubcap, but it appeared to be "shinier" than the one that pulled out of the parking lot.

Joseph O'Neal also lived on the same street as Entrata, and he testified that at 6:45 a.m. he too saw a man jogging while carrying what appeared to be a lunch box. The man jumped over some bushes, dropped the lunch box, stopped to pick it up and then continued jogging. He could not recall giving an officer a physical description of the man or saying that he saw him enter a red-colored vehicle, although an officer testified that O'Neal did provide such information.

David Dudzinski testified that at 6:50 a.m. on August 10, 1987, he was backing out of his parking spot near Entrata's building when a car sped past him. On August 17, the police showed him the car belonging to defendant's girlfriend, and he stated that it was similar in size and color to the one he had seen earlier. At trial, he was shown a photo of the car but testified he was not positive that it was the same car as the one he had seen on August 10.

Sylvia Barrett testified that at 6:40 a.m. on August 10, she was a passenger in a van driving near Entrata's apartment building. Barrett saw a man sitting on the pavement in front of the bumper of a parked car. The man was watching people leaving the building in which Entrata lived. The man was wearing a dark-blue mechanic's suit or jump suit and had on sunglasses. Barrett watched the man for about three to five minutes and stated that she was able to see the left, right and front of the man's face. In court, she identified defendant as the man she was watching on August 10, 1987. She further testified that on August 12, 1987, she picked the defendant's photograph out of a number of photographs that officers showed her. Also, Barrett was shown on February 16, 1988, a photograph of a live lineup and she again identified the defendant as the man she had seen at the apartment building. On cross-examination, Barrett said she did not notice whether the man was wearing white gloves or holding a metal box.

Clara Burk's testimony placed the defendant near Entrata's building on two separate occasions. Burk testified that on August 8, at 9:30 p.m., she was driving through the building's parking lot when a man stepped in front of her car. She stopped her car and the man walked past. She described the person as a black male between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 9 inches who was wearing white sunglasses. In court, she identified the defendant as that person. Burk further testified that on the morning of August 10, she was driving in the same area and saw a man sitting in a half crouch between a car and a van. The man was wearing sunglasses and was carrying what appeared to be a lunch box. She identified the defendant as that man. Burk then testified that on that morning, she noticed a woman in a white uniform exiting an apartment building. When the woman saw the man, she ran back into the building and the man followed her. As Burk continued on she heard three gunshots. On August 11, 1987, police officers showed Burk a single photo of the defendant and she identified the person as the man she had seen in the parking lot. On cross-examination, she stated that she was unsure if the man wore sunglasses on August 10.

Dan Thacker testified that at approximately 6:30 a.m., August 10, 1987, he saw, from his apartment window, a woman in a white dress run across the parking lot toward the building. He then saw a man follow her. The man was in his early 20s, black, about 5 feet 10 inches or 5 feet 11 inches, and slender, had short hair, and was wearing dark clothes, white sunglasses, and white gloves, and carrying a lunch box. Later, he saw the man exit the building. The police showed Thacker a number of photos and he picked out the defendant's photo, stating that the person had the same "general features" as the man he had seen but he was not certain that it was the same person. On August 11, 1987, Thacker viewed a live lineup. He again picked out the defendant as the person he had seen, but he was not 100% positive of the identification.

The last eyewitness for the State was Richard Hanson, who testified that on August 10, at approximately 6:40 a.m., he was waiting for his car pool to pick him up when he saw a man running. The man was black and about 6 feet tall, had a medium build and short hair, and was wearing dark clothing, white gloves and white sunglasses. Hanson testified that the man jumped over a row of hedges and dropped a silver metal box he was carrying. Hanson saw a small gun fall from the box. The man stopped, put the gun in the box and continued running. Hanson's car pool arrived and he left. At trial, he identified the defendant as the man he saw running. On August 11, 1987, the police showed Hanson a photo of defendant and he identified the person in the photo as the man he had seen running. Later that day, he viewed a live lineup and again identified the defendant. On cross-examination, he stated that he could not be absolutely certain of his identification because the man was wearing sunglasses.

The State also presented the testimony of numerous police officers involved in the murder investigation. At 8 a.m., August 10, 1987, four officers went to defendant's apartment; however, he was not there. Officer Rockingham and his partner went to the rear of the house and saw defendant's girlfriend's parked car, a maroon Oldsmobile. The hood of the car was warm as if it had just been used, the windows were down and there was no dew on the car, although a nearby car had dew on it. Later, Officer Davis checked the car and determined that it was warm, as if it had been recently used, and that at least four other cars nearby had dew on them.

The State also presented testimony from a former assistant State's Attorney, who testified that Entrata had been the complainant in a criminal sexual assault case which he had handled and that the defendant in that case was Anthony Enis. The case was scheduled for trial on August 17, 1987, but the charges were dropped after Entrata was murdered.

The defense presented the following evidence. The first witness was Michael Melius, former chief public defender of Lake County, who had represented defendant in the sexual assault case. He testified that he had explained to defendant the possible sentences he could receive if found guilty and that defendant had a good case. Melius stated that there had been a preliminary hearing on the sexual assault case and that Officer Moore testified as to statements Entrata had made to him. After the preliminary hearing, the trial judge found there was probable cause to pursue the charges. Also, the judge apparently indicated that if it had been a trial, he would have found defendant not guilty, although he noted that he had been unable to judge the credibility of Entrata since she did not...