People v. Greer

• Citation: 190 N.E.2d 742,28 Ill.2d 107
• Decision Date: 27 May 1963
• Docket Number: No. 37197,37197
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. Charles GREER, Plaintiff in Error.
• Court: Supreme Court of Illinois

Page 742

190 N.E.2d 742

28 Ill.2d 107

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. Charles GREER, Plaintiff in Error.

No. 37197.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

May 27, 1963.

Edwin M. Noga, La Grange Park, for plaintiff in error.

William G. Clark, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Daniel P. Ward, State's Atty., Chicago (Fred G. Leach and E. Michael O'Brien, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Edward J. Hladis and M. Robert Ostrow, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for defendant in error.

SCHAEFER, Justice.

A jury in the criminal court of Cook County found the defendant, Charles Greer, guilty of the unlawful sale of narcotics. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years. On this writ of error he submits (1) that the evidence was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, (2) that his privilege against self-incrimination was infringed, and (3) that a packet of narcotics was erroneously received in evidence without adequate foundation.

Thomas E. Manson, an inspector in the State Division of Narcotics Control, testified that on the evening of September 9, 1959, he went with a paid informer named John Daly to 517 North Wells Street in Chicago. They there encountered the defendant, a stranger to them, who resided in the building. Manson said he was looking for a 'bag of pot', meaning a supply of marihuana. At defendant's invitation, the three went to defendant's room, where he said that he could get Manson a 'bag' for four dollars. Manson gave the defendant four one-dollar bills, and the defendant left the room for a few minutes. Upon his return, he reported that he was unable to get any marihuana but said that Manson should come back the next evening. He returned the four dollars.

Late the next night, in the early hours of September 11, Manson and Daly returned to the defendant's room, and Manson again gave the defendant four dollars. After another brief absence the defendant returned and reported that they would have to go to Oak and Wells streets. The three drove there in Manson's car. The defendant left the car and returned in a short time with a companion whom he introduced with the remark 'this is James.' The companion, subsequently identified as James Bigham, and the defendant entered the automobile, and the defendant instructed Manson to drive back to the vicinity of the defendant's residence. There the defendant gave Bigham three dollars and told him to 'go up to Earl's and get a bag of pot.' After some discussion with the defendant concerning the form and quantity of narcotics sought, Bigham left the car. He returned in a short time, re-entered the car, and handed Manson a manila envelope.

Manson then placed both the defendant and Bigham under arrest, and with officer Adams, who had been watching from another car, arrested 'Earl' in a nearby building. The officers took the three men arrested to the Division offices, where Manson questioned the defendant. He turned out the lights and shone another light on the hands of Bigham and the defendant. Traces of a fluorescent tracing powder with which the four dollar bills had been dusted were revealed. Manson also inspected the contents of the envelope, and placed his initials in the corner of the envelope, which was then placed in the Division's narcotic vault.

Manson's testimony concerning the movements of Daly, Bigham, the defendant, and himself on September 11, was corroborated by officer Adams, who had followed Manson's automobile in another car. He had joined Manson shortly after the defendant's arrest, and had participated in the subsequent arrest of 'Earl' and in the storage of the manila envelope delivered by Bigham.

A chemist with the United States Treasury Department testified that he received the manila envelope, sealed in an evidence envelope, on September 22, 1959, and analyzed the contents which proved to be cannabis sativa, or marihuana.

The defendant was the only witness for the defense. He admitted the two encounters with Manson and Daly and their movements, with Bigham, on the morning of September 11, 1959. He denied, however, that the subject of marihuana was ever mentioned, that he had received any money from Manson, or that he knew the purpose of Bigham's errand. He explained the events as occurrences during a search for feminine companions.

In support of his contention that the evidence did not establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant points out that he was gainfully employed with opportunities for overtime work, and argues that it is incredible that he would incur the risk of procuring narcotics for two strangers for a gross profit of one dollar, or that, knowing the source of supply a half block from his home, he would bring in an intermediary, Bigham, to effect the purchase. He also asserts that a reasonable doubt was raised by the negative inferences to be drawn from the failure of the State to produce the informer Daly as a witness, and by a discrepancy between the testimony of officers Manson and Adams as to the direction in which Bigham walked when he left Manson's car to get the narcotics. Finally, he urges that the prosecution's case is further weakened by the failure to introduce the four dollar bills employed in the transaction, to support the testimony that they were passed and were in fact dusted with fluorescent tracing powder.

Careful scrutiny of the record as a whole has convinced us that these circumstances did not require a finding of not guilty, and that they were properly left to the jury. Manson's testimony that the defendant agreed to make the sale of marihuana, and that he did so, was direct and unequivocal. Whether his role in the transaction was that of principal, agent, or employee, the criminal offense was established. (People v. Johnson, 24 Ill.2d 195, 197, 181 N.E.2d 164; People v. Aldridge, 19 Ill.2d 176, 166 N.E.2d 563.) The testimony of a single witness is sufficient to support a conviction if the jury believes the evidence and it is not so unsatisfactory as to leave a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused. (People v. Brengettsy, 25 Ill.2d 228, 231, 184 N.E.2d 849; People v. Guido, 25 Ill.2d 204, 208, 209, 184 N.E.2d 858; People v. Johnson, 24 Ill.2d 195, 198, 181 N.E.2d 164; People v. Luckett, 24 Ill.2d 550, 553, 182 N.E.2d 696.) The prosecution was not bound to produce the informer as a witness, and could rely on the other evidence to outweigh the negative inference that arose from his unexplained absence. (People v. Green, 27 Ill.2d 39, 187 N.E.2d 708; People v. Strong, 21 Ill.2d 320, 172 N.E.2d 765; People v. Aldridge, 19 Ill.2d 176, 166 N.E.2d 563.) The discrepancy in the testimony of the two officers was minor. It did not bear on the essential question whether the defendant procured narcotics for Manson, and it did not so impair their veracity as to raise a reasonable doubt on any material elements of the case. (People v. Norman, 24 Ill.2d 403, 408, 182 N.E.2d 188; People v. Clay, 27 Ill.2d 27, 187 N.E.2d 719.) The fact that the...