People v. Harris

• Decision Date: 18 October 2018
• Docket Number: Docket No. 121932
• Citation: 427 Ill.Dec. 833,2018 IL 121932,120 N.E.3d 900
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Darien HARRIS, Appellee.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

2018 IL 121932

120 N.E.3d 900

427 Ill.Dec. 833

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant,

v.Darien HARRIS, Appellee.

Docket No. 121932

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Opinion filed October 18, 2018

JUSTICE KILBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 The defendant, Darien Harris, was convicted of first degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2010) ), attempted first degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/8-4(a), 9-1 (West 2010) ), and aggravated battery with a firearm ( 720 ILCS 5/12-4.2(a)(1) (West 2010) ) and sentenced to a mandatory minimum aggregate term of 76 years' imprisonment. Defendant was 18 years, 3 months of age at the time of the offenses. The appellate court vacated defendant's sentences and remanded for resentencing, holding that, as applied to his circumstances, the aggregate prison term violates the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution ( Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11 ). 2016 IL App (1st) 141744, 410 Ill.Dec. 591, 70 N.E.3d 718. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part the appellate court's judgment.

¶ 2 BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Defendant was charged with several offenses following a shooting at a Chicago gas station. At defendant's bench trial, Ronald Moore testified that he was riding in the backseat of a car driven by his younger brother, Rondell Moore. A person identified as Marcus Diggs was also in the car. When the car began to overheat, Rondell drove into a gas station parking lot and parked the car, and Rondell and Marcus Diggs went into the store to buy antifreeze. A local mechanic Ronald knew as "Red," later identified as Quincy Woulard, arrived on his bicycle and began looking under the hood of the car. Rondell came back to the car and was standing outside talking to Woulard.

¶ 4 Ronald stayed in the backseat of the car and saw a black Lexus turn into the gas station parking lot. Ronald testified that he had seen the Lexus previously and recognized the driver, but he did not know the driver's name. The Lexus went to the other side of the gas station building where Ronald could no longer see it. A short time later, Ronald heard gunshots, looked out the rear driver's-side window, and saw defendant two feet away shooting a chrome handgun at Rondell. Ronald stated he heard more than five gunshots and testified that defendant was "standing on the side" of the rear driver's-side door. Ronald recognized defendant but did not know his name. Defendant kept shooting as Rondell ran, jumped over a fence, and continued running toward a nearby Chase Bank parking lot.

¶ 5 Marcus Diggs jumped out of the car and ran toward a nearby McDonald's restaurant. As Ronald slid over to the driver's side of the backseat, defendant pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked but did not fire.

¶ 6 When defendant began running away, Ronald got out of the car and chased him for 5 to 10 feet. Ronald then turned to look for his brother and found him lying in the Chase Bank parking lot one-half block away. Ronald saw the black Lexus drive through the Chase Bank parking lot with only the driver inside. Police officers later arrived, and Ronald overheard a message on a police radio that a Lexus had been stopped at a Walgreens store across the street from the bank. Ronald ran to the Walgreens store, recognized the Lexus, and yelled that the driver had killed his brother. Ronald testified at trial, however, that the driver was not the shooter and he did not see defendant in the Lexus when it was stopped at the Walgreens store.

¶ 7 Ronald further testified that a person from his neighborhood showed him a YouTube video a couple days after the shooting. Ronald recognized the black Lexus, the driver, and the shooter in the video, but he did not know their names. Ronald alerted the police to the video, and he subsequently identified defendant as the shooter from a lineup conducted eight days after the shooting. Ronald also identified defendant in court as the shooter.

¶ 8 Dexter Saffold testified that he was riding his scooter on the street in front of the gas station on the night of the shooting. He testified it was early evening and still light out. As he approached the gas station, he heard gunshots, stopped, and saw the shooter from about 18 feet away. Saffold identified defendant in court as the shooter. Saffold testified that defendant was holding a dark-colored handgun, he could see flashes coming from the muzzle, and he heard more than two gunshots. Defendant was pointing the gun at a person by a car with the hood up and another man on a bicycle near the car. After firing the handgun, defendant ran toward Saffold and bumped into him, almost dropping the gun while trying to put it in his pocket. Defendant ran behind Chase Bank and out of Saffold's view. Saffold also saw another person running "behind, you know, the alley, a fence or somewhere." As he went into the gas station to call 911, Saffold saw a man lying in the parking lot by the car and the bicycle. Eight days after the shooting, Saffold viewed a lineup and identified defendant as the shooter.

¶ 9 Quincy Woulard testified that he often helped people with car repairs at the gas station. He saw his friend Rondell Moore, known by his nickname "Blink," at the gas station with his car that was overheating. Woulard was looking under the hood of the car when he heard three gunshots and fell to the ground. He heard someone say, "he runnin [sic ] down the alley," and he saw someone running there. Woulard was shot three times but testified he did not see who shot him.

¶ 10 Aaron Jones testified that he was driving the black Lexus and selling marijuana when defendant, known by Jones as "Slim" or "Chucky," asked him for a ride to the gas station. Jones drove defendant to the gas station and dropped him off. Jones testified that he then drove to his home six blocks away but came back to buy cigarettes at the Walgreens store across the street from Chase Bank. Jones testified he was stopped and arrested by police officers before he reached the Walgreens store. Later in his testimony, however, Jones recanted and stated defendant was never in his car, that police officers told him to identify defendant, and that the officers threatened him with life imprisonment if he did not testify as they wished.

¶ 11 Chicago police officer Richard Mostowski testified he received a call that a person had been shot and a black Lexus was leaving the scene. He stopped a black Lexus approximately two blocks from the gas station. After he stopped the car, a man approached and yelled "you killed my brother." The driver, later identified as Aaron Jones, was arrested and a search of his person revealed 11 small, plastic bags. The parties stipulated that the plastic bags contained a total of 10.6 grams of cannabis. There were no passengers in the car when it was stopped.

¶ 12 A surveillance video of the gas station parking lot showed a black male with what appears to be a blue towel around his neck walking into the store. During his testimony, Ronald Moore identified that person as his brother, Rondell Moore. The video shows Rondell Moore inside the store and then walking out of the store back to his car. The video later shows a black car entering the lot, a person getting out of the passenger side, and the car driving away. The passenger walked out of view of the camera toward the gas station store. A few seconds later, the video shows a person running through the parking lot and another person chasing him for a few feet before turning around and running in the opposite direction.

¶ 13 The parties stipulated that the medical examiner would have testified that Rondell Moore was shot three times in the back. There were two exit wounds, including one from a bullet that pierced Rondell's right lung and pulmonary artery. The third bullet lodged in his abdominal wall. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

¶ 14 The parties also stipulated that five fired bullets were recovered in the investigation. Forensic scientist Tracy Konier would have testified that two of the bullets were .380/.38-class caliber and were fired from the same firearm. Two of the bullets were 9 millimeter, .38-class caliber. They could not be identified or eliminated as having been fired from the same firearm as each other or as the .380/.38-class caliber bullets. The fifth bullet was a .22 caliber. The parties stipulated that four of the bullets were recovered from the gas station crime scene. The other one was recovered from Rondell Moore's abdominal wall.

¶ 15 The trial court relied heavily on Saffold's testimony in finding defendant guilty of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and aggravated battery. The trial judge stated "this case begins and ends with Mr. Saffold" and "[a]mong all the witnesses that I heard from, his testimony was unblemished by any of the cross-examination." The trial court observed that Saffold's testimony was also corroborated by the testimony of Ronald Moore and Jones and stated any minor inconsistencies in the testimony did not raise a doubt of defendant's guilt. The court concluded that this case "was not a particularly close one."

¶ 16 At sentencing, defendant offered evidence in mitigation, including that he did not have a prior criminal history, he obtained his general education diploma (GED) and several educational achievement certificates while in pretrial custody for these offenses, and he has a stable and supportive family. In sentencing defendant, the trial judge stated he had considered all the statutory sentencing factors and remarked, "This is a serious case. I am sorry that the sentencing parameters are such that my options are somewhat limited. Although, I do feel you should be treated seriously." The trial judge then sentenced defendant to 45 years' imprisonment for first degree murder (20 years for the offense plus 25 years for the mandatory firearm enhancement), 26 years for one count of...