People v. Harris
| Decision Date | 16 April 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 80084,80084 |
| Citation | 695 N.E.2d 447,230 Ill.Dec. 957,182 Ill.2d 114 |
| Parties | , 230 Ill.Dec. 957 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. David HARRIS, Appellant. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied June 1, 1998.
State Appellate Defender, Supreme Court Unit, Springfield, Timothy M. Gabrielsen, Asst. State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for David Harris.
Richard A. Devine, State's Atty. Cook Co., Crim. Appeals Div., Chicago, Jim Ryan, Atty Gen., Criminal Appeals Div., Chicago, William L. Browers, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, for People.
Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Cook County, the defendant, David Harris, was convicted of first degree murder and attempted armed robbery. The defendant waived a jury for purposes of a capital sentencing hearing, and, after a hearing, the trial judge sentenced the defendant to death for the murder conviction. The defendant's execution has been stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a). For the reasons stated below, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
The evidence in this case is largely undisputed and may be summarized briefly; other evidence will be reviewed as it becomes relevant. At trial, Bernice Chase, the widow of the victim, Clifford Chase, testified that she and her husband watched a movie on the evening of June 7, 1993. Afterwards, Mr. Chase left the house around 8:40 p.m. to return the rented videotape. Mrs. Chase said that her husband would sometimes stop to buy milk at the Chatham Food Center, where he was killed.
Theresa Barnes, 16 years old at the time of the occurrence, testified that she was at the Chatham Food Center around 9 p.m. on June 7, 1993; the store was located at 79th and Calumet Streets. While she was using a pay telephone outside the store, she heard the sound of a gunshot. Barnes looked up and saw someone holding a gun, and she then heard another shot. The shot was fired at a car. Barnes then saw a person inside the car slump over, and the car started to roll toward where she was standing. The person who fired the shot got in the back seat of a Mercedes, which then drove off. Barnes identified the defendant as the gunman. Barnes estimated that she was standing about 20 to 25 feet away from the car when the shots were fired, and she testified that she got a good look at the gunman. On June 9, 1993, police officers showed Barnes a brochure of various Mercedes models, and Barnes selected one that matched the car she had seen. About a week later, on June 15, Barnes viewed a lineup and identified the defendant in the lineup as the person who had fired the shots.
On cross-examination, Barnes acknowledged that she had provided different officers with somewhat different descriptions of the gunman. She told the first officer on the scene that the gunman was a black male, 5 feet 11 inches, weighing 170 pounds. Later, she told a different officer that the shooter was a black male, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet, weighing 150 to 160 pounds, and 17 to 18 years old. Barnes testified further that the defendant had bushy hair, and that he was the only person in the police lineup with bushy hair. Barnes also said that the defendant had a wide nose and wide lips. Although Barnes told investigating officers that the shooter wore a blue terry cloth jacket with a hood, with pink and yellow accents, and an Aladdin genie on the back, at trial she did not recall seeing a figure or emblem on the back of the jacket.
Theodore Traylor, who was with the defendant when the offenses were committed, also testified on behalf of the State at trial. Traylor said that on June 7, 1993, around 8:30 p.m., he was standing at 67th and Ada Streets with Antoine Moore. At that time, some of Moore's friends drove up in a grey Mercedes. In the car were the defendant, Howard McClinton, and Demetrius Daniels. Traylor had seen the three previously. After they talked to Moore, Moore told Traylor to get in the car and they would take him home. Traylor lived at 79th and Woodlawn, which he said was a "couple" miles away. McClinton was driving, and Moore sat in the front seat; Traylor, Daniels, and the defendant sat in the back, with Traylor in the middle. According to Traylor, the four others talked about a movie they had seen, "Menace II Society," which was about carjacking; Traylor had not seen the movie. After 15 or 20 minutes they reached 79th and Calumet Streets. There, McClinton, the driver, saw some girls to whom he wanted to talk. McClinton pulled into a parking lot, but the girls did not want to talk to him. Then, McClinton said, "There go a jack move there." According to Traylor, McClinton drove toward an old man who was leaving a grocery store. The man got in his car, and McClinton pulled the Mercedes near the man's car. Traylor testified that McClinton handed Moore a gun and said, "Jack him." Moore got out of the Mercedes and tapped on the window of the victim's car, but the man would not open the door; he instead turned the ignition on. Moore told the man to get out of the car and tapped on the window with the gun. Moore then got back in the Mercedes and said to shoot the victim. The defendant jumped out of the car, pulled a gun from under his shirt, and shot the victim twice. The defendant then jumped back into the car, and the Mercedes drove off.
Traylor testified that he then asked the others to take him home. They were laughing about the shooting. Traylor said that he had not known that they would try to take a car at gunpoint. They drove Traylor to Woodlawn, where he was then staying. Traylor said that he saw Moore two or three days later, when Moore came to his house. Traylor turned himself in on June 17, when he learned that the police were looking for him. Traylor said that he told the authorities what had happened and later signed a handwritten statement describing the offenses.
The parties stipulated that an evidence technician would testify that bullets were recovered from the front seat and the back floor of the victim's car. The parties also stipulated that a firearms expert would testify that he concluded from his examination of the bullets that they had been fired from the same weapon, a .38 Special revolver.
At trial, the prosecution also presented testimony detailing the defendant's inculpatory statements to authorities. Detective Herman Cross, assigned to Area 2 violent crimes, testified that early in the morning of June 12, 1993, he learned that the Mercedes involved in the crimes had been stopped. The investigation eventually led Cross to Moore, Daniels, McClinton, and the defendant. Cross found the defendant on June 15, 1993, and he and his partner, Bernatek, transported defendant to Area 2 headquarters. There, they arranged a lineup, at which Theresa Barnes identified the defendant as the gunman. Cross and Bernatek then gave the defendant Miranda warnings and, after the defendant agreed to waive those rights, questioned him about the case. In a brief statement, the defendant said that he and Antoine Moore got out of a silver Mercedes, walked up to the victim's car, with Moore on the passenger's side and the defendant on the driver's side. The defendant pointed a gun at the car window and someone called out, "Bust him, bust him." The defendant then fired two shots.
On cross-examination, Detective Cross explained that a report about the lineup and photographs of the lineup participants had been lost and could not be found. Cross said that the five other participants in the lineup were comparable to the defendant in height, weight, and complexion, and Cross also said that two others had bushy hair similar to the defendant's. Cross testified that the police did not recover a jacket matching the description provided by Theresa Barnes.
Further evidence regarding the defendant's inculpatory statements was provided by Peggy Chiampas, an assistant State's Attorney in Cook County who took a formal statement from the defendant. Chiampas testified that she was summoned to Area 2 headquarters on June 15, 1993. She spoke to Detectives Cross and Bernatek and reviewed police reports about the case. She first questioned the defendant around 8 o'clock that night. After waiving Miranda rights, the defendant told Chiampas about the offenses. He then agreed to repeat the statement in the presence of a court reporter. After the statement was transcribed, Chiampas reviewed it with the defendant, who made several corrections. The statement was then initialed by the defendant and Chiampas, as well as by Detective Bernatek and Chiampas' supervisor, who were also present during the statement.
In the statement, the defendant said that on June 7, 1993, around 6 p.m., he was home when four persons came over: Howard McClinton, Demetrius Daniels, Antoine Moore, and Theodore Traylor. The defendant took his gun with him, a .38 Special, and all five then drove to the area of 68th and Ada, in a Mercedes. McClinton was driving, Moore was in the front seat, and the three others were in the back seat. McClinton also had a gun with him. With the exception of Traylor, they talked about a movie they had seen, "Menace II Society," which was about carjacking. They stayed at 68th and Ada for about two hours. Then, all five got back in the car and drove down Calumet Street. Moore talked about the movie again, and as they crossed a street, Moore said, "Let's jack that mark in the lot." McClinton thought that the person looked young and might have a gun; he believed that older persons were less likely to be armed and therefore made better targets. By this time they had driven into a parking lot, and there Moore got out of the car, with a gun in his hand. According to the defendant, Moore ran up to a car, which was occupied by a man, and tried to open the door. The door would not open, so Moore told the man to get out. Without replying, the...
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