People v. Jackson

• Citation: 777 N.E.2d 626,267 Ill.Dec. 823,333 Ill. App.3d 962
• Decision Date: 24 September 2002
• Docket Number: No. 1-00-1803.,1-00-1803.
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Demetrius JACKSON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

777 N.E.2d 626

333 Ill. App.3d 962

267 Ill.Dec. 823

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Demetrius JACKSON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-00-1803.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.

September 24, 2002.

Rita A. Fry, Public Defender of Cook County, Chicago (Pamela Pfrang, Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for Appellant.

Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney of Cook County, Chicago (Renee Goldfarb, James Fitzgerald and Carol L. Gaines, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for Appellee.

Justice CAHILL delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Demetrius Jackson was found guilty of home invasion, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of first degree murder for the deaths of Troy Davis and Lisa Johnson. Defendant was sentenced to concurrent sentences of natural life for the murder counts and concurrent 30-year prison terms for the armed robbery counts. Defendant argues on appeal that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to prove defendant accountable for first degree murder; (2) the court erred in giving a jury instruction mixing the concepts of accountability and felony murder; (3) the State's inflammatory argument and misstatement of the law prejudiced defendant; (4) the mittimus does not accurately reflect the oral judgments entered by the trial judge; (5) natural life sentences were imposed in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000); and (6) the statute mandating natural life sentences is unconstitutional. We affirm.

Troy Davis and Lisa Johnson were discovered, fatally shot, in their apartment on the morning of August 4, 1997, by Lisa's mother, Ida Johnson, the victims' five-year-old son Jason and a neighbor, Dorian Neil. Troy was face down on the floor, hands tied behind his back with a telephone cord. He had been shot in the back of his head. Lisa was in the bedroom on the bed, also shot in the head. The victims' four-month-old son, Troy, Jr., was lying in a pool of blood next to Lisa's body, crying hoarsely. The apartment had been ransacked and several stereo components were missing. Troy's car was also missing, as well as a large amount of cash that Troy planned to give a coworker to pay for repairs to a motorcycle that Troy damaged several days earlier.

About 8 p.m. on August 4, police officers pulled over a car matching the description of Troy's car. They arrested the driver, Tyrone Jones, who carried with him $505 and a small stereo remote control. After speaking with Jones, police searched for defendant and his brother, Omar Jackson. Officers also returned to Troy and Lisa's apartment and recovered a .380-caliber expended shell casing from under the bed.

Martese Wash testified at trial that he spent the evening with Troy on August 3, 1997, from 6:45 p.m. until 11:45 p.m. They drank beer, played cards and listened to the radio in Troy's apartment. Troy showed Martese a large amount of money, which Troy then put into his pocket. At 10 p.m., Lisa Johnson arrived with Troy, Jr., and went into the bedroom. Troy's car was still in the parking lot when Martese left.

When Martese learned that Troy and Lisa had been murdered, he went to the police station and spoke to police. He identified Troy's car and noticed that stereo equipment that had been in Troy's house the night before was now installed in the car. One of Troy's amplifiers was in the trunk. Martese denied that anyone else had been in Troy's apartment while he was there the night before.

On August 5, 1997, police officers obtained a warrant and went to defendant's home, where they arrested him. The officers searched the apartment and discovered a Bryco semiautomatic .380-caliber weapon and a .25-caliber semiautomatic weapon. A firearms examiner was unable to identify or eliminate the Bryco weapon as that used in the murders. The .25caliber weapon did not fire the bullets recovered at the scene.

Detective Andrew Abbott gave defendant his Miranda warnings in the presence of another detective at about 3:30 p.m. at the police station. Abbott spoke with defendant for 15 minutes. At 5 p.m., defendant knocked on the interview room door and told Abbott that he wanted to talk about the investigation. Abbott spoke with defendant for about 45 minutes and then called an assistant State's Attorney.

Assistant State's Attorney Tom O'Malley arrived at the station at 11 p.m. He spoke to defendant about 12:30 a.m. O'Malley advised defendant of his Miranda rights and then spoke with defendant. O'Malley interviewed other witnesses and returned at 3:30 a.m. for another conversation with defendant. Defendant agreed to give a statement. O'Malley wrote down the statement, reviewed it with defendant and made changes at defendant's direction. Defendant, Abbott and O'Malley initialed the changes and signed each page of the statement. O'Malley read the statement back to defendant and had defendant read some of the statement to him.

Defendant told O'Malley that about 11:30 p.m. on August 3, 1997, Tyrone Jones told him he had a "crucial lick," which meant a good robbery. Tyrone had a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol and defendant had a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol. They talked about going in and "laying the dude on the floor." On the way to 7423 South Yates Avenue, defendant gave Tyrone a glove and showed him a stocking cap that Tyrone could use. When they arrived at the apartment, Tyrone knocked on the door. A voice asked who it was and Tyrone answered "Ty." As the door opened, Tyrone pushed the door open with his shoulder and drew his gun. Tyrone yelled, "Where's the [expletive deleted] at?" Then he locked the door and the man who had answered the door lay face down on the floor with his arms spread. Tyrone waved his gun around and said, "Where's the loot or I'm going to kill you." Defendant heard a baby crying in another room. Tyrone went into the other room while defendant stayed with the man on the floor and told him "to be cool." Defendant heard Tyrone yell, "Give me the money." A female voice answered, "Don't kill me, don't kill my baby, take what you want." Tyrone came out of the room and handed defendant several folded bills, saying, "Take this, hold on to this." Defendant then told Tyrone, "Come on, let's go." Defendant left the apartment and went home.

Thirty minutes later Tyrone arrived at defendant's house and began telling defendant's brother, Omar Jackson, about the robbery. Tyrone said he "changed the people over," meaning that he killed the people they had robbed. Tyrone gave the.380-caliber pistol to Omar. Defendant took the money from his pocket and gave some to Tyrone. Defendant kept $800 and put it in his closet. The next day he spent $160 on a pair of Nike shoes as a birthday present for himself. Defendant's statement was published to the jury.

At trial, defendant testified that he turned 18 on August 4, 1997. After he was arrested, Detective Abbott questioned him several times but defendant did not respond. Defendant testified that he never had a conversation with Abbott about the murders, was not given the chance to contact anyone and was not given Miranda warnings.

Defendant also testified that he did not understand what the assistant State's Attorney meant when he said he was a prosecutor. Defendant stated that the assistant State's Attorney wrote out the statement while defendant was talking but he never read the whole statement to defendant. Defendant told the assistant State's Attorney that he went to pick up a package at an apartment at 74th Street and Yates Avenue with Omar and Tyrone and only stayed for a few minutes. He said no one had a gun and he did not know what happened in the apartment after he left. Defendant only signed the statement because the detective told him he could go home if he signed it. Defendant next testified that on August 3, 1997, he was home with his brother Omar when Tyrone Jones arrived about 10:30 p.m. Tyrone asked Omar to go with him to pick up a package. Omar asked defendant to join them. Defendant stated he did not have a gun and did not see anyone with a gun. They went to an apartment at 74th Street and Yates Avenue. Tyrone knocked on the door and a man named Troy answered the door. Troy and Tyrone talked while Omar and defendant sat on the couch. Defendant then told Omar he was going home and asked Troy to open the door for him. Troy walked him to the outer door. About an hour later, Omar returned home. Defendant testified that Omar did not have a gun or money. Tyrone arrived about an hour later. Defendant did not notice Tyrone with a gun or money.

Defendant denied knowing about the two guns recovered from his apartment. He denied committing a robbery at 7423 South Yates Avenue and denied killing Troy Davis or Lisa Johnson. He testified that he was learning disabled and had a third-grade reading ability. But he demonstrated at trial that he was able to read a representative sample of words and phrases from his written statement.

In rebuttal, assistant State's Attorney O'Malley testified that he asked defendant general, open-ended questions. O'Malley testified that the written statement accurately reflected defendant's answers.

On appeal, defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to find him accountable for the murders of Troy Davis and Lisa Johnson. Defendant argues that, because he left the apartment before the victims were shot, he cannot be accountable for the murders. We disagree. Here, although the State proceeded under a theory of accountability at trial, defendant was also charged with felony murder. The jury was instructed on felony murder and the prosecutor argued felony murder as an alternative theory. We find the evidence sufficient under either theory.

A person is legally accountable for the conduct of another when, "[e]ither before or during the commission of an offense, and with the intent to promote or facilitate such commission, he solicits, aids,...