People v. Jaffe

• Court: Appellate Court of Illinois
• Writing for the Court: LINDBERG
• Citation: People v. Jaffe, 493 N.E.2d 600, 145 Ill.App.3d 840, 97 Ill.Dec. 793 (Ill. App. 1986)
• Decision Date: 17 January 1986
• Docket Number: No. 83-1129,83-1129
• Parties: , 97 Ill.Dec. 793 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sheldon JAFFE, Defendant-Appellant.

Page 600

493 N.E.2d 600

145 Ill.App.3d 840, 97 Ill.Dec. 793

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sheldon JAFFE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 83-1129.

Appellate Court of Illinois Second District.

Jan. 17, 1986.

Supplemental Opinion on Denial of

Rehearing June 11, 1986.

Law Offices of Terry Sullivan, Terry Sullivan, Nancy J. Nicol, Rolling Meadows, for defendant-appellant.

Fred L. Foreman, State's Atty., Waukegan, Phyllis J. Perko, State Appellate Attys. Service Com'n, Martin P. Moltz, Elgin, for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice LINDBERG, delivered the opinion of the court.

After a jury trial, defendant Sheldon Jaffe was convicted of the murder of Patricia Dean (Pat) and the attempt murder of Ghazi Dean (Ghazi). On appeal, defendant asserts he was not proven guilty of murder and attempt murder beyond a reasonable doubt, he was deprived of his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel, the trial court improperly instructed the jury on a witness's mental history, the trial court improperly restricted the cross-examination of Ghazi, defendant's sentence was not entered in compliance with the requirements of the Habitual Criminal Act, and the judgment order incorrectly states defendant was convicted of two counts of murder. For the reasons expressed in this opinion, we affirm defendant's murder conviction but reverse his attempt murder conviction and remand for a new trial.

Defendant was charged with the murder of Pat and the attempt murder of her husband Ghazi. At trial, Lake County Deputy Sheriff William Bobrowski testified he was dispatched by radio on June 30, 1983 at 12:30 a.m. to a residence with the address of 310 Park Avenue, Wildwood, Illinois. A reddish-orange Chevy Nova was parked in the driveway. Ghazi met Bobrowski at the front door and told Bobrowski to hurry into the bedroom because Pat was bleeding to death. There, Bobrowski observed a profuse bleeding wound in the victim's head. Pat was taken to the hospital where she died later of the gunshot wound.

After returning to the living room, Bobrowski noticed on the floor a black, powder-type revolver, a folding knife with the blade open, a camouflaged military-style hat, and a blood stain. Ghazi had some minor scrapes and small lacerations on his hands and arms. Bobrowski observed a bullet hole in the hall closet, a bullet hole in the television set in the living room next to the front door and a bullet hole in the headboard to the bed in the victim's bedroom. The investigation revealed that bullet continued through the exterior wall of the house and through the neighbor's fence.

Detective Ray Lamprich testified that although both the knife and the gun found in the Dean living room were dusted for fingerprints, neither provided suitable prints for comparison purposes. Lamprich observed no signs of forced entry into the residence.

The testimony of Ghazi and defendant presented two very different versions of the events surrounding Pat's death. Ghazi testified that he married Pat in 1979, and lived with Pat and her two daughters first at Pat's home in Gages Lake and later in February, 1983, the family moved to the Park Avenue residence in Wildwood. Defendant lived with the Deans from 1982 until June 26, 1983. He was asked to move because defendant came home drunk every night.

On the morning of June 29, 1983, defendant came to the Dean residence to inquire about repayment of $200 defendant had loaned to Pat several weeks earlier. Defendant left and returned to the Dean residence between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. and again demanded the $200. After Ghazi assured defendant that Pat would pay him, defendant left. Later that evening after Pat was asleep, Ghazi took Dilatin, Lithium and Valium prescribed by his doctor, locked the door and went to bed. Ghazi took these drugs to prevent further damage to his brain which was injured in a truck accident. Ghazi was awakened with Pat saying "No, Monty. No, no Monty". Monty was defendant's nickname. Ghazi heard one shot and then another and observed defendant holding the barrel of the gun toward him. Leaping up, Ghazi grabbed the gun and another shot was fired. Ghazi and defendant wrestle into the hallway and eventually into the living room. When defendant reached for a knife in a sheath, Ghazi grabbed defendant by the throat, wrestled him to the ground and jumped on top of him. Ghazi beat defendant until defendant was unconscious.

After calling for an ambulance and the police, Ghazi returned to the living room and observed that defendant was gone. While waiting for the police to arrive, Ghazi went into the bathroom, wiped blood from his body with paper towels which he deposited in the bathroom garbage can, vomited, and then got dressed. As part of defendant's case-in-chief, Ghazi admitted he and Pat argued frequently and admitted he had on previous occasions struck his wife. He also stated everyone knew Pat was "a bitch" about money.

Defendant testified he first met Pat in 1979 at a work release center where both he and Pat were confined. While living with the Deans at both the Gages Lake and Wildwood residences, defendant witnessed numerous arguments between Pat and Ghazi and heard Pat and Ghazi discussing setting fire to the Gages Lake residence which ultimately did burn to the ground on February 9, 1983. Defendant admitted he had argued with Pat about the $200 loan, but stated Pat and he had agreed to repayment of the loan on July 5, 1983.

Defendant offered testimony on the events surrounding Pat's murder. After drinking some beer at his mother's house on June 29, 1983, defendant went to the Dean home, left there about 2:30 p.m. and drove to Gages Lake where he drank beer in his car. Running out of beer, he went to the Firehouse Pub in Gages Lake and did not return home to Skokie until 7 p.m. From Skokie, he called Ghazi and asked if he wanted to meet him at the Firehouse Pub. Ghazi declined, and defendant then received permission from Ghazi to stay at the Dean residence that night. He left Skokie at 10 or 10:15 p.m. and drove to the Firehouse Pub. Once there, he drank beer, played pool with Rich Tokarz, and cashed a check. Because he didn't feel well, he drove his car one block from the Firehouse Pub and took a nap for 20-30 minutes. At approximately 12-12:15 a.m., he then walked back to the Firehouse Pub, leaving his army fatigue hat in his car, and cashed another check at the Firehouse Pub. He walked back to his car and then drove to the Dean residence. Arriving at 12:30 a.m., he knocked on the front door and hearing no response, turned the handle, opened the front door and confronted Ghazi in the living room. Ghazi was naked, was "kind of wild-eyed", was holding a pistol in his right hand and said to defendant "Okay, fucker." Defendant lunged for the gun, and during the ensuing struggle, the gun discharged three times. As a result of either being struck by a bullet or Ghazi, defendant was knocked unconscious. Awakening after several minutes, defendant jumped up off the floor, fled down the street, and spent the rest of the night under an evergreen tree one block from the Dean residence. The next morning, he looked for but did not see his car, so he walked to a Foremost Liquor Store and asked the manager, Les Card, to call a cab for him. He then was driven to Skokie where he was arrested by Lake County sheriff's officers.

Numerous other witnesses testified and their testimony will be recounted as necessary to resolution of the issues presented. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on the charges of murder, attempt murder, aggravated battery, armed violence and home invasion. The trial court vacated the aggravated battery, armed violence and home invasion convictions as lesser included offenses and merged the two counts of murder. Defendant was sentenced to two concurrent terms of natural life imprisonment. On December 19, 1983, defendant filed a post-trial motion, the trial court denied that motion, and defendant filed his notice of appeal.

Defendant first asserts that he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the murder of Pat and the attempt murder of Ghazi. The function of the trier of fact is to determine the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given their testimony, and the inferences to be drawn from the evidence. (People v. Akis (1976), 63 Ill.2d 296, 298, 347 N.E.2d 733.) Where the evidence is conflicting, a court of review will not substitute its judgment for that of the trier of fact. (63 Ill.2d 296, 298-99, 347 N.E.2d 733.) A conflict in the evidence does not establish a reasonable doubt, and a jury verdict based on substantial and credible evidence is not rendered reversible by the fact that other evidence was introduced which might, if believed, have resulted in a different verdict. (People v. Kelly (1956), 8 Ill.2d 604, 615, 136 N.E.2d 785, cert. denied (1957), 353 U.S. 966, 77 S.Ct. 1050, 1 L.Ed.2d 915.) Only where the record leaves the reviewing court with a grave and substantial doubt of guilt should the conviction be reversed. People v. Lindsey (1979), 73 Ill.App.3d 436, 29 Ill.Dec. 721, 392 N.E.2d 278.

Our review of the evidence convinces us that the evidence is not so improbable or unsatisfactory as to raise a reasonable doubt of defendant's guilt. The record contains substantial evidence that defendant was angry with Pat about her refusal to repay the $200 loan. According to Denise Lund and James Giovenco, both of whom knew the Deans and defendant and lived fairly near the Dean residence, defendant and Pat fought over the loan during the two-week period preceding her death. Tracy Anderson, who lived with the Deans for a period of time, testified she received a telephone call from defendant on June 29, 1983 in which defendant stated he and Pat had been fighting and that he could not remain friends with Pat. Richard Tokarz stated he spoke with defendant at the Firehouse Pub at...