People v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 16 December 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 1–09–2817.,1–09–2817. |
| Citation | 357 Ill.Dec. 259,962 N.E.2d 1160,2011 IL App (1st) 092817 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Deangelo JOHNSON, Defendant–Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Michael J. Pelletier, State Appellate Defender, Alan D. Goldberg, Deputy Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender (Arianne Stein, Assistant Appellate Defender), for appellant.
Anita M. Alvarez, State's Attorney, County of Cook (Alan J. Spellberg, Joan Frazier, Marie Quinlivan Czech, of counsel), for the People.
[357 Ill.Dec. 261] ¶ 1 Following a jury trial, defendant Deangelo Johnson was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9–1(a)(2) (West 1992)) and three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/12–4.2(a)(1) (West 1992)). Defendant was sentenced to 45 years for the murder, and 10 years for each of the aggravated battery charges, to be served consecutively, for a total of 75 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. His conviction was reversed on appeal ( People v. Johnson, 317 Ill.App.3d 666, 251 Ill.Dec. 376, 740 N.E.2d 457 (2000)), but the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate court and remanded the case to the appellate court for consideration of defendant's claims of ineffectiveness of counsel ( People v. Johnson, 208 Ill.2d 53, 281 Ill.Dec. 1, 803 N.E.2d 405 (2004)). On remand, the appellate court affirmed defendant's conviction People v. Johnson, No. 1–98–4680, 346 Ill.App.3d 1175, 310 Ill.Dec. 550, 866 N.E.2d 711 (2004) (summary order).
¶ 2 Defendant filed a petition for postconviction relief, in which he claimed in part that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate defendant's claims that his inculpatory statement was physically coerced by Detective Kriston Kato, that the State withheld exculpatory evidence by failing to turn over evidence of a pattern of Kato abusing suspects, and that appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to raise the issues on appeal. The postconviction petition was denied at the second stage, and defendant appeals, claiming: (1) he made a substantial showing that his right to effective counsel was violated and (2) two of defendant's consecutive sentences are void because the victims did not suffer severe bodily injury. We affirm.
¶ 4 On August 23, 1996, Gary Thomas was killed and three others were injured during a shooting near a tavern named Wash's Place in Chicago. On September 11, 1996, defendant, who was 17 years old at the time, and Bernard Williams were arrested and subsequently indicted for first degree murder, attempted first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/8–4, 9–1 (West 1992)), aggravated battery and aggravated battery with a firearm, and armed violence (720 ILCS 5/33A–2 (West 1992)). The State ultimately proceeded solely on the first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and aggravated battery with a firearm charges.
¶ 6 On November 6, 1997, defendant, represented by an assistant public defender, filed a motion to suppress any statements he made in connection with his arrest. The motion claimed that defendant was not provided with his Miranda rights prior to being interrogated, that he was incapable of waiving his Miranda rights because he did not understand them, and that the statements were obtained as a result of physical coercion. We relate only the testimony concerning coercion, which is the primary issue on this appeal.
¶ 7 Assistant State's Attorney Susan Ziegler testified on behalf of the State. Ziegler testified that she was present at Area 4 police headquarters (Area 4) on the evening of September 11, 1996. At approximately 3 a.m., she interviewed defendant, who was not in handcuffs at the time. At one point during her interview, Ziegler and another assistant State's Attorney spoke to defendant outside the presence of any police officers, and Ziegler spoke to defendant about his treatment while in custody. Ziegler testified that defendant told her he was treated well by the police and did not complain about his treatment or any injuries that he sustained. Ziegler also did not observe any abusive behavior by Kato while she was present or notice any injuries. At approximately 4 a.m., Ziegler memorialized defendant's oral statement in writing and reviewed it with defendant; the other assistant State's Attorney and Kato were present while she was writing the statement and reviewing it with defendant. She testified that defendant made some corrections and additions to the statement. After the statement was completed, Ziegler took a Polaroid photograph of defendant.
¶ 8 The State also called Detective Kriston Kato as a witness. Kato testified that he and his partner were assigned to investigate the homicide of Gary Thomas and interviewed defendant for 15 minutes at approximately 2 a.m. on September 11, 1996.1 Defendant was uncuffed at the time. Defendant denied any knowledge of the murder, and Kato confronted him with statements Kato had obtained from interviews conducted with Bernard Williams and Shawn Harris, a witness. In response, defendant stated that he was telling the truth, he had been in Evanston at the time, Williams and Harris were lying, and he would appear in a lineup to prove that he was being truthful.
¶ 9 Kato next spoke with defendant at approximately 5 a.m., when he told defendant that he was unable to obtain the people needed to view a lineup, but he would attempt it again in a few hours. Kato instructed defendant that Kato was leaving and that if he needed anything, to knock on the door. He told defendant that if he needed to use the restroom or wished to eat or drink anything, Kato's supervisor was next door and would comply with his needs. Defendant told Kato that he did not wish to eat at the time but wanted something to drink. Defendant was permitted to sleep; he was alone in the room, uncuffed, and the light switch was located inside the room, although Kato did not show defendant the location of the light switch. Kato's partner was not present during the conversation.
¶ 10 Kato testified that he returned to the room at approximately 4:30 p.m. with food for himself and defendant. Kato did not interview defendant at that time but gave him a hot dog. Kato left to look for witnesses, and located Martin Nash, an eyewitness to the shooting. Kato brought Nash back to Area 4 and arranged for a lineup, which occurred at approximately 6:10 p.m. Defendant and Williams both participated in the lineup and Nash identified them as the offenders.
¶ 11 Kato and his partner again interviewed defendant for 10 to 15 minutes at approximately 7 p.m. that evening; again, defendant was uncuffed. Kato informed defendant that he had been positively identified in the lineup, but defendant continued to deny participation in the murder. Kato then confronted defendant again with an oral statement Williams had made indicating that defendant was involved. Defendant stated that Williams was lying and that he wished to undergo a polygraph examination to prove that he was telling the truth. Kato scheduled polygraph examinations for defendant and Williams that evening. Shortly before 10 p.m., defendant was transported to a different location to participate in the polygraph examination, and he was returned to Area 4 at approximately 1:20 a.m. on September 12, 1996. Kato testified that the only food defendant had consumed through the time including the polygraph examination was the hot dog.
¶ 12 At approximately 1:30 a.m., Kato and his partner interviewed defendant for approximately 30 to 40 minutes and confronted him with the results of the polygraph examination, telling defendant that the test showed his knowledge of the murder. At that point, defendant stated that “he wanted to tell the truth” and gave his real name 2 and admitted to being one of the shooters. Kato contacted the State's Attorney's felony review unit, and two assistant State's Attorneys, including Ziegler, came to Area 4.
¶ 13 Kato denied striking defendant in the throat, hitting him with a telephone book, slapping him in the face, or severely tightening his handcuffs. Kato testified that defendant was never handcuffed during his interviews. He testified that there was a ring attached to the wall for the purpose of handcuffing people, but that it was not used for defendant.
¶ 14 Defendant testified that in September 1996, he was arrested along with Williams and Harris and taken to Area 4 at approximately 8 or 9 p.m. The three men were placed in separate rooms, and defendant's room had no windows and required someone to “let you out.” Defendant sat on a steel bench and his right hand was handcuffed to the ring on the wall. Defendant was alone for approximately one hour, then Kato came into the room. He asked defendant whether he knew “who did that” and defendant responded that he did not know what Kato was talking about, so Kato left.
¶ 15 Some time later, a woman came in and took defendant to the washroom. She asked defendant whether he was hungry and defendant said he was not. When he returned to the room, defendant was not handcuffed. Approximately 30 minutes later, Kato returned and handcuffed defendant to the ring in the wall. Kato sat next to defendant and questioned defendant again, and defendant responded that he did not know what Kato was talking about. Kato told defendant to “ ‘[j]ust tell me Poo Bear did it and I will let you go.’ ” Defendant told Kato that he did not know “Poo Bear,” and Kato “karate-chopped” defendant in the throat and told defendant that he would be back; defendant testified that he could not swallow after the karate-chop. Approximately five minutes later, defendant heard Williams screaming “ ‘Oh, no, no’ ” in the next room. Kato returned, again asked defendant whether he was “ ‘ready to tell’ ” Kato, and defendant...
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