People v. Jones

• Decision Date: 10 August 2007
• Docket Number: No. 1-05-3883.,1-05-3883.
• Citation: 876 N.E.2d 15
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Terence JONES, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

876 N.E.2d 15

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Terence JONES, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-05-3883.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Sixth Division.

August 10, 2007.

Rehearing Denied October 29, 2007.

Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, Maria A. Harrigan, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for Appellant.

Richard Devine, State's Attorney, Cook County (James E. Fitzgerald, Samuel Shim, Brian O. Lee, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), Chicago, for Appellee.

Justice JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County defendant, Terence Jones, was found guilty of first degree murder and attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault. Defendant was sentenced to consecutive terms of 28 years' and 7 years' imprisonment, respectively. On appeal, defendant contests the sufficiency of evidence to sustain his conviction for first degree murder. Defendant also contends that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him, because it did not adequately consider mitigating factors and because it improperly relied upon a fact not in evidence. Defendant finally contends, and the State concedes, that the mittimus must be corrected to reflect that he was convicted of attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault rather than aggravated criminal sexual assault. For the reasons discussed below we affirm and order the mittimus corrected.

BACKGROUND

Defendant was indicted on 23 charges all stemming from the death of the victim, Alonzo Jones. These included indictments on (1) seven counts of first degree murder, one in violation of section 9-1(a)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code), one in violation of section 9-1(a)(2), and five in violation of section 9-1(a)(3); (2) four counts of aggravated kidnaping in violation of section 10-2(a)(3); (3) four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two in violation of section 12-14(a)(1), one in violation of section 12-14(a)(2), and one in violation of section 12-14(a)(4); (4) one count of criminal sexual assault in violation of section 12-13(a)(1); (5) two counts of kidnaping in violation of section 10-1(a)(1); (6) and five charges of aggravated battery, three in violation of section 12-4(a), and two in violation of 12-4(b)(8). See 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) through (a)(3); 10-2(a)(3); 12-14(a)(1),(a)(2),(a)(4); 12-13(a)(1); 10-1(a)(1); 12-14(a),(b)(8) (West 2000).

At trial, Derrick Fleming testified that on the evening of February 28, 2004, he went to Laquita Calhoun's house near 74th Street and Parnell, to look for his girlfriend, Lakesha Collins. Once there, Fleming was told that Collins was next door at Janette Daniels' house. Together with Calhoun, Fleming proceeded to Daniels' house, where he saw Collins, Daniels, Katherine Calhoun and defendant sitting in the living room. Fleming stated that a few minutes later, Alonzo Jones came out from one of the back rooms with blood running down his wrists. According to Fleming, Laquita Calhoun, Collins and Katherine Calhoun then started questioning Alonzo Jones about Laquita Calhoun's baby, whether he molested or touched her. Alonzo Jones denied the allegations.

Fleming averred that Laquita Calhoun then hit Alonzo Jones and that defendant followed by kicking him in the testicles. According to Fleming, a few minutes later, when Laquita Calhoun went to the back room, Collins opened the front door and told Alonzo Jones to run out. Alonzo Jones attempted to escape, but defendant called to Laquita Calhoun, telling her that Alonzo Jones was trying to get away. According to Fleming, Laquita Calhoun ran to the front, grabbed Alonzo Jones by the neck, brought him back inside and threw him down onto the floor. Jones remained on the floor for a few seconds, but then got up and ran to the back of the house.

Fleming testified that at this point, he, Collins and Collins' seven-year-old son, E.O., left the house and went to Collins' apartment. Once there, Collins told Fleming to stay with the boy while she would return to Daniels' house to "calm everything down." Fleming testified that he next saw Collins the next day at 4 p.m. and that she was crying and that she told him that "the boy was dead."

Fleming observed that his car, a four-door green Pontiac Grand Prix, had blood on the inside and outside of the trunk, as well as on the antifreeze bottle. Fleming also saw that the spare tire was not in the trunk but that instead of it the trunk contained a can of lighter fluid. Fleming testified that he panicked and took the car to a car wash where he washed off the blood and threw everything from the trunk into a nearby trash can.

Fleming further testified that soon after the incident, he spoke to police, told them what he had witnessed at Daniels' house, and led them to the trash can and the car wash where he had attempted to clean out his car. Fleming averred that soon afterwards he spoke to the State's Attorney and gave a handwritten statement.

When questioned by the State about that handwritten statement, which appeared to be inconsistent with the statements he had just made at trial, Fleming acknowledged that he had written in that statement that Laquita Calhoun and defendant beat Alonzo Jones in the apartment that Jones got up and ran, and that Laquita Calhoun and defendant ran after him out of the building, and that after a few minutes, he saw them dragging Alonzo Jones back toward the house. In that statement, Fleming averred that he saw defendant with a broom handle on the porch of Daniels' apartment, hitting Alonzo Jones on the upper back and then dragging him back toward the apartment. Fleming also testified that, at that point, Alonzo Jones was slurring his words, and seemed as if he would faint at any moment.

On cross-examination, Fleming testified that the victim, Alonzo Jones, was mentally challenged and that he slurred his words all the time. Fleming also stated that Alonzo Jones had a room in Daniels' house.

On cross-examination Fleming also testified that he discovered a blood stained broken bottle inside the trunk of his car and that he threw it away, together with the other items he had discovered there.

When questioned by defense counsel about defendant's activities on the evening of the incident, Fleming changed course several times. He first indicated on cross-examination that defendant sat on the couch the entire time that Alonzo Jones attempted to escape the apartment. Fleming also stated that when he left Daniels' apartment with Collins and her son, the last thing he saw was defendant leaving the apartment and walking away to the back of the house. Fleming stated that he never saw defendant reenter Daniels' house.

Fleming then changed course and on redirect examination testified that, as he was leaving Daniels' house, he saw defendant standing on the porch with a metal broomstick in hand and "pulling" Alonzo Jones toward the apartment.

On re-cross-examination, Fleming again changed course and averred that when he was leaving Daniels' apartment it was dark outside and that therefore he could not state with certainty whether he saw defendant or someone else standing on the porch "pulling" Alonzo Jones.

Ezell Jones¹ next testified that on February 28, 2004, he lived with his girlfriend Janette Daniels and Alonzo Jones at 7425 South Parnell Street in Chicago. Ezell Jones testified that on the evening of February 28, 2004, he was sleeping in one of the three back bedrooms in Daniels' apartment. He stated that sometime that evening Daniels came into the room and told him to ask everyone in the apartment to leave. When Jones entered the living room, he saw defendant, Daniels, Collins, Katherine Calhoun and Laquita Calhoun and told them all to leave the apartment. He then returned to the bedroom and fell asleep.

Assistant State's Attorney Mary Bregenzer next testified that, at about 8:40 p.m. on March 2, 2004, she interviewed defendant at Area 1 Violent Crimes in the presence of Detectives Halloran and O'Brien. Bregenzer testified that after she advised defendant of his Miranda rights he indicated that he wished to speak with her and later elected to memorialize his statement by way of videotape. That video was entered into evidence without objection and viewed in open court.

According to defendant's videotaped statement, on February 28, 2004, he lived on the first floor of a two-flat located at 7419 South Parnell Street, next door to Daniels' building. Defendant averred that on the evening in question, he went to a card party on the first floor of Daniels' building. Daniels and Laquita Calhoun were on the first-floor porch, with Laquita Calhoun speaking to someone on the telephone. Defendant stated that from her conversation, it appeared to him that "something" was going on. The girls soon went upstairs and defendant went inside the first-floor apartment. However, about 10 minutes later, he became curious and went upstairs to Daniels' apartment. Defendant stated that Daniels, Laquita Calhoun, Katherine Calhoun, Ezell Jones, Alonzo Jones, Collins, Fleming and Daniels' three children were all inside the apartment. According to defendant, when he walked into the apartment, Laquita Calhoun was accusing Alonzo Jones of "raping her baby." Soon thereafter, Laquita Calhoun and Alonzo Jones went into Daniels' room for about a minute. When they came back into the living room, Laquita Calhoun pushed Alonzo Jones down to the floor and punched and kicked him in the face.

Defendant stated that at that point he too punched Alonzo Jones in the eye because he "raped * * * the little girl."² Defendant then hit Alonzo Jones with a broom handle on his hand, legs and arms about 20 times. Defendant averred that he also pulled down Alonzo Jones' pants and tried to "stick the broomstick up his bootie" because Alonzo Jones had raped a child. After a couple of seconds Alonzo Jones pulled his...