People v. Pettis

• Decision Date: 22 June 1989
• Docket Number: No. 2-88-0281,2-88-0281
• Parties: , 133 Ill.Dec. 231 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Finch PETTIS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 1097

540 N.E.2d 1097

184 Ill.App.3d 743, 133 Ill.Dec. 231

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Finch PETTIS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 2-88-0281.

Appellate Court of Illinois,

Second District.

June 22, 1989.

Thomas A. Briscoe (argued), Will & Briscoe, Ltd., Waukegan, for Finch Pettis.

Fred L. Foreman, Lake County State's Atty., Waukegan, William L. Browers, Deputy Director, Lawrence M. Bauer (argued), State's Attys. Appellate Prosecutors, Elgin, for People.

Justice DUNN delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Finch Pettis, was convicted of unlawful delivery of 15 or more grams of a controlled substance (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 56 1/2, par. 1401(a)(2)) and was sentenced to a term of six years' and seven months' imprisonment. He raises the following contentions on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence; (2) that the trial court erroneously refused to permit his attorney to ask an accomplice during cross-examination about the potential penalties for the charge dropped by the State in return for his testimony; (3) that the State failed to provide adequate proof of the chain of custody for the cocaine that was admitted into evidence; and (4) that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm.

Defendant's conviction resulted from his alleged participation in a sale of cocaine to special agent Robert Ogden of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group (LCMEG) at a gas station at the corner of 21st Street and Lewis in Zion on October 1, 1987. Ogden met with other LCMEG agents and a confidential source at about 4:30 p.m. on that date in order to formulate plans for the transaction. The confidential source told Ogden that the purchase would be made at the Zion gas station and that Nelson Booker was one of the individuals involved in the transaction.

Ogden and the confidential source arrived at the gas station at about 5:02 p.m. that same day. They met Booker and another man who Booker identified as Tommy Boyd. At the time there were three cars with LCMEG agents in the vicinity conducting surveillance. Agents Jon Story and Robert Koval were in a car parked on Joppa Street, about one block away from the gas station. Agents Nikos Eliopoulos, Mark Padilla, and Curtis Brame were parked about one-half block south of the station. Agent Syndy Nugent and Detective Owen of the Zion police department were in a church parking lot at the southeast corner of 22nd Street and Lewis.

Booker told Ogden at the gas station that the price for the cocaine would be $1,600. Boyd then stated that he was going to make a telephone call to his source. Boyd returned and told the others that the source would arrive within a short time. The source had not arrived after 20 minutes, so Ogden stated he was hungry and that he had to contact a person throwing a party in southern Lake County in order to tell that person he would be late. He employed this ruse in order to notify the other agents that the deal might take longer than expected. Ogden gave Booker and Boyd the number of a pager so they could contact him. Ogden then left the scene and met with some of the other agents.

Ogden and the informant returned to the gas station after the meeting. They received a page, contacted the phone number that appeared on the pager, and spoke to Boyd, who told them he had contacted his source and the source would meet everyone at the station. At about 6:19 p.m., Ogden saw Booker and Boyd walking toward his vehicle. Other agents saw Booker and Boyd arrive in the area in a blue Oldsmobile with two other men. These two men stood near the Oldsmobile while Booker and Boyd approached Ogden's car.

The two men informed Ogden that the source would not deal with him directly. Instead, the source would park a short distance from the gas station, and Boyd would retrieve the cocaine from the source's car. Boyd told Ogden that the source would be driving a silver BMW. A little while later, Boyd stated that he saw his man. Ogden looked up and saw a silver BMW turning from Lewis Avenue onto 21st Street. Boyd then said that he had to go meet the man and walked toward the BMW. This occurred at approximately 6:46 p.m.

Defendant was the driver of the silver BMW. He parked the car on Joppa Street, about 30 feet from where Agents Koval and Story were parked. The agents saw a plastic bag containing something white in defendant's right hand. Defendant reached over toward Boyd and his hand went below the dashboard. The agents then saw the bag in Boyd's hand. Boyd put it in the left front pocket of his sweatshirt. Boyd did not actually enter the BMW but instead stood outside it and leaned into it.

Boyd then returned to the gas station and sat in the passenger seat of Ogden's car. Ogden testified that Boyd had been away for about two minutes. Boyd asked Ogden to show him the money and Ogden did so. Boyd then handed Ogden a clear plastic bag which contained a white, powdery, rocky substance. Ogden opened up the plastic bag, smelled the contents, and retied the knot on top of it. He activated a prearranged arrest signal. A few minutes later, some of the other agents appeared and placed Booker and Boyd under arrest. The two men who dropped off Booker and Boyd fled from the scene in the blue Oldsmobile. Agents Story and Koval placed defendant under arrest.

Agent Ogden took the plastic bag to the Zion police department and field-tested the contents. The contents tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Agent Story weighed the substance while it was inside the bag, and the total weight was 29.3 grams. Ogden transported the bag and its contents to the LCMEG evidence locker, where he turned them over to Agent Padilla, the LCMEG evidence officer. The bag was sealed when Ogden turned it over. Ogden identified People's exhibit No. 1 as the bag and substance given to him by Boyd and stated that, except for certain markings, the bag appeared to be in substantially the same condition as it was when he turned it over to Padilla.

Agent Padilla testified that he and Agent Ogden processed the bag and substance. Both initialed the plastic bag. They then placed it into an evidence bag and sealed it. Padilla, who was the only person with access to the evidence vault, then placed the bag into the vault. He retrieved the bag from the vault on October 19, 1987, and turned it over to Agent Syndy Nugent. The bag was sealed at the time he retrieved it from the vault. Padilla identified People's exhibit No. 1 as the item he retrieved from the vault on October 19. He testified that with the exception of an opening, a sticker, and a piece of tape, it was in substantially the same condition as when he turned it over to Agent Nugent.

Agent Nugent testified that she received People's exhibit No. 1 from Agent Padilla on October 19. The package was sealed when she received it. Nugent delivered it to the Northern Illinois Crime Laboratory that same day. With the exception of an opening in the bag made by defendant's attorney and some notations from the laboratory, Nugent stated that People's exhibit No. 1 was in substantially the same condition as when she took it to the laboratory.

Michael Johnson, a chemist at the Northern Illinois Crime Laboratory, testified that the lab received People's exhibit No. 1 on October 19, 1987, although he did not personally receive it. The exhibit was in a sealed condition when Johnson first saw it on October 27, 1987. Johnson slit the evidence envelope open and removed the plastic bag with white powder. He weighed the contents of the plastic bag and determined that they weighed 27.9 grams. Johnson performed a test on the substance and determined that it contained cocaine. He testified that with the exception of the opening made by defense counsel, some tape and some notations, People's exhibit No. 1 was in the same condition as it was when he received it.

Tommy Boyd testified that Nelson Booker stopped over at his home at about 10:30 a.m. on the morning of October 1, 1987. Boyd had known Booker approximately 10 years. Booker said that he had a friend who wanted to buy an ounce of cocaine, and he wanted Boyd to get the cocaine. Boyd testified that he was not selling drugs at the time but had done so in the past. He initially declined to participate in the deal. When Booker returned about an hour later, Boyd again declined.

Booker went to Boyd's house a third time that day at about 2:30 p.m., and Boyd agreed to try to help out. Booker set up a meeting with the potential buyer at 4:30 p.m. at the gas station minimart at 21st and Lewis. Booker and Boyd walked over to the gas station at the designated time; Agent Ogden and the informant arrived a few minutes later. After they agreed upon a price for the cocaine, Boyd made several phone calls. He attempted to reach defendant twice, but there was no answer. When Boyd returned, however, he falsely told the others that he had made a connection. The four men waited awhile, and it was then decided that Boyd would go to Waukegan. Ogden stated that he wanted to get something to eat and gave Booker a pager number where he could be reached. A friend of Boyd then drove up in a blue Oldsmobile with a passenger and agreed to drive Boyd to Waukegan.

While the men were driving near defendant's home, Boyd saw an acquaintance walking around. This man gave Boyd the number of defendant's pager. Boyd called the number and, shortly thereafter, received a return call from defendant. Boyd then went to meet defendant at the home of defendant's girlfriend, Cynthia White, in Waukegan.

At first, defendant refused to participate in the transaction. He then changed his mind and agreed to meet Boyd near the corner of 21st and Joppa, about a block from the gas station at 21st and Lewis. Boyd returned to the gas station in the blue Oldsmobile along with Booker and the other two men. The other two individuals parked the Oldsmobile...