People v. Range
| Decision Date | 13 August 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-11-1720,1-11-1720 |
| Citation | 2013 IL App (1st) 111720 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JASON RANGE, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Honorable Maura Slattery-Boyle, Judge Presiding.
¶ 1 Held: No abuse of discretion by the trial court in ordering consecutive sentences, and imposing a 14-year term on defendant's involuntary manslaughter conviction; four-year term of MSR imposed on defendant's aggravated domestic battery conviction reduced to two years.
¶ 2 Following a bench trial, defendant Jason Range was convicted of involuntary manslaughter of a household member and aggravated domestic battery, then sentenced to respective, consecutive terms of 14 and 3 years' imprisonment. On appeal, he contends that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive sentences, that the 14-year term for involuntary manslaughter was excessive, and that the four-year mandatory supervised release(MSR) term imposed on his aggravated domestic battery conviction should be reduced to two years.
¶ 3 Defendant was charged, in relevant part, with the aggravated domestic battery of his then wife, Tara Williams, and the murder of five-week-old Jermiah Williams. Jeremiah was the biological son of Williams and D'Angelo Smith, whom Williams had an affair with while married to, but separated from, defendant. The incident giving rise to the criminal charges filed in this case occurred in the late evening hours of July 26, 2009, when defendant attacked Williams, stabbed her with a knife, and ultimately kicked her down an outside staircase as she carried Jeremiah which resulted in Jeremiah falling three stories to his death.
¶ 4 The evidence adduced at trial revealed that Tara Williams and defendant were married, and had two children, David and Angel. They lived in the third floor apartment of a building owned by defendant's mother, Monica Range, at 249 South Maryland Avenue in Chicago. They separated in 2008, and in the fall of that year, Williams became pregnant by D'Angelo Smith. She immediately told defendant of this, he still wanted to try to work it out, but she ended her relationship with Smith in November 2008. In February 2009, Williams decided that she no longer wanted to be married to defendant, who was then incarcerated, and gave birth to Jeremiah in June 2009.
¶ 5 The evidence further showed that defendant planned a birthday party for his son David on July 26, 2009, at Monica's home. Williams dropped off David, Angel and Jeremiah there, then went to the home of Lee Fountain, whom she was dating. While there, defendant called to have her pick up the children.
¶ 6 During the evening of July 26, 2009, defendant called Williams again. He was upset and angry because she had not picked up the children, and threatened her. When she finally had access to a car, Williams and Fountain picked up Smith for further protection, and arrived atMonica's around 10 p.m. Williams exited the car with Smith and Fountain, and as they were walking up the outside stairs to defendant's third-floor back porch, Williams heard defendant ask from the top of the stairwell, why she brought these men with her.
¶ 7 Williams entered the home while Smith and Fountain stayed on the porch, and defendant confronted her in the back bedroom angry. He asked her why she brought the two men over, then placed her in a choke hold. As he held her, he asked her why she did not come to the birthday party. About 15 minutes after defendant entered the room, defendant's sister, Tamika, knocked on the door, and told him that Smith and Fountain wanted Williams to hurry up. Williams then went to the bathroom, and when she exited, defendant pulled out a knife, and swung it at her. As she tried to block it, she was stabbed in the arms, and screamed. Smith and Fountain entered the home, and defendant told them to leave, but they would not do so. At that point, Monica and Tamika were in the kitchen with Smith, Fountain, and defendant. Smith told Monica and Tamika that Jeremiah was his son, and they acted "[s]urprised." Defendant then tried to stab Fountain, and Smith wrestled him for the knife. While the fight continued, Monica told Williams to call police.
¶ 8 Williams did so, and when she returned to the kitchen, she noticed that Smith and Fountain were no longer there. Williams grabbed the baby who was in a car seat, but not strapped in. As she began to walk down the outside stairwell, defendant kicked her in the back and she "roll[e]d" down eight steps. When she looked up, she saw Jeremiah in midair falling down three flights of stairs then landed "[o]n the concrete in the grass." Defendant ran down the stairs, handed the baby to Williams, then left. Jeremiah was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead later that day.
¶ 9 Defendant called police several times, and repeatedly told them he would turn himself in, but then failed to do so. On July 29, 2009, an "alert issued with probable cause," and he was arrested later that day.
¶ 10 During closing arguments, defense counsel maintained that when Smith told defendant on July 26, 2009, that he was the father of Jeremiah, it was "a complete surprise" to him. Counsel argued that emotions escalated when a strange man in defendant's home told him that he was the father of the child that defendant had thought was his own.
¶ 11 The court found defendant guilty of aggravated domestic battery of Williams and the second degree murder of Jeremiah. In entering its findings, the court noted that this was a "very emotional case," where intense feelings had "escalated," when defendant and his family found out that he was not the father of Jeremiah. The court determined, however, that the evidence showed that defendant kicked Williams down the stairs, and that he was proved guilty of second degree murder.
¶ 12 Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, and prior to hearing arguments on that motion, the court reversed its prior ruling of second degree murder and entered a finding of involuntary manslaughter of a household member. In doing so, the court noted that defendant believed Jeremiah was his own child and had lived with him for a period of time. The court subsequently found that its rulings were correct, and denied defendant's motion.
¶ 13 At sentencing, Williams' victim impact statement was read in court, and defendant presented three mitigation witnesses. Madaree Eiland and Tanisha King testified that defendant was a loving and supportive father, and defendant's mother testified that defendant took care of all three of his children.
¶ 14 Defendant spoke in allocution, stating that this incident has been "real hard on me, sleepless nights, and I'm just -- I've been scared and I've been going through a whole lot." Hefurther stated that the whole situation could have been a lot worse. The court then interrupted defendant, stating that it could not fathom how the situation could be any worse. Defendant then apologized for his wrongdoing.
¶ 15 The court stated that it had no doubt that defendant was sorry, and at the time may have been discovering that he was not the father. The court noted, however, that although defendant does not have a repeated pattern of continuous violence, he has a history of anger and domestic violence issues. The court further noted that defendant did not intend the crime.
¶ 16 In aggravation, the State pointed out that after the baby fell three flights of stairs, defendant fled. The State maintained that this showed that he thought of himself instead of calling police, and did so again during allocution.
¶ 17 Defense counsel informed the court that defendant was a good father, and has worked in the past and is trying to go to culinary school to get a job to support his family. Counsel also indicated that defendant now has mental problems including depression.
¶ 18 The court sentenced defendant to 14 years' imprisonment for involuntary manslaughter and 7 years' imprisonment for aggravated domestic battery. In doing so, the court stated that defendant had a lot of good and bad qualities. The court noted that it took into account who defendant was, what happened and the end result of the baby "being taken from this world," and the pain this has caused everyone involved.
¶ 19 The mittimus that issued indicated that the sentences were concurrent, but the court corrected it the next day to reflect consecutive sentences. Defendant filed a motion to correct the mittimus to reflect concurrent sentences, alleging that the court did not indicate at sentencing that the sentences were consecutive, and that consecutive sentences are not necessary in his case as there is no need to protect the public because this case was an isolated incident. He further maintained that the court did not adequately consider his rehabilitative potential, and that he wasdealing with an extremely emotional situation when he first learned from Smith that he was the biological father of Jeremiah.
¶ 20 The court found that consecutive sentencing was appropriate, and noted that it had considered defendant's rehabilitative potential and that he was a caring father in setting the terms. The court explained that consecutive sentencing was appropriate because defendant's rage posed a public safety issue, and that his rage "transpired" from one person, Williams, to another, the baby. The court, however, reduced the sentence on the domestic battery offense to three years.
¶ 21 Defendant filed a motion to reconsider his sentence alleging that the 14-year term for the involuntary manslaughter offense does not adequately take into account his "bere...
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