People v. Sanchez

• Decision Date: 19 December 1986
• Docket Number: Nos. 61239,63683,s. 61239
• Citation: 503 N.E.2d 277,104 Ill.Dec. 720,115 Ill.2d 238
• Parties: , 104 Ill.Dec. 720 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Hector Reuben SANCHEZ, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 277

503 N.E.2d 277

115 Ill.2d 238, 104 Ill.Dec. 720

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Hector Reuben SANCHEZ, Appellant.

Nos. 61239, 63683.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Dec. 19, 1986.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 30, 1987.

George B. Collins, Donald L. Bertelle, Christopher Bargione, Collins, Uscian & Bertelle, Chicago, Lyn Cima, Waukegan, for appellant.

Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Roma J. Stewart, Sol. Gen., Mark L. Rotert, Joan G. Fickinger, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, for appellee.

Justice RYAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Hector Reuben Sanchez, along with a codefendant, Warren Peters, Jr., was charged under an indictment with two counts of murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(3)), aggravated kidnaping (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 10-1(a)(1)); rape (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 11-1(a)), deviate sexual assault (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 11-3(a)), and attempted murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 8-4(a)). The charges stemmed from the abduction and slaying of Michelle Thompson on February 3 and 4, 1984. Rene Valentine, an acquaintance of Ms. Thompson, was shot and wounded during the incident. Peters' case was severed, and he was tried and convicted of murder on July 14, 1984.

Sanchez, who was tried later, was found guilty of all charges by a jury in the circuit court of Lake County. He waived a jury as to the first phase in his sentencing hearing, and the trial judge found the existence of statutory aggravation factors. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(6).) The jury then determined that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of the death penalty, and the defendant was sentenced to death. He was also given concurrent terms of 60 years for the other offenses. The sentence was stayed (87 Ill.2d R. 609(a)) pending direct appeal to this court (Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, sec. 4(b); 87 Ill.2d R. 603).

Subsequently, Sanchez sought relief under section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 110, par. 2-1401). His petition was dismissed without an evidentiary hearing. An appeal from that dismissal was taken to the appellate court, and we granted a transfer of the appeal to this court under Rule 302(b) (87 Ill.2d R. 302(b)). That appeal has been consolidated with his direct appeal, and both cases are now before this court.

Rene Valentine testified that on the evening of February 3, 1984, he went to a nightclub known as D. Laney's in Gurnee, Illinois. While there, he met the deceased, Michelle Thompson. Valentine knew her because she was dating Pablo Martinez, with whom Valentine was then living. At about 12:30 a.m., Valentine and Thompson went out to Valentine's car in the parking lot. Two men approached the car and entered it from opposite sides. One, a black man, grabbed Thompson, while the other, a Puerto Rican, produced a gun. Thompson was taken into another vehicle by the black man. The Puerto Rican escorted Valentine at gunpoint to a more secluded area of the parking lot and shot him twice in the chest but did not kill him. Valentine later identified the assailant as the defendant, Hector Reuben Sanchez.

Warren Peters, Jr., the black man in Valentine's narrative, provided the bulk of the evidence against Sanchez. He had been tried and convicted of the murder of Thompson before Sanchez' trial but was not sentenced until after he testified for the State against Sanchez. He testified that on February 3, Peters, Sanchez and another person named Forest Heinz had been planning to burglarize a restaurant in the vicinity of D. Laney's. They had "cased" the restaurant earlier in the evening, and later Sanchez and Peters returned to D. Laney's. They were sitting in Peters' car in the parking lot when they spotted Valentine and Thompson. Sanchez proposed going over and talking to them. Peters did not know that Sanchez had a gun, or what Sanchez' intentions were.

Sanchez instructed Peters to take the woman to his car, while Sanchez went off with Valentine. Within seconds, Peters heard what sounded like a gunshot. Sanchez returned to Peters' car, produced a pair of handcuffs from his coat and put them on Thompson. They then proceeded to Sanchez' home. Sanchez took Thompson into the house. By the time Peters entered, Thompson was nude from the waist down. Sanchez then raped her on the family-room floor. He then produced a nylon strap, tied Thompson's still-handcuffed wrists to her feet and dragged her behind a chair. The two men then went outside to put Peters' car in the garage. When they returned, they discovered that Thompson had escaped.

Peters and Sanchez went outside to search and found that she was in the back yard of the house next door. She was near the back door, and was screaming "Help me." According to Peters, Sanchez went over and dragged her back by the handcuffs. Sanchez then told Peters he would have to go back and "blow the neighbors' heads off" because the girl had been pounding on the door and had probably been seen. Sanchez took a gun from the kitchen and went out. He returned a few minutes later, saying he had explained the disturbance.

Sanchez then carried Thompson to the basement. Peters went down several minutes later. He observed the still half-nude woman leaning over the washing machine with Sanchez behind her. She had been gagged with a strip of cloth. Sanchez asked Peters if he "wanted any" and, when Peters declined, announced that he would "have to kill her." Sanchez strangled her with a nylon strap. He also wrapped a coat hanger around her neck, slammed her head to the floor and kicked the lifeless body in the side.

Peters also testified that when the two men began to move the body, he noticed that she had defecated on the basement floor. Peters went for some tissue, and Sanchez cleaned up the excrement. They then dragged the body upstairs. Sanchez burned Thompson's clothes and jewelry in the fireplace. The body was placed in the backseat of Sanchez' car. The men drove to an isolated location in Wisconsin and disposed of the body. As Sanchez drove away, he ran over the body.

After returning to Sanchez' house, Peters took Sanchez' car to his home and kept it for several days, leaving his own car in Sanchez' garage. When Peters' car was returned to him, the formerly white top had been painted black.

Gene Gonyo, Sanchez' neighbor, also testified. He said that he was awakened by his dog barking at about 1:30 a.m., February 4. He saw a man and woman near his back door. The woman was nude from the waist down and the man was wearing a green jacket. Gonyo heard a scream and heard the woman say the word "Larry," which was the nickname by which Sanchez was known to Gonyo. He did not hear cries of "Help me" at any time. Gonyo watched the pair move to the front of his house and walk in the direction of Sanchez'. The woman was walking behind Sanchez. She did not appear to be wearing handcuffs. Gonyo thought to call the police, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Sanchez, who apologized for the disturbance and explained "she either had an epileptic seizure, or she was on drugs, or she was on booze." Sanchez did not have a gun, but as he left he turned and picked up something "dark." Gonyo could not tell what the object was. In Gonyo's estimation, only a few seconds elapsed between the time he saw Sanchez and the girl, and the time when Sanchez was at his front door. There would not have been enough time for Sanchez to have returned to his house, have a conversation, locate a gun and return.

At about 2:15 a.m., Gonyo was again awakened by the barking dog. He saw a car he recognized as Sanchez' pull out of the driveway with the headlights off. The car paused at the corner, then turned toward Wisconsin.

The balance of the prosecution's evidence was of a forensic or otherwise scientific nature. Briefly summarized, the doctor who performed the autopsy testified that the cause of death was strangulation with a fairly wide ligature. Other bruises and abrasions were found which were consistent with events as described by Peters. There was also evidence of anal penetration.

However, the examination found no trace of excrement. Neither was there evidence of injury to the genitalia, as is commonly found in rape victims. Swabs were taken from all the victim's body cavities, but only the vaginal area showed the presence of semen. Later testimony established that chemical factors in the semen were consistent with Sanchez' blood type.

Another witness was an FBI microscopic analysis expert. His investigation involved comparisons of hairs, fibers and other materials collected from the victim's body and the scene of the crime. Briefly stated, fibers found on the body were consistent with fibers from a number of sources in Sanchez' house and car. Also, the victim's hair was consistent with hair found in Sanchez' house and car, Peters' car and on Gonyo's property. Finally, buttons and fibers consistent with the victim's clothing were found in Sanchez' house.

An FBI paint expert also testified that the paint which had been used on the top of Peters' car was consistent with paint in cans found in Sanchez' garage. Other witnesses testified that they had seen handguns and handcuffs in Sanchez' possession.

For the defense, a witness testified that both Sanchez and Valentine applied for jobs with her company on the same day. Valentine had denied knowing Sanchez. A woman who worked as a bartender testified that a man who appeared to be Sanchez was in her saloon on the night of February 3. A patron of the bar identified Sanchez as having been there but was uncertain of the date.

The proprietor of D. Laney's testified that he had seen Valentine go in and out of the bar's inner door several times during the night. From his vantage point, he could not say whether Valentine went outside each time, only that he at least went to the vestibule area. He also did not see Sanchez at ...