People v. Sanders

Citation911 N.E.2d 1096
Decision Date26 June 2009
Docket NumberNo. 1-07-3238.,1-07-3238.
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Italo SANDERS, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

Randolph N. Stone and Herschella G. Conyers, Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, Chicago, IL, for Appellant.

Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, County of Cook, Chicago, IL; James E. Fitzgerald, Annette Collins, Assistant State's Attorneys, for Appellees.

Justice JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Italio Sanders1 appeals from the third-stage dismissal of his postconviction petition for new trial. In 1994, defendant was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting death of John Pinkerton amidst evidence that the shooting was a gang-related crime. He subsequently filed for postconviction relief, contending that the trial court erred in failing to inquire into potential gang bias of venire members under the standard articulated in People v. Strain, 194 Ill.2d 467, 252 Ill.Dec. 65, 742 N.E.2d 315 (2000), which provides that such inquiry must be made where gang-related evidence is integral at trial. The circuit court dismissed his petition, finding that gang-related evidence did not play a sufficient role in defendant's conviction. Defendant now appeals. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant Italio Sanders was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Pinkerton on April 26, 1992. The State's theory of the case was that on January 24, 1992, Pinkerton was visiting relatives at the Robert Taylor Homes housing project at 4500 South State Street in Chicago. At the time of the shooting, he was walking down the fifth-floor hallway with his cousin, Alexander Robinson, and his other cousin, Manuel Woods, who was then seven years old. Defendant was allegedly standing on the nearby stairwell landing, and as the three of them walked by, he allegedly drew a gun and shot Pinkerton multiple times. Pinkerton died from his injuries two months later. The defense, for its part, denied that defendant had any involvement in the murder. It alleged that at the time of the shooting, defendant was at home in his fifteenth-floor apartment at 4500 South State Street.

The case proceeded to a jury trial. Before jury selection, the defense expressed concerns about the potential prejudicial impact of expected testimony by Michael Stewart, the victim's brother. Stewart was expected to testify that a couple days after the shooting, defendant told him that the shooting was "BD business," i.e., business of the street gang known as the Black Disciples. Accordingly, defense counsel filed an in limine motion to exclude any evidence related to gangs. In the alternative, the defense asked the court to question the veniremen to find out whether they had any preconceived notions about gangs that might prejudice them against the defendant due to this evidence of gang affiliation.

The court denied both motions, finding that the statement was admissible as evidence of motive and that voir dire questioning on the subject of gangs was unnecessary. The court explained that "questions concerning an individual juror's impression or notions about gang activity, I feel, is really not relevant. It's a highly subjective question and can only, I think, have the effect to possibly inflame the other members of the venire."

In its opening statements, the State laid out its theory of the case as described above. In setting out the scene of the crime, counsel for the State described defendant as "walk[ing] along with at least two other people" in the stairwell facing the fifth-floor hallway that the victim was passing through. The State also summarized the evidence that it intended to bring against defendant. First, it said that Woods had identified defendant as the one who shot his cousin in a police lineup and that Woods would testify that defendant was the shooter. Second, it said that it would call Pinkerton's brother Stewart to testify as follows:

"[A]bout two or three days after the shooting, Michael Stewart * * * saw Italio Sanders on the fifth floor, and he went up to him and asked Italio Sanders if he knew who shot his brother. Italio Sanders told him that it was BD business, it was not his business. He couldn't tell him. Italio Sanders wanted to know if his brother was dead, and at that time it was only two or three days after, he wasn't dead, and Michael Stewart said no, he's not dead. And you will hear what Italio Sanders responded, what he said to Michael Stewart. And what he said was, `Well, it wasn't meant for him, it was meant for the other guy that was with him.'"

The State further said that one week after the shooting, police responded to a call and saw defendant drop something in a bush while running from them. According to the State, after police apprehended defendant, they checked the bush and found a .38-caliber handgun whose characteristics were consistent with the gun that shot Pinkerton.

The State called nine-year-old Manuel Woods to testify. Manuel stated that he was Pinkerton's cousin. In January 1992, he lived with his mother in apartment 503 at 4500 State Street, and his cousin Michael Stewart lived down the hall in apartment 508.

On the night of the shooting, according to Manuel, Pinkerton and his cousin Alexander Robinson came to visit his apartment. Manuel allegedly left with them; the three of them were going to pick up Stewart and then go to watch a Bulls game together. Manuel testified that he was walking on Pinkerton's left side, holding his hand. As they went down the hall, Manuel said, he heard gunshots and saw Pinkerton "jumping." At that time, Manuel testified, he saw defendant on top of the staircase shooting at Pinkerton. He did not see anyone else on the stairwell. Manuel said that Pinkerton pushed him out of the way, and then Manuel ran to Stewart's apartment, telling him, "They shot Johnnie."

During Manuel's testimony, the State showed the jury several photographs of the area where the shooting took place and had Manuel indicate where he was standing at the time of the shooting and where he said he saw defendant. In one of the photographs, gang graffiti reading "GDs die" and "BDs live" was visible on the wall.

Manuel further testified that sometime in April 1992, he went to the police station with his mother. There, he said, he viewed a five-man lineup, from which he identified defendant as the shooter. He stated that he had seen defendant around the apartment building about four times before the shooting occurred, and defendant was the only person in the lineup that he had ever seen before.

Manuel's mother, Janese Woods, also testified; she said that she went with Manuel to view a police lineup on April 6, 1992. From five people seated in chairs, she said, he picked one as his cousin's shooter. She stated that, while she and a police officer were with Manuel in the room, neither of them said anything to him.

The State also called Alexander Robinson, Pinkerton's cousin, to testify regarding events on the night of the shooting. Robinson testified that on January 24, 1992, he went with Pinkerton to visit his aunt Janese and his cousin Stewart. When they entered the building, he said, he saw four men, including the defendant, come in the front door. He said that they were shooting dice in front of the first floor elevator. According to Robinson, they paused for Pinkerton to speak with a girl, then went up to the fifth floor, where they saw "a lot of people out there" including the defendant.

Robinson said that after visiting apartment 503, the two of them left with Manuel for Stewart's apartment. On the way there, Robinson said, he heard shots from the stairway, looked up, and saw two people on the landing. However, Robinson testified that he did not identify defendant at the time of the shooting and did not know who shot Pinkerton.

The State also called Michael Stewart to testify. Stewart testified that Pinkerton was his youngest brother. He stated that on January 24, 1992, shortly before 7 pm, he noticed a group of at least five men, including defendant, standing in the hallway by the elevator. According to Stewart, defendant was wearing a light blue Charlotte Hornets coat. Stewart said that he did not know defendant by name at that time, but he had seen defendant several times before, "always with other guys."

Shortly afterward, Stewart testified, he heard gunfire in the hallway, and Woods came knocking on his door screaming "they shot Johnnie." Stewart says that he ran down the hallway and saw Pinkerton lying on the floor bleeding; at that time, Stewart did not see defendant or the others he had seen earlier.

Two or three days after the shooting, according to Stewart, he saw defendant near his apartment and approached to speak with him:

"Q. What did you say?

A. I asked him, I say, you was out here on the porch the night my brother got shot and would you tell me who shot my brother.

Q. Did he say anything to you at the time?

A. He asked me was he dead.

Q. What did you say?

A. I said no, he's not.

Q. Then what did you say?

A. And he said it was BD business and he couldn't tell me anything other than that the shots weren't meant for my brother, they were meant for the n____ that was with my brother. I say that's my cousin."

Over objection, Stewart testified that he knew that "BD" stood for Black Disciples, a street gang. He also admitted that he had never told the police about this conversation with defendant, not during his meetings with them on March 27, 1992, and on April 7, 1992, nor at any other time. He said that the first time he told the prosecutors of this conversation was on March 21, 1994, less than a week before the trial.

The State also called a number of witnesses for the purpose of establishing a link between defendant and the gun used in the shooting. Officer Curtis Thomas, a Chicago police officer, testified that...

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6 cases
  • People v. Sanders
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Illinois
    • October 7, 2010
    ...argument, the circuit court granted the State's motion to dismiss. The appellate court affirmed. 393 Ill.App.3d 152, 331 Ill.Dec. 866, 911 N.E.2d 1096.BACKGROUND Defendant was charged with the murder of John Pinkerton, which occurred on January 24, 1992. Pinkerton was shot in a stairwell of......
  • People v. Cathey
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • December 16, 2010
    ...if the law has changed since the defendant's direct appeal was decided. People v. Sanders, 393 Ill.App.3d 152, 162, 331 Ill.Dec. 866, 911 N.E.2d 1096 (2009), aff'd, 238 Ill.2d 391, 345 Ill.Dec. 509, 939 N.E.2d 352 (2010). Therefore, if Patrick has changed the law such that the trial court v......
  • People v. Croft, 1–15–0043
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • February 20, 2018
    ...may be relaxed, however, when the law has changed from a previous appeal. People v. Sanders , 393 Ill. App. 3d 152, 331 Ill.Dec. 866, 911 N.E.2d 1096 (2009). A brief review of the controlling precedent shows that the law has evolved since we filed our opinion in Croft , 2013 IL App (1st) 12......
  • People Of The State Of Ill. v. Mendez
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • June 9, 2010
    ...his conviction was final well before the Whitfield decision in 2005. See People v. Sanders, 393 Ill.App.3d 152, 162, 331 Ill.Dec. 866, 911 N.E.2d 1096 (2009) (a defendant's conviction becomes final for purposes of Teague analysis when the defendant has exhausted any available direct appeal)......
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