People v. Shelby

• Decision Date: 08 November 1991
• Docket Number: 1-88-3207,Nos. 1-88-2706,s. 1-88-2706
• Citation: 582 N.E.2d 1281,221 Ill.App.3d 1028
• Parties: , 164 Ill.Dec. 337 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Andre SHELBY and Michael Caples, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 1281

582 N.E.2d 1281

221 Ill.App.3d 1028, 164 Ill.Dec. 337

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Andre SHELBY and Michael Caples, Defendants-Appellees.

Nos. 1-88-2706, 1-88-3207.

Appellate Court of Illinois,

First District, Fifth Division.

Nov. 8, 1991.

[164 Ill.Dec. 339] Randolph N. Stone, Public Defender of Cook County, Chicago (Hugh Stevens, of counsel), for Michael Caples

David T. Cherney, Stein & Cherney, Ltd., Chicago, for Andre Shelby.

Jack O'Malley, State's Atty., County of Cook, Chicago (Renee Goldfarb, Jane E. Loeb, William Marback, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for People.

Justice GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants Andre Shelby and Michael Caples were charged by indictment with first degree murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, pars. 9-1-A(1), (2), (3) ) and burglary. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 19-1-(a).) Prior to trial, Shelby and Caples each filed motions to quash arrest and suppress evidence on the grounds that their arrests were illegal, and motions to suppress statements on the grounds that their statements to police were not made voluntarily. Both defendants' motions to quash arrest and suppress evidence were sustained, while both motions to suppress statements were denied. From these orders sustaining defendants' motions to quash arrest and suppress evidence, the State now appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the trial court's order on Shelby's motion, and reverse its order on Caples' motion.

FACTS

Defendants, along with Lavaitis Wilson, Levi Boykins, Gregory Johnson, Willie Broughton, Isaac Holden and Kenneth Broughton, were charged with the August 22, 1987, murder of Julio Palomo and with burglary of a truck. Defendants Shelby and Caples were arrested in the early morning hours of August 24, 1987. On January 22, 1988, Caples filed a motion to suppress statements he made to the police following his arrest, alleging that his statements were not made voluntarily. On February 29, 1988, Shelby filed a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence, alleging no probable cause for his arrest, and a second motion to suppress statements on the grounds that they were not voluntarily made. In June 1988 joint hearings were held on Shelby's two motions and Caples' single motion. (Caples later filed a motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. That motion was considered at a separate hearing, discussed later in this opinion.) Although evidence was presented at the June hearings relating to the voluntariness of defendants' statements, this statement of facts will focus primarily on the evidence presented pertaining to the issue of probable cause to arrest Shelby and Caples, since it is the granting of the motions to quash arrest and suppress for lack of probable cause which are the subject of this appeal by the State.

Cozetta Fairchild, Shelby's mother, testifying for her son, said she lived with her son at 910 W. 87th Street, a house with an enclosed front porch, a basement, first and second floors, and an attic. At approximately 3 to 4 a.m. on August 24, 1987, she was asleep in her room in the attic, when she was awakened by knocking at her front door. When she went to the door, she saw several police officers at the door to the porch. Fairchild said she opened the door but did not invite the officers in. They told her they were looking for Andre and asked if he was home, to which she replied, "no." Without her permission, the police entered the house to search for him, and she observed the officers escort her son "down from upstairs." Shelby was handcuffed when the police led him down the stairs.

Fairchild further testified that the police told her they had seen someone in the basement, and she told them that there was not supposed to be anyone there. Several of the officers went into the basement to look for the man they claimed to have seen. Fairchild did not expressly consent to this search, nor did she expressly object. She Finding no one in the basement, Fairchild then accompanied the police to the second floor where there were four locked bedrooms. She unlocked two of the rooms, and one room was unlocked by a boarder. The police used Fairchild's keys to unlock Andre's room. Andre was not found in any of those rooms. Fairchild said the police then took her back down to the first floor, while several officers went to the attic where they located Andre.

[164 Ill.Dec. 340] testified that she felt she had no choice but to allow the police to search the house.

Detective George Holmes, a sixteen year veteran of the Chicago police department, testified for the State. When he came on duty at 8:30 a.m. on August 22, 1987, he was assigned to the investigation of the murder earlier that day of Julio Palomo. He was told that Palomo had been beaten to death by five to ten people at the corner of 59th and State streets while trying to stop a burglary from a truck.

Holmes went to the scene of the murder shortly thereafter, and was approached by John Williams. Williams told Holmes that he had seen the incident from inside a van which was parked nearby. Holmes further testified that Williams told him that one of the participants in the beating was referred to as "Big Mike" by another participant. Williams had seen "Big Mike" in the area before the murder, but had not heard his name previously. Williams described "Big Mike" as 6' to 6'1"' tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds.

Continuing his testimony, Holmes stated that on August 23, 1987, he had a conversation at the police station with Levi Boykins, who was previously identified by witnesses as a participant in the beating. Boykins gave Holmes names of the following additional participants: "Ali Kahn", "Big Mike", "Andre", "Stinky", "Little Gun" and "Gun". Although Holmes said that the police attempted to get information from police department records about those whom Boykins had named, he was not asked nor did he reveal whether any such information was found.

Boykins told Holmes that "Stinky" was Lavaitas Wilson, and that "Andre" was the brother of Lavaitas Wilson's mother. According to Holmes, the police had already determined where Wilson's mother resided. Holmes said that Boykins suggested that if "Andre" was not at Wilson's mother's house, they should "check on 87th Street near Vincinnes [sic] in a building that would be across from a video store and would have new sliding glass doors in the front of it."

Detective Holmes testified that late on August 23 or early on August 24, he went to Wilson's house but was unable to locate "Andre" or any of the other named suspects there. At approximately 4:00 a.m. on August 24, Holmes and three other officers proceeded to Vincennes and 87th where they located a building, 910 W. 87th, with a new sliding glass door on the front porch. Getting no response from knocking or ring the door bell, Holmes said he looked through a open louver in a basement window and saw a male black subject. When Holmes identified himself as police, this person disappeared from sight.

Several minutes later, after continued knocking and ringing, Cozetta Fairchild answered the door. When told that the police had seen a man in the basement, Fairchild said there were no males in the building. Holmes, however, testified that he saw a man walking down stairs from the upper floor. Fairchild then admitted that her boyfriend and a male boarder were in the house.

Holmes explained that they wanted to talk with her son Andre, and asked if they could look around. According to Holmes, she consented. The police found Andre in the attic, lying on the floor halfway under the bed, with a pile of clothes around him and a child lying on top of him. He was then handcuffed and told he was under arrest.

After leaving Fairchild's house, Shelby told the police that he would show them the house where "Big Mike" lived. Shelby directed them to 120th and Stewart, where he pointed out a house to them and identified a red Monte Carlo as "Big Mike" 's car. While the police and Shelby were standing outside looking at the Monte Carlo As they approached the person whom Shelby had identified, the police asked him if he was Mike. The suspect said nothing, and turned to go back in the building. The police then went up to him and told him he was under arrest. According to Holmes, the suspect resisted, and after a struggle, he was handcuffed. The suspect was later identified as the defendant, Michael Caples.

[164 Ill.Dec. 341] a person came out of the building at 12050 Stewart, and Shelby said "That's Big Mike."

On cross examination, Holmes clarified that the only information they had regarding Andre Shelby, prior to Shelby's arrest, was from Levi Boykins, following Boykins's arrest. Holmes said that he did not attempt to get an arrest warrant for Shelby or a search warrant before going to 910 W. 87th. He said that he was not aware of any judge from whom he could obtain a warrant in the early morning hours of August 24.

Holmes further testified that Shelby was immediately placed under arrest when they found him in the attic bedroom at his mother's house. In the police car following his arrest, Shelby denied any knowledge of the beating.

Detective Patricia Harrison testified that she was present when Shelby was arrested. After being removed from the house, Shelby was placed in a police car and advised of his Miranda rights. According to Harrison, Shelby said he could show the police where "Big Mike" resided.

The next witness for the State was Detective Robert Utter. Utter testified that when he and two other detectives approached Caples on the front porch of his house, he saw Caples put something in his mouth, and then turn to back into the house. When the police said "wait a minute, hold it", Caples turned back towards police. The police then told Caples he was under arrest, and a struggle ensued as they tried to handcuff him. The struggle lasted about a minute.

Andre...