People v. Williams
| Decision Date | 25 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 85625.,85625. |
| Citation | 736 N.E.2d 1001,192 Ill.2d 548,249 Ill.Dec. 563 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Michael WILLIAMS, Appellant. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, and Kathryn Saltmarsh, Assistant Defender, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, of Springfield (John J. Hanlon, of counsel), for appellant.
James E. Ryan, Attorney General, of Springfield, and Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, of Chicago (William Browers, Assistant Attorney General, of Chicago, and Renee Goldfarb and Julie Line Bailey, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
Following a trial in the circuit court of Cook County, a jury convicted defendant Michael Williams of first degree murder, aggravated kidnaping, and armed robbery (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a), 10-2(a)(3), 18-2 (West 1992)). At a separate sentencing hearing, the same jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty and found that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of that sentence. The trial judge accordingly sentenced defendant to death on the murder conviction and consecutive 30-year prison terms on the aggravated kidnaping and armed robbery convictions. Defendant's death sentence has been stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a). For the reasons which follow, we affirm defendant's conviction and death sentence.
On January 12, 1994, Estelle Jones attended a party at the home of Anthony "Bruce" Smith in Gary, Indiana, with her cousins Angela King and Karolyn Summers. In the early morning hours of January 13, Jones drove King and Summers home, then left to return to Smith's party. Jones' relatives reported her missing when she failed to return, and the police found her body later that day, in a deserted lot in Riverdale, Illinois. Medical testimony revealed that her death was the result of a gunshot wound to the head, which had been inflicted by a shotgun fired at close range. The car she had been driving was found approximately a month later, in a wooded area in east Gary. It had been burned, and the remains of a gasoline can were found inside it.
Smith testified as follows. Among the other people at his party were his half brother, Curtis "Junior" Hosea; his uncle, James "Puko" Thompson; and his friends David Carroll and Chelsea Golden. The victim and her friends arrived around 11:30 p.m. They left after a few hours, but the victim returned to the house approximately one hour later, after having dropped her friends off at home. Smith and the victim went to Smith's bedroom and became sexually involved. While in the bedroom, Smith heard the doorbell ring and heard the voices of defendant and Dennis Moreland.
Smith had a "business relationship" with defendant and Moreland in which Smith was paid $150 per week to sell cocaine for the two men. Accordingly, when Smith heard their voices, he left the bedroom and let the men into the house. Smith, defendant and Moreland returned to the bedroom. There, in the presence of the victim, defendant and Moreland inventoried Smith's supply of cocaine. After determining that everything was in order, they replaced the cocaine and money in a small bag which was left in the bedroom. Defendant and Moreland then joined the party. Shortly thereafter Smith left the bedroom, to use the bathroom. The victim, whom Smith had left alone in the bedroom with the bag containing the drugs, "jumped" when he returned. When he asked her what was wrong, she simply stated that Smith had startled her.
A few minutes later, Smith heard the doorbell ring again. Defendant knocked at the bedroom door and said a customer had arrived. Smith gave defendant the bag containing the drugs and closed the bedroom door. Less than a minute later, Smith heard defendant shout "Hell, no," and Smith exited the bedroom to see what was the matter. Defendant told Smith several rocks of cocaine and some powder cocaine were missing from the bag. After Smith denied taking the drugs, defendant, Smith and Moreland returned to the bedroom, searched the victim, and discovered that she had hidden approximately $50 worth of drugs in her sock.
Moreland pulled a 9-millimeter handgun out of his waistband and pointed it at the victim, but Smith convinced him not to shoot her. However, when Smith went to the kitchen to talk with defendant and Moreland, defendant told Chelsea Golden to "beat" the victim. Golden grabbed a wine cooler bottle and attacked the victim with it. As the two were wrestling, defendant stepped in and began punching the victim in the face. Moreland continued the beating after defendant stopped. Hosea, Carroll and Thompson also hit her once or twice. During the beating, Golden took off the victim's shoes. As defendant and Moreland were hitting the victim, they said that she had "violated" and had to be punished. Defendant suggested that the victim should perform oral sex on everyone present. Moreland and defendant then separately went into the bedroom with the victim. While defendant was in the bedroom with her, Smith heard scuffling and heard the victim screaming no and saying "stop."
After defendant exited the bedroom, he and Moreland went to the kitchen to talk, and Smith followed. He heard Moreland tell defendant to "do something about this here" because the victim could "jeopardize our spot" if she went to the police and reported that she had been assaulted at the house. Defendant agreed, and moved the victim's car to the rear of the house. When he re-entered the house, Moreland told him not to worry about anyone "snitching," because if anyone did, everyone in the house would be in trouble. Moreland flashed a "pitchfork," which Smith testified was a gang sign for the Disciples street gang, and used the term "folks," which Smith testified was another name for the Disciples.
Defendant went into the bedroom and carried the victim out over his shoulder, with a pillowcase over her head. He brought her outside and put her in the trunk of her car. Moreland got a shotgun Smith kept in his house and gave it to defendant, telling him not to worry because Moreland would kill anyone who said anything. Defendant took the shotgun, got into the victim's car, and drove off. Moreland made a call on a cellular phone and, a short while later, a white car pulled up to the house. Moreland said "those are my folks," made the pitchfork symbol, and got into the car with the men and drove away. Several hours later, defendant returned to the house to retrieve the victim's shoes and jacket. When Smith asked him what he had done with the victim, defendant replied that he had "smoked" her. Smith also overheard a later conversation between Moreland and defendant in which defendant told Moreland that he had taken the victim's car to the east side of Gary and burned it and that he had buried the shotgun.
Defense counsel cross-examined Smith extensively regarding statements he made to the police shortly after the murder. When Smith first talked to the police he said that the victim had not come back to the house after leaving with her cousins. Smith subsequently admitted that the victim had returned, but stated that defendant had committed all of the physical violence. On redirect examination Smith testified that he had initially lied to the police because of defendant and Moreland's threat to kill anyone who said anything about what had happened.
Hosea, Golden, and Carroll's testimony corroborated Smith's version of events, but these witnesses added that Hosea had used the victim's car to get cigarettes and drive Thompson home while defendant and Moreland were in the bedroom with the victim. They also stated that they heard the victim pleading for help as defendant carried her from the bedroom to the trunk of her car. The witnesses recalled seeing the 9-millimeter handgun in Moreland's possession, although Carroll testified that defendant was handling the gun when the men first entered the house. None of these witnesses recalled having seen a shotgun at the house during the party.
Riverdale Police Officer Michael Horn participated in a search of Smith's house after the murder. Horn testified that he recovered three guns during the search, one of which was a 9-millimeter handgun. Horn testified that after the police impounded the weapons, defendant told Horn that the 9-millimeter handgun was his and asked Horn how to retrieve it.
Deputy Commander Edward Davies of the Lake County, Indiana, sheriff's department testified that he spoke with defendant on two occasions. First, on March 8, 1994, defendant voluntarily spoke with Davies about the crime for approximately one hour. He was not arrested, and he left the police station after the interview. Later on March 23, defendant was arrested for the crime, and he spoke with Davies again. Davies transcribed a statement defendant made concerning the crime.
In his statement, which was introduced into evidence, defendant recounted the following version of events. He had gone to Smith's house around 2 or 3 a.m.; he did not mention Moreland being with him. A customer had come to the door and defendant got the drugs to make the sale from Smith, who was in the bedroom with a woman. Defendant noticed that the "count" was not right, and told Smith so. Smith then talked to Thompson and searched him in the bathroom, after which Smith said that "that bitch must got [sic] it." Smith then searched the girl he had been with in his bedroom and found the drugs in her possession. Smith and Thompson began to slap her, Golden hit her with a bottle, and then everyone started hitting her. Defendant admitted that he, too, hit the victim, but stated that he only did so because he believed that she had hit him while she was being beaten by the others.
Smith suggested that the victim perform oral or sexual...
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