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1

STATE OF ILLINOIS )

) SS:

COUNTY OF C O O K )

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CRIMINAL DIVISION

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE )

OF ILLINOIS, )

)

Plaintiff, )

) No. 18 CR 00408-01

vs. )

)

JEREMIAH SCOTT, )

)

Defendant. )

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS had at the hearing

in the above-entitled cause before the HONORABLE

DENNIS J. PORTER, Judge of said court, on the 6th

day of SEPTEMBER, 2018.

PRESENT:

MRS. KIMBERLY M. FOXX,

State's Attorney of Cook County, by:

MS. PATRICIA MELIN,

Assistant State's Attorney,

appeared on behalf of the People;

MR. PETER LEWIS,

appeared on behalf of the Defendant.

DORLISA BRYANT

OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY

CRIMINAL DIVISION

CSR #084-003048

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THE CLERK: People versus Jeremiah Scott.

MR. LEWIS: Good morning, Your Honor.

MS. MELIN: Judge, we made an offer on this

case for the first offender gun probation with the

required --

THE COURT: Does he want that?

MR. LEWIS: That is correct, Your Honor. That

is our understanding.

THE COURT: That's on Count 1?

MS. MELIN: Yes.

THE COURT: Is it two years?

MS. MELIN: Yes.

THE COURT: Is that your understanding of the

plea agreement, Mr. Scott?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Is that acceptable to you?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Mr. Scott, Count 1 you're charged

with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon on

December the 12th of 2017 in that you knowingly

carried on or about your person a pistol, revolver

or handgun at a time when you weren't on your own

land, your own abode, legal dwelling or affixed of

business or on the land or legal dwelling of

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another person invited there with that person's

permission and the pistol, revolver or handgun

possessed was uncased, loaded and immediately

accessible at the time of the offense and you

didn't have a currently valid license under the

Firearm Conceal-Carry Act and you hadn't been

issued a currently valid firearm firearm owner's

identification card. Do you understand what you're

charged with?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: How do you wish to plead to this

charge?

MR. SCOTT: Guilty.

THE COURT: By pleading guilty to this charge,

it being a Class 4 felony, on this charge if you

are convicted you must be sentenced to the

penitentiary for a period of not less than 1 year,

no more than 3 years. If you are sentenced to the

penitentiary when you get out would have the term

of mandatory supervised release of 1 year to do,

that is what they used to call parole. In other

words, you're on parole for a year when you get

out.

You could also be fined up to $25,000.

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Those are ordinarily the possible penalties on this

charge. How old are you?

MR. SCOTT: 20.

THE COURT: So there's a first time weapon

offender program you can be placed on. Under that

you can be placed on probation for up to two years.

At the end of that time if you have not violated

your probation and you comply with the other

requirements of it, including 50 hours of community

service, one of the things, at that time the

charges would be dismissed, you would not have the

conviction on your record; do you understand?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you still wish to plead guilty?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Now, if you violate the terms of

this probation, this fist offender weapon offender

program, you just bought yourself a bus ticket to

the penitentiary simple as that; do you understand?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you still want to plead guilty?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: By pleading guilty you're giving up

your right to a jury trial. A jury trial is where

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12 people who are either registered voters or they

have driver's licenses or they have State of

Illinois identification cards, these people are

picked out of a group by your lawyer and the

State's Attorney's. These people come into the

courtroom, listen to the trial and they decide if

the State proved you guilty beyond a reasonable

doubt. In other words, the jury would say guilty

or not guilty. Do you understand what a jury trial

is?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you have any questions you want

to ask me about what a jury trial is?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: Do you understand by signing this

piece of paper you're giving up your right to a

jury trial?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Jury waiver will be accepted. Also

by pleading guilty you're also giving up your right

to a bench trial, and that is a trial by the Court,

by me. You're not going to a have a trial of any

kind by pleading guilty; do you understand that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

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THE COURT: Since you're not having a trial

you're giving up the rights you would have at a

trial. Now, at any trial you would have the right

to be present in the courtroom at the time of the

trial, you would have the right to look the

witnesses in the eye while they were testifying,

you would have the right to have your lawyer ask

them questions about what they said, but since

there's not going to be a trial there's not going

to be any witnesses so you can't do that.

At a trial you would have the right to

call witnesses in your own defense. If these

people didn't want to come in here I can make them

come in here. I can't make them say what you want

them to say once they are here but I can get them

in here.

At a trial you would have the right to

testify in your own defense. That means under oath

you can get up there on the witness stand and tell

me your side if you wanted to. At a trial you

would also have the right to just sit over at that

table, say nothing, do nothing and make the State

prove its case against you beyond a reasonable

doubt.

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Do you understand you're giving up each of

those rights by pleading guilty?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you have any questions you want

to ask me about your rights?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: How old are you?

MR. SCOTT: 20.

THE COURT: How far did you go in school?

MR. SCOTT: High school.

THE COURT: Anybody force you to plead guilty?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: Anyone threaten you to make you do

it?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: Anyone promise you anything to get

you to plead guilty other than this agreement you

have with the State?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: Have you talked to your lawyer

about your case?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Are you satisfied with his

representation?

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MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you understand you have the

right to continue to plead not guilty and to demand

a trial, you can't force the State to give you a

trial on this charge; do you understand that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Do you understand I'm not a party

to your agreement, I don't have to follow it, I

could still sentence you to anything within that

range of sentences that I told you at the beginning

of the plea even though you had this agreement with

the State? Do you understand that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Facts, State.

MS. MELIN: If this case were to proceed to

trial, the evidence would show that on December 12,

2017 during the afternoon hours Chicago police were

on patrol in the 5900 block of West Madison; the

defendant would be identified in open court as one

of the individuals standing in that vicinity; one

of the officers noted that the defendant was

holding his waistband in a suspicions manner.

The officer parked the vehicle and got

out. At that time the defendant while holding his

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waistband started to run through an alley. He was

chased through the alley and the officer observed

the defendant remove from his waistband a firearm

which he dropped to the ground. That was recovered

and found to be a loaded handgun.

It is further stipulated that as of

December 12, 2017 the defendant did not have a

valid firearm owner's identification card nor a

conceal-carry license. So stipulated?

MR. LEWIS: So stipulated that would be the

testimony presented, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Mr. Scott, after everything I've

said do you still want to plead guilty to the

charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: I find defendant understands the

nature of the charges against him, the possible

penalties under the law and his rights under the

law. I further find he wishes to waive those

rights and enter a plea of guilty to the charges

indicated. I also find there's a factual basis for

the plea. There will be a plea of guilty, jury

waived and sentencing will be deferred.

Do you understand you have the right to

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have a pre-sentence investigation done by the

Probation Department? This is a written report

which tells me about you, it tells me your school

record, work record, social background, tells me

about any criminal record that you have. Since you

have this agreement you can skip that, you don't

have to wait for it.

Do you understand by signing this piece of

paper you're giving up your right to that report?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Pre-sentence will be waived. Is

there anything you want to say in aggravation,

State?

MS. MELIN: Nothing, Your Honor. .

THE COURT: Mitigation?

MR. LEWIS: Your Honor, Mr. Scott has no

publishable background and he is currently

employed. He will be able to take advantage of

this opportunity.

THE COURT: Mr. Scott, do you have anything you

want to tell me before I sentence you?

MR. SCOTT: No.

THE COURT: I'll go along with the agreement.

Defendant will be sentenced to 2 years probation

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under the first time weapon offender program, do 50

hours community service. It will be motion State

nolle Counts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

MR. LEWIS: Defendant demands trial.

THE COURT: Defendant demands trial on those

counts. Costs assessed against the defendant. Did

you make bond the same date you got arrested?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: Defendant is credited with five

dollars toward fines and quash and re-call all

warrants previously issued on this case as to this

defendant only.

Mr. Scott, you have the right to appeal

the judgment and sentence of the Court even though

you plead guilty. To do that, though, you first

have to file with the Clerk of the Court a piece of

paper called a motion to withdraw your plea of

guilty. This will be asking me to let you take

back your plea and if I let you do that it makes it

like your plea never happened.

Now, any motion to withdraw your plea of

guilty would have to be made in writing and it

would have to be signed by you, it would have to

state each and every reason that you would like to

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rely on in your appeal and it would have to be

filed within 30 days from today's date, otherwise

your right to appeal is gone forever; do you

understand that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: If you couldn't afford an attorney

for that I would appoint one for you and I'd give

you a free transcript of this proceeding; do you

understand that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: If I were to grant your motion to

withdraw your plea of guilty then any charges that

were dismissed or reduced as a part of your plea

agreement, there are seven of them, they'd be

reinstated at the request of the State, you'd then

go to trial on all the charges; do you understand

that?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: You also have the right to make a

motion to reconsider your sentence within 30 days

of today's date, once again this has to be filed

with the Clerk within that period of time, and if

you couldn't afford an attorney for that I would

appoint one for you as well. However because this

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is an agreed plea in your case if you do try to

change the sentence in any way you would also have

to file a motion to withdraw your plea of guilty,

you couldn't do the one without the other; do you

understand?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: While you're probation it's a

condition of your probation, one, that you report

to your probation officer and two, that you do not

commit another crime, three, that you do these 50

hours of community service among other things.

Failure to do these things could result in a

violation of your probation. If I find you

violated your probation I could then re-sentence

you or I would actually have to re-sentence you to

anything I could have sentenced you to today

including up to 3 years in the penitentiary; do you

understand?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

THE COURT: If you have an emergency that's

going to interfere with your reporting, like you're

sick or something in the hospital, as soon as you

can you'll let the probation officer know what the

problem is; you work it out, you don't just blow it

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off, do you understand?

MR. SCOTT: Yes.

MR. LEWIS: For the record Peter Lewis,

L-E-W-I-S, on behalf of Mr. Scott.

(Which were all the proceedings had

in the above-entitled cause.)

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STATE OF ILLINOIS )

) SS

COUNTY OF C O O K )

I, Dorlisa Bryant, an Official Court

Reporter for the Circuit Court of Cook County,

County Department-Criminal Division, do hereby

certify that I reported in shorthand the evidence

had at the above-entitled cause and that the

foregoing is a true and accurate transcript of the

evidence heard before the Honorable DENNIS J.

PORTER, Judge of said court.

 

DORLISA BRYANT

Official Court Reporter

#084-003048

Dated this 1th day

of JUNE, 2020.

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