Illinois Official Reports 

Appellate Court

People v. Hernandez, 2017 IL App (1st) 150575

Appellate Court 

Caption

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. 

SERGIO HERNANDEZ, Defendant-Appellant.

District & No. First District, Fifth Division

Docket No. 1-15-0575

Filed

Rehearing denied

Modified upon

denial of rehearing

March 31, 2017

May 30, 2017

June 9, 2017

Decision Under 

Review

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 09-CR-364; the 

Hon. Thomas P. Fecarotta, Jr., Judge, presiding.

Judgment Reversed and remanded.

Counsel on

Appeal

Michael J. Pelletier, Patricia Mysza, and Bryon M. Reina, of State 

Appellate Defender’s Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg 

and Christine Cook, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the 

People.
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Panel PRESIDING JUSTICE GORDON delivered the judgment of the 

court, with opinion.

Justice Reyes concurred in the judgment and opinion.

Justice Lampkin specially concurred, with opinion.

 OPINION 

¶ 1 After a jury trial, defendant Sergio Hernandez was found guilty of the first-degree murder 

of Rocio Munoz and of personally discharging the firearm that caused her death. 720 ILCS 

5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2008) (first-degree murder with intent to kill); 730 ILCS 

5/5-8-1(a)(1)(d)(iii) (West 2006) (25-year sentencing enhancement for personally 

discharging a firearm causing death). Defendant was sentenced to 30 years for the murder 

and 25 years as a result of a firearm enhancement, for a total sentence of 55 years with the 

Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). 

¶ 2 On a prior appeal, this court found that defendant’s arrest was illegal, and we vacated 

defendant’s conviction and remanded the case for an attenuation hearing. People v. 

Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶¶ 42, 50 (unpublished order pursuant to Supreme 

Court Rule 23). Specifically, we remanded the matter to the trial court “with directions to 

conduct a hearing to determine whether defendant’s statements at the police station were 

sufficiently attenuated from his illegal arrest to render it admissible.” Hernandez, 2013 IL 

App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 50. We also permitted the parties the opportunity on remand to 

develop a factual record bearing on defendant’s claims of ineffective assistance of trial 

counsel. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56. 

¶ 3 After the trial court held the attenuation hearing, we instructed the trial court as follows: 

“Should the trial court find defendant’s confession was sufficiently attenuated from his 

illegal arrest, we direct the court to reinstate defendant’s conviction. In the alternative, if the 

trial court determines that no such attenuation exists to purge the confession from the taint of 

defendant’s illegal arrest, we direct the trial court to suppress the confession and conduct 

further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, 

¶ 50. 

¶ 4 On remand, the trial court held an attenuation hearing and found that defendant’s 

statement to the police at the police station was sufficiently attenuated from his earlier arrest 

to be admissible at trial, and following our directions, the trial court reinstated defendant’s 

conviction. 

¶ 5 Defendant now appeals the trial court’s decision, arguing (1) that the trial court erred in 

finding attenuation; (2) that his counsel at the attenuation hearing had a conflict of interest, 

since the appellate court permitted defendant on remand to address his claim that his trial 

counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress his statement as involuntary and the 

same trial counsel continued to represent defendant on remand (Hernandez, 2013 IL App 

(1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56 (permitting the parties “ ‘an opportunity to develop a factual record’ ”

(quoting People v. Bew, 228 Ill. 2d 122, 135 (2008)); and (3) that this counsel was ineffective 

for failing to move to suppress defendant’s statement as involuntary (Hernandez, 2013 IL 
- 3 - 

App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56 (“depending on what is entered into the record on remand, 

ineffectiveness *** could be addressed on direct appeal”). 

¶ 6 For the following reasons, we reverse defendant’s conviction, suppress the statement he 

made at the police station, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

¶ 7 BACKGROUND 

¶ 8 In the evening of November 25, 2008, the victim, Rocio Munoz, was found shot in the 

head while in her vehicle, which was parked on West Irving Park Road in Hanover Park, 

Illinois. On December 22, 2008, defendant, her former boyfriend, was indicted for her 

murder. 

¶ 9 I. Pretrial Motion to Quash Arrest 

¶ 10 Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence on the 

ground that he was illegally arrested at his home without probable cause or a warrant. After 

holding a suppression hearing, the trial court concluded that defendant was not arrested at his 

home. On appeal, this court reversed the decision of the trial court and found that an arrest 

had occurred. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 2. We described the testimony at 

the suppression hearing in detail in our prior decision, and we will not repeat it here. 

Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶¶ 4-9. In sum, more than 20 police officers, some 

armed, arrived at defendant’s home, handcuffed him, patted him down, and then removed his 

handcuffs and seated him next to an armed officer in the back of a police vehicle. They 

transported him to another police vehicle, which then transported him to an interrogation 

room in a police station, where he was questioned from 9 p.m. until almost 3 a.m.. This court 

concluded that no reasonable person in defendant’s shoes would have thought that he or she 

was free to leave. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶¶ 42, 46. 

¶ 11 II. Evidence at Trial 

¶ 12 Except for a few statements, the testimony at trial was not described in our prior opinion, 

so we provide a description here.1

¶ 13 At trial, Jose Munoz2 testified that his sister Rocio, the victim, had dated defendant for 

three or four years, until 6 months before she died. Rocio, who had immigrated to the United 

States in 2005 from Mexico, had known defendant in Mexico. At the time of her death, 

Rocio was living with her brother Jose and their two brothers, and they had all lived together 

for three years. For four years, Rocio had worked cutting hair, and during the last six or eight 

months before her death, she had worked at a salon on Irving Park Road, in Hanover Park. 

¶ 14 Rafael Delatore Guzman testified that, in November 2008, he was dating Rocio. On 

November 25, 2008, he met her at 8 p.m., as she was leaving the hair salon where she 

worked. The salon was in a shopping center on Irving Park Road. The two of them walked to 

 

1

A review of the evidence at trial is also necessary for our determination that there is sufficient 

evidence to justify a remand for a new trial without running afoul of the double jeopardy clause. Infra

¶ 132. 

2

Since both the witness and his sister share the last name of Munoz, we refer to them by their first 

names to avoid confusion. 
- 4 - 

her vehicle, which was parked in the parking lot in front of the salon. While Rocio was 

removing some bags from the front passenger seat to the back of the vehicle so that Guzman 

could sit down, Guzman observed a man walking in front of the vehicle. The man was 6 feet 

tall, 184 pounds,3 and dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt, with the hood over his head, 

such that Guzman could not observe his face. After Rocio told Guzman that he could enter 

the vehicle, Guzman was entering when he heard a shot. After the shot, Guzman testified: “I 

just saw Rocio move.” Guzman then entered a nearby supermarket. However, as Guzman 

reached the store, he turned around and observed the same man walking on the sidewalk. 

After entering the store, Guzman asked one of the workers to call the police and an 

ambulance. When Guzman observed the first police vehicle arrive, he went outside and 

walked to Rocio’s vehicle with a police officer. When Guzman reached her vehicle, he 

opened the passenger door and observed Rocio lying on the passenger seat. He grabbed her 

and lifted her up, and he observed that her face was full of blood. Blood was on her face and 

the vehicle seat, and on all of her clothes. 

¶ 15 Detective Hugo Villa, of the Hanover Park Police Department, testified that, on 

November 25, 2008, he was a police officer, and he responded to a call at 8:11 p.m., 

directing him to a shopping center on Irving Park Road. After arriving there, Villa observed a 

woman slumped forward in the driver’s seat of a silver Ford parked in the parking lot, and 

she was covered in blood. The driver’s side door was closed, and the window was shattered, 

with a partial hole in the window. After Villa opened the door, he grabbed the woman by her 

left shoulder and pulled her back, so that she sat up in her seat.4

 Villa observed a gunshot 

wound behind the woman’s left ear and did not observe any signs of life. As Villa called the 

dispatch officer, he noticed a spent shell casing outside the vehicle, within a foot or two of 

the driver’s side door. However, Villa was not able to determine the caliber of the shell 

casing. While at the scene, he spoke with Rocio’s then-current boyfriend, whose name Villa 

could not recall. 

¶ 16 Nicholas Rossberg, a paramedic with the Hanover Park Fire Department, testified that, on 

November 25, 2008, he received a dispatch at 8:12 p.m. and that, when he arrived on the 

scene, Rocio was not responsive and not breathing, and had no pulse. She was transported to 

St. Alexius Medical Center. 

¶ 17 The parties then entered a stipulation that if Dr. Karla Dunston was called to testify, she 

would testify that on November 25, 2008, she was an emergency room physician at St. 

Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, that Rocio arrived at 8:36 p.m. with a gunshot 

wound to the back of her head behind her left ear, and that Rocio was pronounced dead at 

8:44 p.m. The parties also stipulated that, if Dr. Kendall Crowns was called to testify, he 

would testify that he was a deputy medical examiner for Cook County and that the cause of 

Rocio’s death was a gunshot wound to the head. 

¶ 18 Edgardo Lopez, a Hanover Park police officer, testified that, on November 25, 2008, he 

was a member of the Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT), which went to Aurora to locate 

defendant who was a suspect. After police had “put out word that [defendant] was being 

 

3None of the witnesses testified at trial as to defendant’s weight and height. 

4Guzman testified that, when he observed the first police vehicle arrive, he walked to Rocio’s 

vehicle with a police officer and that Guzman, not the officer, opened the passenger door and grabbed 

Rocio and lifted her up. 
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looked for,” defendant called the police. While in Aurora, Lopez, who was fluent in Spanish, 

spoke on the phone with defendant who provided directions, and the officers then went to an 

apartment building where defendant was waiting outside. Defendant did not run or resist. 

Other officers approached defendant and transported him to the Hanover Park police station. 

¶ 19 David Scot Carlson testified that, on November 25, 2008, starting at 4 p.m., he was 

working as a bouncer at a bar in Hanover Park, located at Irving Park Road and Jensen 

Street, approximately 100 yards from the shopping center with the hair salon. Carlson had 

two prior convictions for theft. Shortly after 4 p.m., he stepped outside for a cigarette and 

observed a black or blue Ford F-150 pick-up truck with “flared out” back wheels parked on 

Jensen Street. Part of Carlson’s job is to patrol the bar’s parking lot. Carlson observed the 

same truck at 8 p.m.5 and also observed, “in the retention pond an officer with two 

gentlemen on the ground, possibly at gunpoint.” Carlson was not asked to explain what a 

retention pond was or to describe it, but he did state that the pond was “on the other side of 

the truck.” Carlson returned to the bar and thus did not observe what happened to the two 

men. The next day, when Carlson returned to work, he noticed a picture of the truck behind 

the bar. Carlson then called the Hanover Park Police Department, and Hanover police came 

to Carlson’s home on December 2, 2008. Carlson then went with the police to the Hanover 

Park police station, where he observed the same truck parked in the police parking lot. The 

police did not point the truck out to him; he just noticed it. 

¶ 20 Lisa Koenen, an evidence technician with the Village of Hoffman Estates, testified that, 

on November 25, 2008, she went to St. Alexius Medical Center to photograph the victim’s 

body. In addition to observing a gunshot entrance wound on the side of the victim’s head, 

Koenen also observed four pieces of glass fragments in the victim’s hair. Koenen was also 

present during the subsequent autopsy at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office; she 

took custody of the “fragmented projectiles,”

6

 removed by the medical examiner from the 

victim’s head, which had lodged behind the victim’s right eye. On November 26, 2008, at 

8:30 p.m., Koenen also photographed the exterior of the apartment building where defendant 

resided and where he had been located earlier that day. There was a truck parked by the side 

of the building that Koenen photographed. When she looked through the truck’s windows, 

Koenen observed a black plastic gun holster underneath the front passenger seat. 

¶ 21 The parties then stipulated that, if Ernie Dannenberger were called to testify, he would 

testify that he is the Director of the Vehicle Services Department for the Illinois Secretary of 

State and that a 1999 Ford F-150 with a certain license plate number was registered to Jose 

M. Hernandez in Aurora, Illinois. 

¶ 22 The parties further stipulated that if Jose Hernandez7 were called to testify, he would 

testify that he helped defendant, who is his nephew, purchase a dark blue Ford F-150 truck 

and that, as a result, Jose is listed as the owner. Although Jose was listed as the owner, he 

never used or drove the truck, which belonged to defendant. In the early morning hours of 

 

5Detective Villa testified that he received a dispatch about the murder at 8:11 p.m. 

6Koenen referred to the items she received as “fragmented projectiles.” She did not identify a 

caliber or type. 

7

Since both defendant and his uncle share the same last name of Hernandez, we will refer to the 

uncle by his first name in order to avoid confusion. 
- 6 - 

November 27, 2008, when Hanover Park police officers came to his home, Jose signed a 

consent form allowing them to search the truck. 

¶ 23 Thomas Todd, a forensic technician with the Schaumburg police department, testified 

that, on November 28, 2008, he processed the blue Ford F-150 truck and recovered (1) a 

black plastic gun holster and a pair of white women’s panties from the center console hump 

on the front-seat floor and (2) multiple small broken glass fragments from the driver’s side, 

front-seat floor mat.8

 Based on the shape of the holster and the lack of an area for a cylinder, 

the holster appeared to be a holster for an automatic weapon. 

¶ 24 Sergeant Kevin Conway testified that he worked for the Hanover Police Department and 

that, on November 29, 2008, he traveled to defendant’s building. Near the rear garage door, 

he observed some burnt black clothing9

 with a partial zipper. The pile also included a scale. 

In December 2008, Conway transported David Carlson from Carlson’s home to the police 

station and then to the bar where Carlson worked. Conway then parked his unmarked police 

vehicle in the location where the truck had been parked on the night of the murder and 

photographed the area. The location was less than a block from the shopping center. 

¶ 25 The parties stipulated that, if Monica Ramirez were called to testify, she would testify 

that she is fluent in both English and Spanish, that she accurately translated the videotaped 

interview of defendant on November 27, 2008, from Spanish into English, and that her 

transcript was used to create English subtitles for a video of approximately the last hour of 

the interview. 

¶ 26 In a sidebar, the parties agreed that, although there was an English translation and 

transcript of the entire six-hour interview, the jury was not going to receive that transcript. 

Instead, the jurors were going to watch a video of approximately the last hour of the 

interview with English subtitles. With respect to the written transcript, the trial court stated: 

“You can put it into evidence. It’s just not going to the jury.” The trial court later stated, and 

the parties agreed, that People’s Exhibit No. 61, which was the entire transcript, was “not in 

evidence.” 

¶ 27 Alvaro Fernandez, a police officer with the Village of Hoffman Estates, testified that, on 

November 26, 2008, at 9 p.m., he met defendant in an interview room at the Hanover Park 

police station. Fernandez is from Cuba and fluent in Spanish. Defendant indicated that he 

spoke only a little English and was more comfortable with Spanish, so Fernandez spoke to 

him in Spanish, first advising defendant of his Miranda rights. The interview lasted from 9 

p.m. until 2:45 a.m. At first, Detective Ralph Griewosz was also in the interview room, but 

since Griewosz did not speak Spanish, Griewosz left between 10:30 and 11 p.m. and was 

replaced by Detective Juan Miranda, who spoke Spanish. 

¶ 28 The jury then viewed a video of only the last 57 minutes of the interview with defendant. 

While the interview was in Spanish, the video contained simultaneous English subtitles. The 

video, which the jury viewed, also contained information which was not otherwise 

introduced into evidence at trial. Thus, the jury viewed (1) the police suggesting that Rocio’s 

 

8Lisa Koenen, the evidence technician, testified that she observed glass fragments in the victim’s 

hair. 

9Guzman, the victim’s boyfriend, testified that the shooter wore a black hooded sweatshirt. 
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boyfriend had already identified defendant from a photo array,10 (2) the police telling 

defendant that individuals named “Alejandro” and “Alfredo”

11 had separately informed them 

that defendant had left his home before 7 p.m. on the night of the murder wearing a black 

hooded sweatshirt and that the two men knew it was before 7 p.m. because their soap operas 

had not yet started, (3) the police telling defendant that they had discovered a receipt in 

defendant’s room which proved that defendant was at a market at 6:14 p.m. on the night of 

the murder and then showing defendant the receipt, and (4) the police performing a gunshot 

residue test on defendant’s hands and telling defendant that the result was positive for the 

presence of gunshot residue. 

¶ 29 However, none of these alleged facts were substantiated at trial. First, although the jury 

viewed the police seeming to indicate that Rocio’s boyfriend had positively identified 

defendant, Guzman testified at trial that he did not view the shooter’s face. Second, although 

the jury viewed the police telling defendant that “Alejandro” and “Alfredo” had informed 

them that defendant had left his home before 7 p.m. wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, no 

one by either name testified at trial. Third, although the jury viewed the police informing 

defendant that they had discovered a receipt in his room showing that defendant was at a 

market at 6:14 p.m., no such receipt was introduced at trial. Fourth, although the jury viewed 

the police, ostensibly performing a gunshot residue test on defendant’s hands and informing 

defendant of the positive result, the jury was never informed that this was a bogus or fake 

test, as later described in the subsequent postappeal attenuation hearing. 

¶ 30 In the video that the jury watched, the officers asked defendant if they had his 

“permission” to “check” his hands for gunshot residue, and defendant asked “what are my 

rights?” One of the officers replied: “I’m asking you. If you don’t want we won’t do it ***.”

After defendant explained that he had shot a “BB gun” a week ago, the officer indicated that 

would not affect the test. 

¶ 31 In the video, the officer stressed that gunshot powder would stay on a person’s hands for 

months and that washing and scrubbing would not remove it. When the officers then asked if 

defendant wanted the gunshot residue test, he replied: “Do it.” 

¶ 32 The officers then offered defendant the opportunity to take a lie detector test, and 

defendant replied “[d]o it” and stated repeatedly that he would pass it. However, no lie 

detector test was given. 

¶ 33 The video depicts the officers asking defendant repeatedly what would happen if he did 

not pass the lie detector test, and defendant replying each time: “I’ll pass it.” Finally, in 

exasperation, the officer stated, “[t]hat’s not the question,” and defendant replied: “If I don’t 

pass it that means I’m guilty.” After more questions by the officers, in which they kept 

 

10On the video, the police officers stated: “We—the Rocio’s boyfriend, she was with him, when this 

happened. We showed him this. *** And whose picture do you think he picked out.” They also stated: 

“Why do you think Rocio’s boyfriend—he doesn’t know you and you don’t know him—*** No and 

why would he—he doesn’t know you. We didn’t tell him who you were. We showed him this and who 

do you think he picked out?”

11In an earlier part of the video which the jury did not view, defendant stated that, on the night of the 

murder, he was with his two friends and roommates, Alejandro and Alfredo, for a portion of the 

evening. Defendant did not state their last names. 
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asking defendant why defendant was lying to them, a third person entered the interrogation 

room carrying a kit, and defendant said: “Let’s shut up and do the test.” 

¶ 34 Immediately before the officers performed the bogus gunshot residue test, one of the 

officers asked the apparent technician if he was ready, and he replied that he was. The 

technician explained in English how the test worked, while one of the officers translated his 

words into Spanish. The technician stated that, if defendant had fired a gun in the last 24 or 

48 hours, “[t]his test will tell me whether or not you did it. This test will say if you did it or 

not.” The technician explained that he was going to apply a chemical to defendant’s hands 

and that the chemical would turn pink if defendant had shot a gun. 

¶ 35 However, before performing the test on defendant, the technician stated that he was first 

going to perform the test on one of the officers. The technician asked defendant “sound fair?”

and defendant said yes. Defendant then watched as the technician, who was wearing rubber 

gloves, rubbed a piece of cloth or paper on the officer’s right hand, and then dipped it into a 

solution, waited a moment, and then announced “no pink.” 

¶ 36 The technician then rubbed a piece of paper or cloth against each of defendant’s hands, 

then dipped it into a solution, waited a moment, and then showed it to defendant, asking 

“[w]hat color is that?” Defendant answered “[p]ink.” 

¶ 37 The technician asked defendant “what do you think pink means,” and defendant replied 

“I don’t know.” One of the officers then asked the technician if the test would turn pink from 

a BB gun, and the technician answered no, that it would turn pink only from gunpowder. The 

technician then packed up his kit and exited the room. 

¶ 38 The officer asked defendant: “Were you trying to scare her? Was it an accident?” After 

defendant replied that he had “nothing to say,” the officer asked if defendant wanted the 

officer to think he was “a monster” and that defendant had “killed her like a dog.” That is 

when defendant said, echoing what the officer had said before, “[i]t was an accident.” 

¶ 39 When asked how it happened, defendant stated that he did not know about guns, that he 

wanted to speak with Rocio, that he was nervous, that he turned so that she would not look at 

him, and that he then “kind of pulled the trigger.” When asked where the gun was, defendant 

stated that he threw it in a river in Aurora and that it was “all mashed up.” When asked where 

he obtained the gun, defendant replied “from some black guy.” Defendant did not know 

either the type of gun or the type of bullet. 

¶ 40 Both the subtitles and the typed transcript state repeatedly that defendant “brunt” his 

clothes. Although “brunt” is a word, this court presumes that “brunt” is a typographical error, 

and that the translator meant “burnt.” In the video, defendant stated that he burnt his clothes 

on the cement outside his house and then threw the ashes in the river. 

¶ 41 Defendant stated: “It was an accident that’s all I know. I myself killed her but honestly I 

wasn’t going to shoot her. I didn’t want to shoot her. It was an accident. The gun was very 

vulnerable.” The officers asked what he did when he saw Rocio walking toward her vehicle, 

and he replied: “I like tried talking to her. But for her to open the door I was like let’s see if 

she opens it to speak with her or if she’ll let me get in the car.” Defendant stated that Rocio 

did not open the vehicle.12 

 

12Although defendant stated that Rocio did not open the vehicle door, she was found seated inside 

the vehicle. 
- 9 - 

¶ 42 When asked about the holster found in his vehicle, defendant stated that he did not know 

about the holster, that he did not know where the holster came from, and that it was not his. 

About the gun, defendant stated: “I was trembling because I’ve never had a weapon.” 

¶ 43 After the jury watched the video, Detective Fernandez resumed his testimony. Fernandez 

testified that defendant informed him that defendant had broken the gun into pieces and 

thrown them into a river. On November 27, 2008, Fernandez and 20 other officers drove with 

defendant to Aurora to search for the gun. Defendant first indicated that he had thrown pieces 

of the gun off a pedestrian bridge and also from a park along the Fox River. When Fernandez 

accused defendant of lying, defendant said that he had thrown the whole gun out his vehicle’s 

window into a grassy lot in Aurora. After a search of the lot, no gun was found. 

¶ 44 When the assistant State’s Attorney (ASA) asked “this story about it being an accident, 

who was the first one that used the word accident and suggested accident during this 

interview,” Detective Fernandez replied: “That was me, sir.” When asked. “[i]t was not the 

defendant that first said that this was an accident, is that correct?” Fernandez replied: “No. It 

was part of my theme.” Fernandez further testified: 

“ASA: And it was you that first said ‘maybe this was an accident,’ is that right? 

 FERNANDEZ: That’s correct. 

 ASA: And basically, he said ‘yeah, that’s it. It was an accident,’ right? 

 FERNANDEZ: After I brought that theme out several times, yes.” 

¶ 45 Both parties rested. During closing arguments, the ASA argued, repeatedly and without 

objection, that Rocio had been shot with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. However, 

the gun was not recovered, and none of the witnesses testified that the shell casing found on 

the scene or the fragments removed from the victim’s head were fired from a 9-millimeter 

semiautomatic handgun.13 The defense attorney argued that Rocio’s death was an accident 

and asked the jury to find defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter. During the jury 

instructions, the trial court told the jury: “The tape and not the subtitles is the evidence. If 

you perceive a conflict between the tape and the subtitles, the tape controls.” After listening 

to the court’s instructions, the jury found defendant guilty of both first degree murder and 

personally firing the firearm which caused Rocio’s death. 

¶ 46 III. Posttrial Motions, Sentencing, and First Appeal 

¶ 47 On August 23, 2010, the trial court denied defendant’s posttrial motion for a new trial 

which argued, among other things, that the court erred in denying defendant’s motion to 

quash his arrest and suppress evidence. At sentencing, the trial court listened to factors in 

mitigation and aggravation, including the fact that the 25-year old defendant had no prior 

contact with the law in the United States or in his native Mexico. The minimum possible 

sentence was 20 years for first-degree murder and an additional 25 years to life for personally 

discharging the firearm which caused the death, for a total minimum sentence of 45 years 

with IDOC. After considering factors in mitigation and aggravation, the trial court sentenced 

 

13Lisa Koenen, the evidence technician, testified that she recovered “fragmented projectiles,” 

which the medical examiner removed from the victim’s body, but Koenen did not identify a type or 

caliber number. Similarly, Detective Hugo Villa testified that he recovered a spent shell casing outside 

the victim’s vehicle but that he was not able to determine the caliber of the shell casing. 
- 10 - 

defendant to 30 years for the murder and 25 years for the firearm enhancement, for a total of 

55 years with IDOC. 

¶ 48 On November 10, 2010, the trial court denied defendant’s motion to reconsider the 

sentence, and defendant’s first appeal followed. As we already indicated, this court found 

that defendant’s arrest was illegal, and we vacated defendant’s conviction and remanded the 

case for an attenuation hearing. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶¶ 42, 50 

(unpublished order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 23). We directed the trial court “to 

conduct a hearing to determine whether defendant’s statements at the police station were 

sufficiently attenuated from his illegal arrest to render it admissible.” Hernandez, 2013 IL 

App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 50. We also permitted the parties the opportunity on remand to 

develop a factual record bearing on defendant’s claims of ineffective assistance of trial 

counsel. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56. 

¶ 49 IV. Request for New Counsel on Remand

¶ 50 After the case had been remanded, but before the attenuation hearing occurred, the parties 

appeared before the trial court on April 3, 2014, and defendant asked for new counsel. On 

this appeal, defendant claims that he should have received new counsel for the attenuation 

hearing because his trial counsel had a conflict of interest. 

¶ 51 On April 3, 2014, the following colloquy occurred, through a translator, between 

defendant and the trial court on the subject of new counsel: 

“DEFENDANT: I want to ask this honorable Court, or the Judge, the appointment 

for a moritas (phonetic) force. 

 THE COURT: For what? 

 ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER (APD): Judge, I believe what he’s trying to 

say is murder task force. 

 THE COURT: Okay. 

 DEFENDANT: Murder task force. And the reason for which I ask this is because 

my attorney on the last court date, in front of several people, told me that she didn’t 

want to do my case, and if it were up to her, she would not have taken my case. I have 

been speaking with her, and she doesn’t want to bring [to] the Judge’s attention some 

important points or issues that I believe is for my defense. And I have the name of the 

witnesses that heard her say that. 

 THE COURT: Okay. [Defendant], please put that document away. All right. 

Here. You’re entitled to the representation of the Public Defender’s Office, okay? 

This is up today for a hearing on what we call attenuation, all right? I don’t know if 

[the APD] explained it to you, but I’m sure she did. 

 What I’m going to do is I’m going to hold that hearing pursuant to the mandate, 

or pursuant to the direction of the appellate court on remand, okay? And there will 

be—the Court will hear evidence, and you will be present. You will be represented by 

[the APD]. 

 You can’t pick and choose which [APD] to get.”

¶ 52 The trial court then asked the APD to respond to defendant’s allegations: 
- 11 - 

“THE COURT: [APD], would you please—I’m concerned about what he said. 

Could you please respond to his allegation that you—did you tell him that you don’t 

want to—

 APD: No, Judge. What happened is [defendant] expressed displeasure with me. I 

told him that if he didn’t want me representing him, I wouldn’t want to have to 

represent him. However, I am assigned to his case. I would not want to represent 

someone that did not want me to represent him. 

 THE COURT: This matter is here for an attenuation hearing, and that’s what it’s 

here for, and that’s what’s going to happen. 

 So we’ll see you on May 20th, 2014, because you have a right to be present for 

that hearing, okay? See you then. 

 APD: Judge, in addition, I told him that he had the option of hiring private 

counsel if he chose. 

 DEFENDANT: Your Honor—

 THE COURT: I said that’s the order. Thank you.” 

¶ 53 On May 20, 2014, the APD informed the trial court that she was not ready to proceed 

with the attenuation hearing because she “received a 27-page document written by [her] 

client indicating things he wanted [her] to address” and she had not yet had to time to read it. 

In response, the trial court rescheduled the hearing for June 30, 2014. 

¶ 54 V. The Attenuation Hearing 

¶ 55 During the State’s opening statement at the hearing, the ASA argued, among other things, 

that even though the gunshot residue test was false, it still served as an intervening 

circumstance between the illegal arrest and defendant’s subsequent confession. 

¶ 56 At the hearing, Detective William Kirby testified that he was employed by the Village of 

Arlington Heights and assigned to MCAT and that, during the afternoon of November 26, 

2008, he traveled to the home of defendant’s uncle, Jose Hernandez, in Aurora and asked 

Jose to have defendant call Kirby. Kirby told Jose, who spoke perfect English, that Kirby 

wanted to talk to defendant about defendant’s ex-girlfriend. At 7:15 p.m. that day, defendant 

called. 

¶ 57 Kirby testified that defendant spoke some English but not well. During the call, Kirby 

told defendant that Kirby wanted to speak with him about his ex-girlfriend, and defendant 

said that he would talk to Kirby. Defendant asked Kirby to “come pick him up,” and Kirby 

agreed. Kirby did not speak Spanish, and he had to ask Ed Lopez, a Spanish-speaking officer, 

to call defendant back because Kirby did not understand defendant sufficiently to understand 

the street address which defendant provided. 

¶ 58 Kirby testified that he contacted his commander and that his commander contacted the 

Aurora Police Department. At 8:30 p.m. Kirby, Lopez, and other officers arrived at 

defendant’s location in Aurora. The officers at the location included David Warnes, Kirby’s 

commander; Ed Lopez from the Hanover Police Department; and “a bunch of uniform[ed] 

officers [from] Aurora” whom Kirby did not know. There were approximately 20 officers 

present. When Kirby first arrived, defendant, as well as five or six other Hispanic males, 

were already in handcuffs. Kirby did not observe any guns drawn. However, other officers 

had already been there approximately 20 minutes, and Kirby did not know whether guns had 
- 12 - 

been drawn prior to Kirby’s arrival. When Kirby first observed defendant, defendant was 

handcuffed with his hands behind his back14 and walking toward Kirby’s vehicle in the 

company of two or three officers, with one officer walking next to defendant and one or two 

officers walking behind. 

¶ 59 Kirby testified that, after defendant was walked to Kirby’s unmarked vehicle, Kirby 

asked a uniformed Aurora officer who accompanied defendant to remove defendant’s 

handcuffs, which he did. Kirby asked defendant: “Are you coming with me to the police 

station?” Defendant replied yes, and entered the backseat. Kirby’s partner, Gary Mitchell sat 

next to defendant. Both Kirby and Mitchell wore guns, but Kirby did not believe that his gun 

was visible. Kirby explained that there was little conversation as he drove because 

defendant’s “English is not good and my Spanish is not good.” However, Kirby testified that 

he explained to defendant that he “was driving him to the Hanover Park Police Station.”

Kirby testified that, after the handcuffs were removed, the “tenor” was “cordial and 

pleasant.” However, neither Kirby nor Kirby’s partner Mitchell told defendant that he was 

free to leave. 

¶ 60 Kirby testified that, during the drive, he received a phone call informing him that two 

Spanish-speaking officers were going to meet them half-way, so Kirby pulled into a gas 

station in West Chicago. Another unmarked police vehicle arrived shortly with officers 

Fernandez and Miranda, who spoke Spanish, and a third officer whom Kirby did not know. 

These three officers were all in plain clothes. Kirby exited his vehicle and opened the door 

and asked defendant to exit. The other officers shook hands with defendant, and defendant 

entered the backseat of their vehicle. Fernandez drove that vehicle, and Miranda sat in the 

backseat with defendant. 

¶ 61 Before the next witness, the trial court observed that defendant’s lawyer did not speak 

Spanish, and the court informed defendant that if, at any time during the proceedings, he 

wanted to speak to his lawyer, he should raise his hand and the court would stop the 

proceedings so that he and his lawyer could use the interpreter. 

¶ 62 Detective Alvaro Fernandez testified that he was a detective with the Hoffman Estates 

Police Department and that, in November 2008, he was an investigator with MCAT assigned 

to investigate Rocio’s death. Between 7:15 and 8:15 p.m. on November 26, 2008, he traveled 

with Detectives Juan Miranda and Ralph Gniewicz to a gas station to meet Detective Kirby, 

who was transporting defendant. Fernandez, Miranda, and Gniewicz were all in plain clothes 

and carrying guns. Fernandez testified that the bottom of his holster may have been visible 

from under his jacket when he sat down. In Spanish, Fernandez informed defendant that they 

were transferring vehicles and told defendant “we’re going to go in this car.” Fernandez 

opened the rear left door of his unmarked Dodge Charger, and defendant entered the 

backseat. Miranda sat next to defendant in the backseat, Gniewicz drove, and Fernandez sat 

in the front passenger seat. Defendant asked Miranda what this was about, and Miranda 

replied that they would talk about it when they arrived at the police station. They drove 10 to 

 

14The State did not establish at the attenuation hearing the exact time that defendant was first 

arrested. When this court explained why we were remanding for an attenuation hearing, we stated that 

we were missing key facts. For example, we observed: “Based on the record, we do not know exactly 

when defendant was arrested.” Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 46. 
- 13 - 

15 minutes to the Hanover Park Police Department, where defendant was brought into an 

interview room, which was eight feet by eight feet, with a table and a couple of chairs. 

¶ 63 Fernandez testified that defendant was alone in the interview room for about 20 minutes 

before Fernandez and Gniewicz reentered. The door to the room was shut but Fernandez does 

not know if it was locked. Before the officers reentered, video equipment was in operation. 

Fernandez’s first language is Spanish, and he spoke to defendant in Spanish. Fernandez 

thanked defendant for coming, and defendant responded “okay.” Fernandez then read 

defendant his Miranda rights from a preprinted form. After reading each right, Fernandez 

asked defendant if he understood, and defendant would “nod his head and say uh-huh.”

While Fernandez understood defendant’s response to mean yes, Fernandez did not ask 

whether it meant yes. When Fernandez asked defendant if he would speak with Fernandez, 

defendant did not verbally respond but he nodded his head silently up and down. Fernandez 

then asked: “Do you wish to speak with me? Do you know why you’re here?” In response, 

defendant shook his head no,15 and Fernandez did not ask him to clarify whether he meant 

no, he did not want to speak with defendant, or no, he did not know why he was here. 

Fernandez understood the response to indicate an agreement to speak with Fernandez. 

¶ 64 Fernandez testified that the interview lasted 5hours and 45 minutes. There were two 

periods of time when defendant was left alone for 10 to 20 minutes. Defendant asked to use 

the bathroom once, and a Hanover Park police officer took him. After defendant exited the 

bathroom,16 he went directly back to the interview room. Defendant received a bottle of 

water, and after the interview, he ate a hamburger. During the interview, he was asked if he 

was hungry, and he said no. 

¶ 65 Fernandez testified that, at some point during the interview, he asked defendant for his 

consent to search his vehicle. Defendant asked: “Okay. Hold on. Hold on. Can’t I ask 

anybody to verify if that’s legal?” Fernandez responded: “What? You think I’m going to put 

something in your truck? How am I going to do that? I don’t understand what you want.”

Later in the interview, when Fernandez asked defendant to submit to a gunshot residue test, 

defendant responded by asking what his rights were. Fernandez testified that, after he called 

defendant a liar several times, defendant agreed to take the test. 

¶ 66 Fernandez testified that Detective Charles Buczynski entered the room to perform the test 

approximately five hours into the interview. Buczynski swabbed defendant’s hands, and “the 

supposed results were done instantaneous[ly].” About 10 to 15 minutes later, defendant 

began making incriminating statements.17 

¶ 67 The State moved into evidence the entire transcript of the interview with defendant, and it 

was admitted without objection. The parties also entered into a stipulation that two DVDs 

depicted the entire interview with defendant, and they were moved into evidence by the State 

and admitted without objection. 

¶ 68 Detective Juan Miranda testified that he was a detective with the Hanover Park Police 

Department and that he first met defendant on November 26, 2008. Miranda was with his 

 

15The written transcript states: “Q. Do you want to speak with me? Do you know why you’re here? 

A. No. Q. No? Okay well if you like we can talk about that.”

16Detective Miranda later testified at the hearing that an officer escorted defendant to a jail cell to 

use the bathroom and stood outside the cell while defendant used the bathroom. 

17Those statements were already described above (supra ¶¶ 38-42) and will not be repeated here. 
- 14 - 

partner, Detective Griewosz, and Detective Fernandez in an unmarked police vehicle. 

Defendant exited the vehicle that he was in, and the three officers introduced themselves, 

informing him that they were all police officers. All three officers were armed. They escorted 

defendant to their vehicle, opened the door, and asked him to enter. Miranda sat next to 

defendant, and defendant asked him why he was being taken to the police station. Miranda 

did not testify as to his response. They then transported defendant to the Hanover Park Police 

Department and took him to an interview room that was not locked. Miranda was not initially 

involved with the interview but entered the room later. Miranda, who is fluent in Spanish, 

recalled that defendant was offered food and drink and allowed to go to the bathroom. 

Defendant did not want any food and asked for water, and he did go to the bathroom. An 

officer escorted defendant to a jail cell to use the bathroom and stood outside the cell while 

defendant used the bathroom. Later defendant was given food. 

¶ 69 Miranda testified that he was present when the “purported” gunshot residue test was 

administered, and defendant was informed that the result was positive. This occurred several 

hours into the interview. Miranda testified that it was at this point that defendant began 

making incriminating statements. 

¶ 70 Miranda testified that the gunshot residue test was not a real test but a ruse to “get”

defendant to speak with them: 

“APD: Now this GSR test that we’re talking about, that was not a real test; that 

was not a real test; is that correct? 

 MIRANDA: Correct. 

 APD: That was basically a ruse to get [defendant] to speak to you? 

 MIRANDA: Correct.” 

From the time that defendant arrived at the Hanover Park police station until the time that he 

made incriminating statements was a total of six hours. At the beginning, defendant stated 

that he did not know that Rocio had been killed. During those six hours, defendant remained, 

“on and off,” in the interview room with police officers around him. Miranda could not recall 

if defendant was placed in clothing other than the clothing that he arrived in. 

¶ 71 The parties stipulated that the DVD with English subtitles, which depicts the last 

approximately one hour of the interview, was a true and accurate copy of defendant’s 

statement during that portion of the interview. The State then moved it into evidence and 

rested. The defense rested without calling witnesses, and the trial court asked defendant if 

that is what he wanted and he indicated no: 

“APD: Judge, at this time, we would rest as well. 

 THE COURT: You’re not calling any witnesses? 

 APD: No, [Y]our Honor. 

 THE COURT: [Defendant], is that what you want? You don’t want to testify on 

your behalf, correct? 

 DEFENDANT [through interpreter]: I want to testify. 

 THE COURT: I’m sorry? 

 DEFENDANT: I want to testify.”

The APD responded: “it is my decision strategically not to call him. I told him this is not a 

trial. He has a constitutional right to testify at trial; however, this is not a trial.” The trial 
- 15 - 

court then asked the attorneys if they were prepared to argue, and they asked the trial court to 

review the DVDs prior to argument. The matter was then continued for argument. 

¶ 72 The State argued that “[t]he testimony was that this high crime area called for the number 

of officers that were there” and that “no weapon was drawn past the initial” encounter. 

However, the only witness at the attenuation hearing who testified that he was at defendant’s 

building on the night of the arrest was Detective Kirby, and he testified that the area was “a 

mixed residential business area” and that he was not aware of gang activity there. Kirby also 

testified that he did not know whether guns were drawn during the first 20 minutes because 

he was not there during that time. 

¶ 73 In addition to arguing that the police conduct was not “egregious,” the State argued that 

facts supporting a finding of attenuation included the fact that police read defendant Miranda 

warnings and “confronted” him with the purported gunshot residue test. 

¶ 74 In response, the defense argued that the six hours between defendant’s arrest and 

statement was not enough to purge the taint, that the Miranda warnings did not purge the 

taint because there was a lack of clear assent by defendant, that the police conduct was 

egregious where over 20 officers arrived and defendant was transferred from vehicle to 

vehicle, and that the use of a “phony GSR test” and repeated accusations of lying by the 

police also constituted egregious conduct by the police. In addition, the defense argued that 

defendant had not been confronted with “legally obtained information,” as the appellate court 

had asked, because the fake GSR test did not qualify. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 

103447-U, ¶ 49 (this court had asked whether defendant had been confronted “with new 

legally obtained information” because that is “one possible intervening circumstance, which 

may produce a voluntary desire to confess and thus render the statement admissible”). The 

defense counsel also mentioned a discussion of the death penalty by the police and defendant 

shortly after defendant incriminated himself. 18 The State objected immediately on the 

ground that this discussion was postarrest and thus beyond the scope of the attenuation 

hearing, but the trial court overruled the objection. 

¶ 75 VI. Trial Court’s Attenuation Ruling 

¶ 76 The trial court began its ruling by observing that “the purpose today is not to relitigate the 

motion to quash,” since “the [a]ppellate [c]ourt already ruled that the fact that the police went 

and seized the defendant at his home on the 26th of November 2008, that that was a seizure. 

And the [a]ppellate court already indicated that was an illegal arrest. *** [T]he [a]ppellate 

[c]ourt found that the arrest was done without probable cause and without a search warrant.” 

¶ 77 The trial court found that it was the fake GSR test which prompted defendant to confess: 

“[H]e did not admit to the murder. And it wasn’t until the police did a GSR, or a 

fake GSR, or however you want to look at it, and told him that the evidence that they 

had was that he fired the gun. It wasn’t until then that the defendant then admitted 

that, in fact, that he pointed the gun at the victim in this case just to scare her, and it 

accidentally discharged.” 

 

18After defendant had already made incriminating statements, the written transcript indicates the 

following exchange occurred between defendant and the officers: “A. [Defendant]: Are you guys at 

least going to— Q. I don’t understand. A. What’s it called, when one is killed? Q. The death penalty. A. 

The death penalty. Q. That’s not our thing. A. Oh no? Q. No that’s not a decision we make.” 
- 16 - 

¶ 78 The trial court further found that the GSR test was a “strong intervening circumstance”

and that “nothing else” prompted the confession: 

“So during the statement and denying the fact that he shot the weapon at the 

victim, he was given a presumpti[ve] GSR test or a GSR test which the police 

indicated if [sic] he tested positive for gunshot residue. The Court believed that this is 

a very strong intervening circumstance that prompted the defendant to state what he 

stated[—t]he fact that he shot the gun after trying to scare her with the weapon and 

that it accidentally discharged. 

 In watching the video there is nothing else that would have prompted him to make 

the statement.”

¶ 79 The trial court stated that, even when a confession is “obtained following an illegal 

arrest,” the confession “may be admissible if it was sufficiently an act of the defendant’s free 

will.” After concluding that the confession at issue was an act of defendant’s “own free will,”

the trial court stated: “I do note that the GSR statement made by the police prompted the 

defendant to come clean about shooting the weapon at the victim in this case. But I cannot 

say that this was exploitation in looking at the facts as I do, an exploitation of the illegal 

arrest.” The facts that the trial court noted were (1) the short duration of the interrogation, 

from 9 p.m. on November 26, 2008, until 2:45 a.m. on November 27, 2006; (2) the provision 

of Miranda warnings; (3) the cordiality of the conversation; and (4) the lack of handcuffs at 

that time. The trial court found that “defendant not only understood the rights, but that he, in 

fact, agreed to speak to the police officers waiving those rights.” 

¶ 80 After ruling that the confession was attenuated, the trial court reinstated defendant’s 

conviction and 55-year sentence. On December 18, 2014, which was the same day as the trial 

court’s ruling, defendant filed a timely notice of appeal. This appeal followed. 

¶ 81 ANALYSIS 

¶ 82 Defendant appeals the trial court’s decision, arguing (1) that the trial court erred in 

finding attenuation; (2) that his counsel at the attenuation hearing had a conflict of interest, 

since the appellate court permitted defendant on remand to address his claim that his trial 

counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress his statement as involuntary, and this 

same trial counsel continued to represent defendant on remand (Hernandez, 2013 IL App 

(1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56 (permitting the parties “ ‘an opportunity to develop a factual record’ ”

(quoting Bew, 228 Ill. 2d at 135))); and (3) that this counsel was ineffective for failing to 

move to suppress defendant’s statement as involuntary (Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 

103447-U, ¶ 56 (“depending on what is entered into the record on remand, ineffectiveness 

*** could be addressed on direct appeal”)). 

¶ 83 According to the trial transcript, the jury was never informed that the gunshot residue 

test, which the jurors watched on video, was a bogus test. Thus, the fake result of the fake 

test was part of the evidence that the jury considered when finding defendant guilty. We fail 

to see how falsely manufactured evidence can ever be due process. However, we do not need 

to reverse on that basis. Instead, we reverse, as we explain below, on the basis that was fully 

developed at the hearing held on remand, namely, attenuation. 
- 17 - 

¶ 84 For the following reasons, we reverse defendant’s conviction, suppress the statement he 

made at the police station, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

¶ 85 I. Attenuation 

¶ 86 Defendant argues that the trial court should have suppressed his confession at the police 

station because it was the product of his illegal arrest. As noted above, this court already 

found in a prior decision that defendant’s arrest was illegal under the fourth amendment, 

since it was made without a warrant or probable cause. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 

103447-U, ¶ 44; U.S. Const., amend. IV.

¶ 87 However, the conclusion that a defendant’s arrest was illegal under the fourth amendment 

does not automatically mean that his subsequent statement is suppressed. People v. Jackson, 

374 Ill. App. 3d 93, 101, 104 (2007); People v. Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d 82, 85 (2004); see 

also People v. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d 81, 93 (2010). The question then becomes whether the 

statement was obtained by means sufficiently distinguishable from the illegal arrest such that 

we can say that the statement is purged of, or attenuated from, the taint of the original 

fourth-amendment illegality. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 93; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 101. 

¶ 88 Attenuation analysis under the fourth amendment is distinct from the threshold question 

of voluntariness under the due process clause. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 101. “[T]he 

voluntariness of a defendant’s statements does not automatically purge the taint of an illegal 

arrest ***.” People v. Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d 328, 333 (1987). The absence of physical abuse or 

coercion, and the voluntariness of the statement, are merely threshold requirements for its 

admissibility. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105; see also Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 333. As a 

result, the fact that a trial court found no physical abuse or coercion does not resolve the issue 

of attenuation. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105; see also Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 333. 

¶ 89 A. Standard of Review 

¶ 90 The parties disagree on the appropriate standard of review. Fortunately, we have a 

relatively recent supreme court case to guide us. In Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 93-94, as in our 

case, defendant moved to suppress statements that he had made at a police station following 

an allegedly illegal arrest, and our supreme court considered the same issue that is before us, 

namely, attenuation. The court explained the appropriate standard of review as follows: 

“In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we apply the 

two-part standard of review adopted by the [United States] Supreme Court in Ornelas 

v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 699 *** (1996). People v. Cosby, 231 Ill. 2d 262, 271 

(2008), quoting People v. Luedemann, 222 Ill. 2d 530, 542-43 (2006). Under this 

standard, we give deference to the factual findings of the trial court, and we will 

reject those findings only if they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. 

Cosby, 231 Ill. 2d at 271, quoting Luedemann, 222 Ill. 2d at 542-43. However, a 

reviewing court ‘ “remains free to undertake its own assessment of the facts in 

relation to the issues,” ’ and we review de novo the trial court’s ultimate legal ruling 

as to whether suppression is warranted. Cosby, 231 Ill. 2d at 271, quoting 

Luedemann, 222 Ill. 2d at 542-43.” Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 88-89.

Thus, we apply a bifurcated standard of review: (1) rejecting a trial court’s factual findings 

only if they are against the manifest weight of the evidence (2) but reviewing de novo the 
- 18 - 

trial court’s conclusion as to whether those facts satisfy the legal standard to warrant 

suppression. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 88-89; People v. Salgado, 396 Ill. App. 3d 856, 860 

(2009); Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 102; People v. Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d 517, 523 (2004); 

see also People v. Chambers, 2016 IL 117911, ¶ 76; People v. Pitman, 211 Ill. 2d 502, 512 

(2004). 

¶ 91 A factual finding is against the manifest weight of the evidence only if the finding 

appears to be unreasonable, arbitrary, or not based on the evidence or if the opposite 

conclusion is readily apparent. Vaughn v. City of Carbondale, 2016 IL 119181, ¶ 23; see also 

In re M.I., 2016 IL 120232, ¶ 21; Beggs v. Board of Education of Murphysboro Community 

Unit School District No. 186, 2016 IL 120236, ¶ 50. 

¶ 92 De novo review means that we perform the same analysis a trial court would perform. 

Condon & Cook, L.L.C. v. Mavrakis, 2016 IL App (1st) 151923, ¶ 55. 

¶ 93 B. Attenuation Factors 

¶ 94 The State has the burden of proving attenuation. People v. Island, 385 Ill. App. 3d 316, 

339 (2008); Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 102; Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d at 85; Clay, 349 Ill. 

App. 3d at 523. To satisfy this burden, it must prove by clear and convincing evidence that 

the challenged evidence was obtained by means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of 

the primary taint. Island, 385 Ill. App. 3d at 339; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 102; Wilberton, 

348 Ill. App. 3d at 85. Clear and convincing evidence means evidence greater than a 

preponderance of the evidence but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Bazydlo v. 

Volant, 164 Ill. 2d 207, 213 (1995); Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois v. Illinois 

Educational Labor Relations Board, 2015 IL App (4th) 140557, ¶ 36; In re R.G., 165 Ill. 

App. 3d 112, 134 (1988). 

¶ 95 To determine whether a statement is attenuated from an illegal arrest, courts generally 

consider the following factors: (1) the proximity in time between the arrest and the statement; 

(2) the presence of intervening circumstances; (3) the provision of Miranda warnings; and (4) 

the flagrancy of the police misconduct. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 93; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d 

at 102; Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d at 85; Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d at 523. Of these four factors, 

the presence of intervening circumstances and the flagrancy of the police conduct are the 

most important. Salgado, 398 Ill. App. 3d at 860; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 102; 

Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d at 85; Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d at 523. 

¶ 96 Our supreme court has instructed that these four factors are to be “include[d]” in an 

attenuation analysis, suggesting that a court may consider other factors in an appropriate 

case. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 93. “ ‘ “It is hornbook law that the use of the word including

indicates that the specified list *** is illustrative, not exclusive.” ’ ” (Emphasis in original.) 

People v. Perry, 224 Ill. 2d 312, 331 (2007) (quoting Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of 

Modern Legal Usage 431 (2d ed. 1995), quoting Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority v. 

Interstate Commerce Comm’n, 645 F.2d 1102, 1112 n.26 (D.C. Cir. 1981)). 

¶ 97 For the purposes of our analysis, we accept the trial court’s factual findings19 (1) that the 

duration of the interrogation was short, lasting from 9 p.m. on November 26, 2008, until 2:45 

 

19In other words, even if we assume arguendo that the trial court’s factual findings were not against 

the manifest weight of the evidence, we cannot find, applying a de novo standard of review, that these 

facts satisfied the State’s burden of proving attenuation by clear and convincing evidence. 
- 19 - 

a.m. on November 27, 2006, (2) that the gunshot residue test was the circumstance which 

prompted defendant’s incriminating statements, (3) that, during the detention which followed 

the initial arrest, the officers’ tone of voice was cordial and defendant was not handcuffed, 

and (4) that the officers provided Miranda warnings and defendant agreed to speak with 

them. 

¶ 98 1. Temporal Proximity 

¶ 99 As to the first attenuation factor, our supreme court has observed that “the temporal 

proximity between the arrest and the statement is often an ambiguous factor, the significance 

of which will depend on the circumstances of the case, including the conditions under which 

the time passes.” Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 93-94 (citing People v. Morris, 209 Ill. 2d 137, 160 

(2004), and People v. White, 117 Ill. 2d 194, 223-24 (1987)); Salgado, 396 Ill. App. 3d at 866 

(“an ambiguous factor”); Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 104; Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d at 523 (“an 

ambiguous factor”). The ambiguity stems from the fact that, while a lengthy lapse of time 

may permit the accused “to reflect on his situation,” a lengthy lapse of time may also 

enhance the coercive nature of a custodial setting. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 104 (“the 

inordinate length” of defendant’s 50-hour detention “weighs against attenuation”); Wilberton, 

348 Ill. App. 3d at 86; see also Salgado, 396 Ill. App. 3d at 867 (“the lapse of time” is “a 

factor that cut[s] both ways”). 

¶ 100 Since, in the case at bar, the six-hour lapse of time was—as the trial court found—short, 

the duration did not permit independent, attenuated reflection (People v. Austin, 293 Ill. App. 

3d 784, 788 (1997) (“[t]he mere passage” of five hours was “not sufficient to purge the taint 

of an illegal arrest”)). Thus, we turn our focus to the remaining factors. Wilberton, 348 Ill. 

App. 3d at 86 (“our focus must be on the *** remaining factors” when this factor is 

ambiguous). 

¶ 101 2. Intervening Circumstances 

¶ 102 The second factor, intervening circumstances, actually involves two separate 

considerations: (a) whether the police had separate, “intervening probable cause” to justify 

the arrest (Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 94; Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 2d at 87 (“Illinois courts 

repeatedly have found intervening probable cause supports attenuation.”)) and (b) whether 

there were intervening events which prompted or induced defendant’s confession. Jackson, 

374 Ill. App. 3d at 105. 

¶ 103 a. Intervening Probable Cause 

¶ 104 Concerning the first, our supreme court has held that intervening probable cause weighs 

heavily in favor of attenuation: 

“ ‘Had the officers decided at this time that defendant’s initial detention was 

illegal, they could have released him and then, based upon the probable cause that 

developed independently of his initial arrest, immediately arrested him again. Under 

this scenario, there would be no question that defendant’s statements and confession 

would be admissible. It follows, then, that the probable cause that would support a 

second arrest only minutes after defendant’s first arrest also serves to break the causal 
- 20 - 

connection between defendant’s first illegal arrest and the statements ***.’ ” Johnson, 

237 Ill. 2d at 94 (quoting Morris, 209 Ill. 2d at 159). 

See also Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d at 87. In the case at bar, the State does not argue that the 

police had any intervening probable cause between the time of defendant’s arrest and his 

statement. 

¶ 105 b. Intervening Event 

¶ 106 In addition to providing probable cause, an intervening circumstance can also be an event 

that prompts or induces a voluntary desire to confess, thereby breaking the causal connection 

between the illegal arrest and the confession. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105; Wilberton, 

348 Ill. App. 3d at 86. However, “[i]t cannot be [1] something that was obtained illegally[, 

such as] statements from unlawfully arrested codefendants,” or “[2] information obtained by 

exploiting the illegality of the defendant’s detention,” such as “a polygraph examination 

conducted during the defendant’s illegal detention.” Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105; see also 

Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d at 524 (a codefendant’s statement, which was suppressed as the 

product of police misconduct, cannot be used as an intervening circumstance); Franklin, 115 

Ill. 2d at 334 (defendant’s polygraph examination was “a form of interrogation,” and thus his 

“willingness to submit to it” did not purge the taint of his illegal arrest, and the examination 

itself was “a consequence of the illegal detention”). 

¶ 107 The trial court found that the bogus gunshot residue test was the event that prompted 

defendant’s incriminating statements, and the court’s factual finding is not against the 

manifest weight of the evidence. Defendant steadfastly maintained his innocence through the 

night and despite hours of questioning, but—as the State forthrightly admits in its brief—he 

confessed in under five minutes after the bogus test. 

¶ 108 However, applying de novo review, we cannot agree with the trial court’s legal 

conclusion that this event was an intervening circumstance that helped purge the taint of the 

prior illegal arrest. Like a polygraph examination, the bogus gunshot residue test was used, in 

this instance, as a form of interrogation, and it was also a consequence of the illegal arrest 

and the resulting detention. Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 334; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105. 

Similar to a codefendant’s confession that was suppressed due to police misconduct (Clay, 

349 Ill. App. 3d at 524), the bogus test was, itself, a form of misconduct. Thus, the bogus test 

cannot serve to purge the taint of the prior illegal arrest. 

¶ 109 Our supreme court and this court have found that even a validly given polygraph test 

cannot be an intervening circumstance that purges the taint of an illegal arrest. Franklin, 115 

Ill. 2d at 334; Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 105. In Franklin, after being informed that he had 

failed a polygraph test, defendant confessed, and our supreme court found that these valid 

test results did not purge the taint of his prior illegal arrest, and thus suppression of his 

subsequent confession was required. Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 334. If a valid test cannot purge 

the taint, then a completely bogus test certainly cannot. 

¶ 110 In an attempt to distinguish Franklin and Jackson, the State argues in its brief to this 

court that, “[o]f course, polygraph tests are unreliable and inadmissible.” So is a bogus 

gunshot residue test. 

¶ 111 The State cites cases from the 1980s and early 1990s in which the police lied to 

defendants and the subsequent confessions were still admitted as voluntary under the due 
- 21 - 

process clause. E.g., People v. Melock, 149 Ill. 2d 423, 450 (1992) (while deception weighs 

against a finding of voluntariness and is a relevant factor, it may be outweighed by a 

consideration of the totality of the circumstances).20 However, voluntariness under the due 

process test is not the issue in front of us. The question here is: when a custodial bogus test is 

the primary event prompting a defendant’s confession, does that bogus test purge the taint of 

a prior illegal arrest under the fourth amendment? As we already observed above, if a validly 

administered test does not purge the taint, a bogus test cannot possibly purge it. 

¶ 112 The State also argues that there were other intervening circumstances, prior to the 

gunshot residue test, which prompted defendant’s confession. 21 First, none of this 

information caused defendant to confess. Although the police confronted him with other 

information, defendant steadfastly maintained his innocence, agreeing to both a lie detector 

test and a gunshot residue test to prove he was innocent. Second, this court has no idea 

whether the bulk of this other information was true or bogus like the gunshot residue test. 

¶ 113 As we observed above, the video depicted (1) the police suggesting that Rocio’s 

boyfriend had already identified defendant from a photo array,22 (2) the police indicating to 

defendant that individuals named “Alejandro” and “Alfredo”

23 had separately told them that 

defendant had left his home before 7 p.m. on the night of the murder wearing a black hooded 

sweatshirt and that the two men knew it was before 7 p.m. because their soap operas had not 

yet started, (3) the police informing defendant that they had discovered a receipt in 

defendant’s room, which showed that defendant was at a market at 6:14 p.m. on the night of 

the murder and then showing defendant the receipt, (4) and the police performing a gunshot 

residue test on defendant’s hands and informing defendant that the result was positive for the 

presence of gunshot residue. 

¶ 114 However, none of these alleged facts were substantiated at trial. First, although the jury 

viewed the police indicating that Guzman, Rocio’s boyfriend, had positively identified 

defendant, Guzman testified at trial that he did not observe the shooter’s face. Second, 

although the jury viewed the police telling defendant that “Alejandro” and “Alfredo” had 

informed them that defendant had left his home before 7 p.m. wearing a black hooded 

sweatshirt, no one by either name testified at trial. Third, although the jury viewed the police 

informing defendant that they had discovered a receipt in his room showing that defendant 

was at a market at 6:14 p.m., no such receipt was introduced at trial. And last, but certainly 

not least, we now know that the gunshot residue test was a bogus test. 

 

20The State cites People v. Holland, 121 Ill. 2d 136, 154 (1987). However the supreme court 

concluded that it found “unconvincing defendant’s contentions that [the officer]’s statement was false 

or misleading.” Holland, 121 Ill. 2d at 155. 

21The State acknowledges in its brief that the trial court ignored all these other alleged “intervening 

circumstances” and argues that we should review this part of the trial court’s decision de novo. 

22On the video, the police officers stated: “We—the Rocio’s boyfriend, she was with him, when this 

happened. We showed him this. *** And whose picture do you think he picked out.” They also stated: 

“Why do you think Rocio’s boyfriend—he doesn’t know you and you don’t know him— *** No and 

why would he—he doesn’t know you. We didn’t tell him who you were. We showed him this and who 

do you think he picked out?”

23In an earlier part of the video, which the jury did not view, defendant stated that, on the night of 

the murder, he was with his two friends and roommates, Alejandro and Alfredo, for a portion of the 

evening. Defendant did not state their last names. 
- 22 - 

¶ 115 The police confronted defendant with the fact that a gun holster had been found in 

defendant’s vehicle; this was substantiated at trial. However, after being confronted with this 

fact, defendant did not confess for some time, and even after he did confess, he continued to 

maintain that this holster was not his. Confrontation with the fact of the holster discovery 

appears to have little to do with defendant’s confession. As a result, we are not persuaded by 

the State’s argument there were other valid, intervening circumstances. 

¶ 116 The State also argues in its brief, in one line, that the gunshot residue test was not a form 

of interrogation. “ ‘Interrogation’ refers to express questioning, as well as ‘to any words or 

actions on the part of the police, other than those normally accompanying arrest and custody 

that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the 

suspect.’ ” Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 106 (quoting People v. Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d 382, 

391-92 (1995)). The State admits elsewhere in its brief that “the test was certainly aimed at 

eliciting a confession.” Since the test was completely bogus, there was no other reason for 

the police to administer it, except for their belief that it was “ ‘reasonably likely to elicit an 

incriminating response from the suspect.’ ” Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 106 (quoting 

Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d at 391-92). Detective Miranda testified that the test was merely “a ruse to 

get [defendant] to speak” to them. Supra ¶ 70. Thus, the test was a form of custodial 

interrogation, which occurred during a detention that had been obtained solely through an 

illegal arrest. Far from purging the taint, the test exploited the illegality of the original arrest. 

¶ 117 In conclusion, we find that the factor of intervening circumstances does not weigh in 

favor of attenuation. 

¶ 118 3. Miranda Rights 

¶ 119 The third factor we must consider is the provision of Miranda warnings. Although police 

cannot dissipate the taint of an illegal arrest by simply giving Miranda warnings, the presence 

of warnings prior to an interrogation carries some weight. Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 102; 

Wilberton, 348 Ill. App. 3d at 85 (“the presence of the warnings prior to interrogation carries 

some weight” where “[s]ix times defendant waived his rights and agreed to give a 

statement”). See also Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 95 (“While the presence of Miranda warnings 

alone is not sufficient to purge the taint of illegality from an illegal arrest, it is a factor to be 

considered.”). 

¶ 120 In the case at bar, the trial court found that the police provided Miranda warnings. In 

addition, the trial court found that “defendant not only understood the rights, but that he, in 

fact, agreed to speak to the police officers waiving those rights.”

24 However, the warnings 

occurred once at the very beginning of the six-hour interrogation and were not repeated, even 

after defendant asked what his rights were—immediately prior to the test. When the officers 

asked defendant if they had his “permission” to “check” his hands for gunshot residue, 

defendant replied: “what are my rights?” Instead of informing him of his rights, one of the 

officers stated: “I’m asking you. If you don’t want it we won’t do it.” Thus, applying a de 

novo standard of review to the trial court’s factual finding, we conclude that the Miranda 

 

24Based on a review of the transcript alone, this court had concluded in our prior decision that 

defendant’s “hmm-hmm” responses failed to “reveal whether defendant affirmatively waived his 

rights.” Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 47. 
- 23 - 

warnings carry some weight but not much under the circumstances of this case. 

¶ 121 4. Flagrancy of the Police Misconduct 

¶ 122 In determining whether a statement was the product of an illegal arrest, we consider lastly 

the flagrancy of the police misconduct. 

¶ 123 With respect to this fourth factor, our supreme court has explained that police misconduct 

is flagrant when it is carried out in such a manner as to cause surprise, fear, confusion, or 

when it has a quality of purposeful or intentional misconduct. Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 94; 

People v. Foskey, 136 Ill. 2d 66, 86 (1990); Jackson, 374 Ill. App. 3d at 107; Wilberton, 348 

Ill. App. 3d at 89. 

¶ 124 The trial court found that the officer’s tone during the detention following the initial 

arrest was cordial and that defendant was not handcuffed during the ensuing detention. 

However, the trial court did not consider the flagrancy of the police misconduct during the 

initial arrest, when over 20 officers arrived at defendant’s residence and handcuffed him. 

Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 7 (“Approximately 24 officers,” some with “their 

weapons drawn” arrived at defendant’s residence.) 

¶ 125 In the case at bar, the State introduced no evidence at the attenuation hearing concerning 

the initial arrest, and the trial judge repeated several times that he was not the judge who 

heard the original suppression motion and hearing. 

¶ 126 The only witness at the attenuation hearing who testified that he was at defendant’s 

building on the night of the arrest was Detective Kirby. Defendant was already in handcuffs 

and being walked to Kirby’s vehicle in the company of two to three other officers when 

Kirby first saw him. Kirby was not asked whether this was a high-crime area, but he did 

testify that it was “a mixed residential business area” and that he was not aware of gang 

activity there. Kirby was not asked what prompted so many officers to arrive on the scene, 

and he did not know whether any of these officers had drawn their guns during the 20 

minutes when the initial arrest occurred. 

¶ 127 Detective Kirby and Fernandez’s testimony did establish that defendant had been 

speaking with only one or two officers over the phone prior to his arrest, and then suddenly, 

over 20 officers appeared at his home. The appearance of so many unexpected officers 

certainly has the potential “to cause surprise, fear, and confusion.” See Johnson, 237 Ill. 2d at 

94. 

¶ 128 Although the trial court found that the officers’ tone was cordial during the ensuing 

detention, “[t]he apparent purpose of the defendant’s arrest and detention was to enable the 

police to conduct an expedition for evidence in the hope that something might turn up, a 

practice that the Supreme Court has condemned.” Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 335. See also Clay, 

349 Ill. App. 3d at 525 (“police act with an improper purpose when they arrest persons as 

part of an expedition in the hope of developing probable cause”). The officers repeatedly told 

defendant he was lying and confronted him with a bogus test in order to induce him to 

confess. Franklin, 115 Ill. 2d at 335 (“The detention was a continuing violation ***.”). The 

officers lacked probable cause at the time of defendant’s arrest and were on an expedition to 

find it. Detective Miranda conceded that the test was merely “a ruse to get [defendant] to 

speak” to them. Supra ¶ 70. Thus, this factor does not help the State meet its burden of 

showing clear and convincing evidence of attenuation. Clay, 349 Ill. App. 3d at 525 (finding 
- 24 - 

a lack of attenuation where the “police arrested defendant on a fishing expedition for 

evidence”).

¶ 129 In sum, after having reviewed all the factors, we conclude that the statement was not 

attenuated from the taint of the illegal arrest (1) where the duration between the illegal arrest, 

as found by the trial court, was short and thus did not provide time for independent 

reflection; (2) where the event that prompted the confession, as found by the trial court, was 

the bogus gunshot residue test, and it did not qualify as an intervening circumstance purging 

the taint of the illegal arrest, since it was itself a form of interrogation occurring as a 

consequence of the illegal arrest and a form of misconduct; (3) where Miranda warnings 

were provided once at the start of the six-hour interrogation but were not repeated again, 

even when defendant specifically asked what his rights were; and (4) where the State 

introduced no evidence at the attenuation hearing concerning the circumstances of the initial 

arrest, and thus the trial judge, who had not presided at the original suppression hearing, had 

no information on which to determine whether or not the initial illegality constituted 

egregious police conduct and where the police were on a fishing expedition during the 

subsequent detention. 

¶ 130 As we discussed above, in addition to the four factors that our supreme court specifically 

listed, we may consider additional, relevant factors. Supra ¶ 96. Further supporting our 

holding is the fact that we cannot condone the manufacture of false evidence by the 

police—namely, the false positive result to a fake test—which was then presented to the jury 

during the playing of the video. 

¶ 131 For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the statement was not attenuated from the 

illegal arrest and must be suppressed under the fourth amendment. 

¶ 132 II. Double Jeopardy 

¶ 133 A. The Clause 

¶ 134 Next, we must consider whether we may remand for a new trial. 

¶ 135 “The double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, 

made applicable to the states through the fourteenth amendment, provides that no person 

‘shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.’ U.S. Const., 

amends. V, XIV.” People v. Bellmyer, 199 Ill. 2d 529, 536-37 (2002). The Illinois 

Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 10) and Illinois statute (720 ILCS 5/3-4(a) (West 

2012)) provide similar guarantees. Bellmyer, 199 Ill. 2d at 537. “The cornerstone of the 

double jeopardy clause is ‘that the State with all its resources and power should not be 

allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby 

subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a 

continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even 

though innocent he may be found guilty.’ ” People v. Williams, 188 Ill. 2d 293, 307 (1999) 

(quoting Green v. United States, 355 U.S. 184, 187-88 (1957)). 

¶ 136 When the double jeopardy clause applies, a reviewing court must examine the 

sufficiency of the evidence prior to a remand for a new trial and determine “whether, after 

viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could 

have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” People v. Lopez, 
- 25 - 

229 Ill. 2d 322, 367 (2008). 

¶ 137 B. State’s Petition for Rehearing. 

¶ 138 After we filed our original opinion, the State filed a petition for rehearing in which it 

stated that it did “not dispute the result reached by the appellate majority.” Thus, the State’s 

petition was not asking us to change our result. 

¶ 139 However, the State asked both the majority and the dissent to clarify the law which we all 

relied on. In our prior opinion, both the majority and the dissent examined what evidence was 

left—after eliminating the confession—in order to determine whether there was sufficient 

evidence to overcome a double jeopardy bar. 

¶ 140 The State pointed out—correctly—that, in a double jeopardy analysis, we may consider 

the confession as well, even though a second jury will never be aware of that statement 

because we suppressed it. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367. 

¶ 141 On the surface, that appears to defy common sense—why consider a statement that no 

juror will ever be aware of? The reason, according to our supreme court, is that the purpose 

of the double jeopardy bar is to prevent the State from having a second bite at the 

apple—from gaining a second trial solely for the purpose of presenting evidence that was not 

offered at the first trial. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367. See also People v. Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d 382, 

393 (1995) (“The double jeopardy clause forbids a second, or successive, trial for the purpose 

of affording the prosecution another opportunity to supply evidence it failed to muster in the 

first proceeding.” (Emphasis added.)). Thus, a reviewing court, when evaluating a possible 

double jeopardy bar, may consider all the evidence at the first trial—even if it will be barred 

from the second one. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367; Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d at 393. 

¶ 142 C. Waiver 

¶ 143 Before we may proceed to analyze the double jeopardy issue, we must consider, as a 

preliminary issue, whether defendant waived this issue for our consideration. 

¶ 144 In the case at bar, defendant did not argue that the evidence was insufficient to convict 

him,25 and he made no claims that a retrial was barred by double jeopardy. In addition, 

defendant’s briefs to this court asked repeatedly for a remand for further proceedings. 

¶ 145 Our supreme court has issued conflicting opinions about whether a reviewing court is 

obligated to consider double jeopardy if a defendant fails to raise as an issue either double 

jeopardy or sufficiency of the evidence. Not surprisingly, there are also conflicting appellate 

court opinions on the subject as well. 

¶ 146 For example, in Lopez, our supreme court held, unequivocally, that a reviewing court is 

“required” to consider double jeopardy concerns, whether or not a defendant raised the issue 

of double jeopardy or sufficient evidence. Our supreme court stated: 

“We are bound, however, to consider the double jeopardy implications ***. 

Defendant does not raise any claims concerning the sufficiency of the evidence 

against him and did not assert that his conviction should be vacated outright because 

 

25In our prior order, we listed defendant’s claims on appeal, and there was no claim of insufficient 

evidence. Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 2. Similarly, in the instant appeal, defendant does 

not claim insufficient evidence or that a retrial is barred by double jeopardy concerns. 
- 26 - 

the State did not meet its burden at trial. Instead, defendant seeks reversal of his 

conviction and remand for a new trial. Retrial, however, raises double jeopardy 

concerns, and we are therefore required to consider the sufficiency of the evidence 

against defendant.” (Emphasis added.) Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 366-67. 

See, e.g., People v. Little, 2016 IL App (3d) 140124, ¶ 62 (“even though defendant did not 

raise concerns regarding the sufficiency of the evidence or ask this court to vacate his 

conviction outright, we are required to consider the sufficiency of the evidence against 

defendant for double jeopardy purposes” (citing Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 366-67)). 

¶ 147 In marked contrast to Lopez, our supreme court in People v. Patrick, 233 Ill. 2d 62, 76 

(2008), reversed and remanded for a new trial but held that, since the defendant had not 

argued the insufficiency of the evidence, there was no double jeopardy bar. Specifically, the 

Patrick court stated: 

“We note that [the defendant] has not argued the evidence in this case was 

insufficient to convict him. Thus, there is no double jeopardy impediment to a new 

trial.” (Emphasis added.) Patrick, 233 Ill. 2d at 76. 

See, e.g., People v. Bannister, 378 Ill. App. 3d 19, 29 (2007) (“the constitutional right to not 

be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense is a personal privilege which may be 

forfeited”).

¶ 148 Faced with dueling supreme court and appellate court opinions on the issue of waiver, we 

will, in an exercise of caution, consider whether double jeopardy bars a retrial, even though 

defendant has neither raised this issue nor challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on this 

appeal or on his prior appeal. 

¶ 149 D. The Evidence 

¶ 150 As noted above, we may consider all the evidence at the first trial for the reasons 

explained by our supreme court in Lopez. The double jeopardy clause does not “preclude 

retrial where a conviction has been set aside because of an error in the proceedings leading to 

the conviction. [Citation.] The State cannot retry a defendant once it has been determined that 

the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to sustain a conviction. [Citation.] Yet, 

‘retrial is permitted even though evidence is insufficient to sustain a verdict once erroneously 

admitted evidence has been discounted, and for the purpose of double jeopardy all evidence 

submitted at the original trial may be considered when determining the sufficiency of the 

evidence.’ ” (Emphasis added.) Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367 (quoting Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d at 393). 

Since the defendant’s conviction had been set aside because of trial error, the Lopez court 

stated it would “consider whether the evidence” at the first trial, “including the 

now-suppressed *** statement,” was sufficient to convict. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367. 

¶ 151 As we noted above, “[t]he relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the 

light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential 

elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 367. This means that 

we consider only the evidence that a “rational trier” would consider. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 

367. Thus, if the prosecution had presented the results of witchcraft, for example, we would 

not be obliged to consider those results as evidence, even if they had been admitted at the 

first trial. Similarly, even though the jury was presented with the result of a bogus gunshot 
- 27 - 

residue test as though it was a real test, we know better now, and we are under no obligation 

to accept this pretense as reality. 

¶ 152 When evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, a reviewing court may consider the 

quality and nature of the evidence presented. See People v. Ellison, 2013 IL App (1st) 

101261, ¶ 14. Thus, for example, this court rejected the State’s assertion that evidence that a 

defendant possessed a cell phone showed an intent to sell drugs. Ellison, 2013 IL App (1st) 

101261, ¶ 26 (“the possession of the cellular phone provides little, if any, support to a finding 

that defendant intended to distribute drugs”). 

¶ 153 Similarly, in the case at bar, we are unsure how much weight any rational trier of fact 

would attribute to this confession made after defendant was told the results of the bogus 

test.26 Thus, we accord the confession some weight but also consider whether there are 

separate, corroborating circumstances. Lopez, 229 Ill. 2d at 368 (finding that a rational trier 

of fact could have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt based on the 

now-suppressed confession and other corroborating circumstances). 

¶ 154 Here, the other evidence admitted at trial included (1) the boyfriend’s testimony that the 

murderer was wearing a black sweatshirt, (2) a police officer’s testimony that he discovered 

some burnt black clothing near the rear garage door of defendant’s building, (3) the 

bouncer’s testimony that he observed defendant’s vehicle parked near the murder scene 

shortly before the murder,27 (4) an officer’s testimony that he discovered multiple small 

broken-glass fragments on the driver’s side front-seat floor mat of defendant’s vehicle and a 

gun holster on the center console hump, (5) testimony by a police officer that the victim’s 

driver-side window was shattered and testimony by an evidence technician that there were 

glass fragments in her hair, and (6) evidence of a possible motive based on the recent 

break-up of a long-term romantic relationship between defendant and the victim28 and the 

victim’s murder while in the company of her new boyfriend. 

¶ 155 The glass fragments found in defendant’s vehicle are significant because the gunshot 

shattered the window of the victim’s vehicle, spraying glass fragments into the victim’s hair. 

Based on this evidence, one could argue that the glass fragments also sprayed onto defendant 

at the time of the shooting and then dropped off his clothes when he entered his own vehicle. 

The burnt black clothing found outside of defendant’s building is significant because the 

victim’s boyfriend testified that the shooter wore a black hoodie, and the attempted 

destruction of the clothing arguably indicates an awareness of guilt. The bouncer’s testimony 

that defendant’s vehicle was parked near the murder scene at the time of the murder is 

significant because the bouncer was unrelated and appeared to have no motive to lie. The 

summary execution of the victim in front of her new boyfriend certainly suggests a motive, 

and the gun holster found in defendant’s vehicle and the presence of the vehicle near the 

crime scene indicates both opportunity and means. 

 

26Since no juror, rational or otherwise, will ever see this confession, we are engaging here in a 

completely hypothetical exercise. 

27David Carlson testified that he observed a truck near the murder scene on November 25, 2008, at 

8 p.m., and Detective Hugo Villa testified that he responded to a call concerning the victim’s death at 

8:11 p.m. Carlson testified that he later picked out the same truck on his own in the police parking lot. 

28At trial, Jose Munoz testified that his sister Rocio, the victim, had dated defendant for three or 

four years, until six months before she died. 
- 28 - 

¶ 156 Based on a review of all the evidence presented at the first trial, we reverse and remand 

for a new trial and proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

¶ 157 III. Conflict 

¶ 158 In addition to the attenuation issue, defendant claims on this appeal (1) that his counsel at 

the attenuation hearing had a conflict of interest, since the appellate court permitted 

defendant on remand to address his claim that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to 

move to suppress his statement as involuntary, and this same trial counsel continued to 

represent defendant on remand (Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56 (permitting 

the parties “ ‘an opportunity to develop a factual record’ ” (quoting Bew, 228 Ill. 2d at 135))) 

and (2) that this counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress defendant’s statement 

as involuntary (Hernandez, 2013 IL App (1st) 103447-U, ¶ 56 (“depending on what is 

entered into the record on remand, ineffectiveness *** could be addressed on direct 

appeal”)). 

¶ 159 On April 3, 2014, prior to the attenuation hearing, defendant requested new counsel in 

open court, stating that his counsel “doesn’t want to bring [to] the Judge’s attention some 

important points or issues that I believe is for my defense.” The trial court did not inquire 

what the points or issues were, so we do not know whether they related to defendant’s claim, 

on his prior appeal and on this appeal, that his counsel was ineffective for failing to move to 

suppress his statement as involuntary. 

¶ 160 In addition, at the end of the attenuation hearing, defendant informed the trial court that 

he wanted to testify at the attenuation hearing and his counsel would not allow him to do so. 

We have no idea what defendant wanted to testify to and whether it related to his 

ineffectiveness claim. 

¶ 161 Since we are reversing and remanding based on the attenuation issue, we do not need to 

reach defendant’s claims that reversal is also warranted on the grounds that his counsel had a 

conflict at the attenuation hearing and that his counsel was ineffective. However, on remand, 

we direct the trial court to appoint new counsel. 

¶ 162 CONCLUSION 

¶ 163 For the foregoing reasons, we reverse and remand for a new trial. 

¶ 164 On a prior appeal, we found that defendant’s arrest was illegal and vacated defendant’s 

conviction and remanded for an attenuation hearing. On remand, the trial court conducted the 

attenuation hearing and concluded that defendant’s statement was attenuated from the illegal 

arrest, and the case came back to us on appeal after the hearing. 

¶ 165 This opinion concludes (1) that defendant’s statement was not attenuated from an illegal 

arrest and (2) that the State presented sufficient evidence such that a retrial does not violate 

the double jeopardy clause. As a result, this court reverses and remands for a new trial. 

¶ 166 Reversed and remanded. 

¶ 167 JUSTICE LAMPKIN, specially concurring. 

¶ 168 I agree that defendant’s statement was not obtained by means sufficiently distinguishable 

to be purged of the primary taint of his illegal arrest. See People v. Lovejoy, 235 Ill. 2d 97, 
- 29 - 

130 (2009) (where a defendant was illegally detained, the court must determine whether a 

subsequent statement bears a sufficiently close relationship to the underlying illegality by 

considering whether the evidence was obtained “by means sufficiently distinguishable to be 

purged of the primary taint” of illegality (internal quotation marks omitted)). Therefore, his 

statement and any other evidence flowing from his illegal arrest must be suppressed. 

¶ 169 I would add to the attenuation analysis the following. I do not agree that the giving of 

Miranda warnings should be given any weight in this case. Defendant never answered out 

loud that he understood the Miranda warnings, and then, when asked if he would speak to the 

police officers, there was a lack of clear assent by defendant to talk with them. Furthermore, 

when one officer left the interview room and another officer arrived, defendant was not given 

Miranda rights again, which could have provided an opportunity to demonstrate that he 

understood his rights and that he was willing to talk to the new officer who then participated 

in the discussion. People v. Scott, 366 Ill. App. 3d 638, 646 (2006) (while apprising a 

defendant of his Miranda rights on multiple occasions alone is not sufficient to purge 

defendant’s statement of the taint of his unlawful arrest, this factor obviously weighs in favor 

of a finding of attenuation). 

¶ 170 I also disagree with the trial court’s factual findings and the majority’s adoption of the 

finding that the officer’s tone was “cordial.” In the last hour of defendant’s interrogation, the 

officers repeatedly raised their voices when speaking to defendant, repeatedly talked over 

him when he was trying to answer questions, and called him a liar no less than 20 times. 

They also accused him of lying in front of God. Defendant was seated in a small room with a 

small table in front of him and his back to the wall. An officer was sitting next to defendant, 

facing him and, at times, their faces were less than two feet apart. Another officer sat on the 

other side of the table, no more than three to four feet from defendant. Defendant was 

basically pinned in a corner. This certainly was not a “cordial” environment. 

¶ 171 Regarding the double jeopardy analysis, I would add the following observations. The 

double jeopardy clause only precludes the State from retrying a defendant after a reviewing 

court has determined that the evidence introduced at trial was legally insufficient to convict; 

it does not preclude a retrial of a defendant whose conviction has been set aside because of 

an error in the proceedings leading to the conviction. People v. Olivera, 164 Ill. 2d 382, 393 

(1995). Furthermore, retrial is permitted even though, as is the case before us, the evidence is 

insufficient to sustain a verdict once the erroneously admitted evidence has been discounted. 

Id. at 393. 

¶ 172 For purposes of determining the sufficiency of the evidence to convict, I have considered 

all the evidence admitted at the original trial. Id. I have considered the evidence of 

defendant’s videotaped statement, which we have suppressed. I also have considered other 

evidence that I believe would be suppressed on remand as part of the fruit of the poisonous 

tree, including, but not limited to (1) the fact that defendant owned a Ford F-150 because that 

information was elicited from defendant during his illegal arrest, (2) Jose Hernandez’s 

consent to search the truck because the consent was invalid where the police knew at the time 

they obtained it that Jose lacked authority to provide such consent to search and defendant 

already had denied consent (see People v. Bochniak, 93 Ill. App. 3d 575, 576-77 (1981) (“the 

authority which justifies third-party consent rests on the mutual use of the property by 

persons generally having joint access or control for most purposes”)), (3) the seizure and 

towing of defendant’s truck to the police lot where Mr. Carlson was able to identify it, (4) the 
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evidence recovered from the search of defendant’s truck, and (5) defendant directing police 

officers around to various locations looking for the alleged murder weapon. When 

considering all of the evidence above, along with the additional evidence introduced at trial, a 

rational trier of fact could find the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant beyond a 

reasonable doubt.