Case Name: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JACQUELINE MONTANEZ, Defendant-Appellant
Court: Illinois Appellate Court
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Decision Date: 1995-06-30
Citations: 273 Ill. App. 3d 844
Docket Number: No. 1—93—4519
Parties: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JACQUELINE MONTANEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Illinois Appellate Court Reports, Third Series
Volume: 273
Pages: 844–866

Head Matter:
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JACQUELINE MONTANEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
First District (2nd Division)
No. 1—93—4519
Opinion filed June 30, 1995.
DiVITO, J., dissenting.
Rita A. Fry, Public Defender, of Chicago (Ira Churgin, Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.
Jack O’Malley, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Renee Goldfarb and James Fitzgerald, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Opinion:
JUSTICE HARTMAN
delivered the opinion of the court:
A jury found defendant, Jacqueline Montanez, age 15 at the time of the offenses, guilty of the murders of Hector Reyes and Jimmy Cruz. She was sentenced to natural life in prison. She challenges the voluntariness of her confession and the voir dire of prospective jurors.
Defendant moved to suppress her statements as involuntary because (1) she was not first informed of her Miranda rights or (2) that she would be tried as an adult; (3) her mental state and ingestion of drugs and alcohol made her incapable of understanding her rights; (4) the statements were procured by material misrepresentation; and (5) the statements were taken before she had access to a youth officer or her parents.
At the suppression hearing, Chicago police detective Ernest Hal-vorsen testified that on May 13, 1992, at 9 p.m., he and his partner Detective Renaldo Guevara, arrested defendant on the street for the May 12 murders of Hector Reyes and Jimmy Cruz. He knew defendant was a juvenile. She was taken to the Area Five police headquarters and placed in an interview room, where Halvorsen informed her of her Miranda rights and that she could "possibly" be charged as an adult. Defendant indicated that she understood these rights.
Detective Halvorsen asked that a police squad car from the 14th District be sent to defendant's home in an attempt to locate her family. Detective Guevara later told him that defendant's mother had been contacted, but said she would get to the police station as soon as she could. Halvorsen was unaware that defendant's mother was at Area Five or had not been allowed to see defendant.
After the arrest, Detective Halvorsen attempted to contact a youth officer. The youth officer on duty in an adjoining station at that time was busy. Halvorsen did not check again to see whether the youth officer later became available. An Area Five youth sergeant informed him that no Area Five youth officer was then available either, but that he would send the first available officer, who was to come on duty at midnight.
Nevertheless, at about 10 p.m., Detective Halvorsen began to question defendant. No youth officer had yet appeared. He again read her the Miranda warnings. She responded that she understood each of her rights and would make a statement. He had a 20- to 30-minute conversation with her and then left her alone in the interview room.
Youth officer Robert Pulia and Assistant State's Attorney (ASA) John Dillon arrived a little past midnight. Detective Halvorsen told Pulia the facts of the case. Later, at about 12:30 a.m., Pulia had a private conversation with defendant. He knew detective Halvorsen already had taken a statement from her. He advised her of her Miranda rights anyway, informed her that he was a youth officer, he was present to protect her rights, and he would observe how she was being treated. Pulia told her that her mother had been contacted, based upon what he was told. Pulia was present for the next three conversations Detective Halvorsen and ASA Dillon had with defendant, at 1:15 a.m., 5:15 a.m., and 6:15 a.m.
At 1:15 a.m., ASA Dillon told defendant who he was. She said she understood. Dillon advised defendant of her Miranda rights and that she would be treated as an adult, which defendant again stated that she understood. She then spoke to Dillon for about 20 to 30 minutes and agreed to make a statement in the presence of a court reporter. She was given food. Alone with Dillon, defendant told him that she had been treated well and had no complaints.
At 5:15 a.m., a court reporter took defendant's statement, upon ASA Dillon's questions, which was transcribed at 6:15 a.m., and reviewed by Dillon and defendant. Dillon had defendant read a couple of sentences out loud, to make sure she could read and understand English; then he read the rest of the statement to her. Defendant made corrections where appropriate and signed the statement. Dillon saw no one in a waiting area in Area Five headquarters. He did not know that anyone was asking to speak with defendant.
According to Detective Halvorsen, Officer Pulia, and ASA Dillon, defendant did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during their conversations with her. They smelled no alcohol or other drugs. Defendant was sober and coherent, and understood and answered all questions asked of her. Defendant did not state that she was high or under the influence of alcohol.
Defendant's mother, Sandra Lorenzi, testified at the suppression hearing. On May 13, 1992, at 10 p.m., she and her husband were at home. Two police detectives came there and first told her that defendant had witnessed a murder and was in protective custody. She asked to see her daughter. The detectives told her that she could not at that time because they had her in custody. One officer told her that he would let her know when she could see her daughter. Before they left, however, the officers informed her that defendant was involved in a murder.
Lorenzi waited for the police to call. They did not. At about 2 a.m. she nevertheless went to the police station, where she was told to wait in a waiting room. Instead, she went upstairs but a detective sent her back downstairs. She waited about an hour and one-half and then went back upstairs. The detective told her to "get the hell out" of there because the police were talking with her daughter. She went back upstairs every hour or so. She was not permitted to see defendant until about 8:30 a.m., when she and a friend were allowed into a room to see her. Defendant appeared to be "gagging," and her eyes were bulging. She had seen defendant on alcohol and other drugs before, and defendant appeared the same way. It was difficult to understand defendant. She did not appear to recognize her mother. Lorenzi believed defendant was on drugs or alcohol that morning. After about five minutes, Lorenzi was told by police to leave.
Following argument, the court denied defendant's motion to suppress, finding that the police "exercised a good faith eifort after the defendant was arrested when they notified the mother of her incarceration" and that the "only real issue is whether or not the mother was allowed access to the daughter at the police station."
A grand jury indicted defendant on June 19, 1992, for first degree murder and related charges.
At trial, evidence was adduced showing that on May 12, 1992, shortly after midnight, a witness heard laughing and giggling coming from an area in Humboldt Park near a park lavatory. Three women were seen there, one of whom was taller than the other two, and two men. The taller woman, later identified as defendant, was seen entering the ladies washroom with one of the men. A noise that sounded like a firecracker was heard, and the taller woman emerged from the washroom alone. The two shorter women were seen walking with the second man. One went behind the man. A flash was seen behind the second man, and he fell to the ground. The two shorter women ran, the taller one kicked the body and ran in the direction of the other two.
Chicago police detective John Dolan, at Humboldt Park during the early morning hours of May 12, 1992, observed the bodies of Jimmy Cruz on the sidewalk and Hector Reyes in the washroom. Next to the body of Cruz he found a .25-caliber automatic shell casing. He also recovered a bullet near Reyes.
On May 11, 1992, at 11 p.m., defendant and two other girls, "Mauri," and "Tuti," all members of the Disciples street gang, were seen in a white car by Yvette Rodriguez. She declined to go with them to do a "hit." At 1 a.m., Rodriguez saw the same three young women again, who told her that they had shot the guys. Defendant said that she shot one in the head and back, pointing to the back of her head.
Later that day, Rodriguez was arrested for possession of a controlled substance; she had been arrested earlier on a drug charge, which was still pending. While at the police station, Rodriguez claimed that she knew about the double murder. She drove around with the police looking for defendant, Mauri and Tuti. The next day she went with the police to a funeral home in an undercover van. She pointed out defendant and Mauri at the funeral, both of whom were arrested.
Detective Halvorsen testified that on May 13, 1992, at about 8 p.m., he was in an unmarked car at a funeral home in the area of Ar-mitage and Kimball. He had the names of Loca D, whom he identified as defendant, and Mauri and Tuti. All three were members of the Maniac Latin Disciples (MLD). The funeral was for a member of the MLD who had been killed a few days earlier. The witness pointed out defendant and Mauri, and both were arrested. Halvorsen testified concerning the taking of the statements from defendant, consistent with his testimony at the hearing on the motion to suppress. Hal-vorsen identified defendant in court as the person who made the statements. ASA Dillon also testified as he did at the hearing, reading to the jury defendant's signed statement as transcribed by the court reporter. In the statement defendant confessed to shooting Reyes in the lavatory and to giving the gun to Mauri, who then shot Cruz on the sidewalk.
Following the introduction of related evidence, the State rested. The court denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict.
Defendant's mother testified on her behalf as she did at the suppression hearing.
Defendant testified for the defense. Her nickname in the MLD was Loca D, which meant Crazy Disciple. She used marijuana, T-sticks, cocaine, and acid, and was hospitalized for an overdose in 1987. She also drank alcohol. Defendant was with Marilyn Mulero (Mauri) getting high on May 11, 1992, at 5 or 6 p.m., when they met Rodriguez. They joined her in her car and drove around, stopping to buy drugs, and got high at about 7 p.m. Tuti joined them. Defendant took five tabs of acid and began to hallucinate. The next thing she remembered was seeing a gun at Humboldt Park. While they were driving around, they had seen Cruz and Reyes in a car. There was no plan. Cruz asked if they wanted to get high with him, and they followed him to Humboldt Park. Defendant denied going into the washroom with Reyes, contending instead that Rodriguez did so. She opened the door and saw Rodriguez shoot Reyes. Rodriguez pointed the gun at her and told her she had not seen or heard anything. Rodriguez then shot Cruz in the back of the head.
When defendant went to a funeral the next day, she was arrested. She had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. She had also used cocaine and T-sticks, and drunk hard liquor. She remembered being shown her statement, transcribed by the court reporter at the police station, but did not remember signing it. The police made her confess, and her statement was not the truth. She misspelled her own name 11 times because she was high. The police did not beat her up or strike her. She received food, soda, and cigarettes. She confessed because she was scared and tricked by the police. The defense rested.
The jury found defendant guilty of the murders of Cruz and Reyes. She was sentenced to the mandated term of natural life in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. She appeals.
Defendant first asserts that the circuit court erred in denying her motion to suppress her confession where the evidence shows that she was denied access to a concerned adult. She argues that failing to have either a youth officer or a parent present is material to determining the voluntariness of her statement since she was a minor.
The facts in this case make it abundantly clear that defendant had undergone police questioning and confessed prior to seeing either a youth officer or her mother. Later, other police interviews were undertaken even while the mother was at the police station asking to see her 15-year-old daughter, but was kept from her. It is not a sufficient answer to say that since defendant later was tried as an adult, meaningful notice need not have been given and consequential protections need not have been afforded her.
The investigating officer, Detective Halvorsen, testified defendant arrived at Area Five at 9:30 p.m. He asked others to notify her mother between 9:30 and 10 p.m. One youth officer on duty was busy; he made no effort to recontact her. The Area Five youth sergeant told him no one else was then accessible and that the first person available after midnight would be assigned. Nevertheless, Halvorsen began interrogating defendant minutes later, at 10 p.m.
Detective Halvorsen requested the 14th District to send a squad car to defendant's home, which was in that district. He did not pursue his request and did not personally know if it had been followed. At midnight, Halvorsen's partner, Detective Renaldo Guevara, told him that defendant's mother had been "contacted." The police subjected defendant to the same routine questioning as they would have a criminal suspect without special regard for age or parental precon-fession counselling. The youth division was contacted, yet no youth officer conferred with her prior to police interrogation. She had already given one statement to Halvorsen before the youth officer saw her for the first time at 12:30 a.m. Courts must be particularly careful in cases involving juveniles because "the coerciveness of a situation is thereby enhanced." People v. Cole (1988), 168 Ill. App. 3d 172, 179, 522 N.E.2d 635, appeal denied (1988), 122 Ill. 2d 582, cert. denied sub nom. Holman v. Illinois (1989), 489 U.S. 1021, 103 L. Ed. 2d 203, 109 S. Ct. 1143.
The facts in this case demonstrate the danger of cursory application of principles to facts. What "reasonable notice" was given here? Sandra Lorenzi, defendant's mother, testified that the police came to her home at about 10 p.m. They first told Ms. Lorenzi her daughter had witnessed a murder. Later in this conversation, they told her the daughter was involved in a murder. Without contradiction, Ms. Lorenzi testified to the following: she immediately told the police she wanted to go to the station. The police told Ms. Lorenzi not to come and that they would call her when it was time for her to come. The call from police never came. At 2 a.m., when Ms. Lorenzi became desperate, she went to the station on her own. The fact that the police told Ms. Lorenzi not to come and did not threaten her if she did come does not change that fact that the police psychologically and effectively prevented Ms. Lorenzi's visit to her daughter until after all the questioning was completed and the confession was taken.
It takes little mental effort to understand the reluctance of a parent to disregard a police directive, to stay at home until police called her. To say that this evidence clearly establishes that the police made a "good faith" effort after defendant was arrested when they notified defendant's mother of her arrest makes a mockery of the concept of "reasonable notice." "Notice" here must be understood to have some purpose, namely, to allow, where possible, the concerned adult to confer and counsel with the juvenile before interrogation and confession. Yes, an attempt was made to contact a youth officer before the statement was taken; but the interrogation went forward anyway, within minutes. And yes, the parent here was "notified," but in the same breath she was told she could not see her child until called. These circumstances demonstrate the intended fulfillment of notice here was simply a tragic charade. See generally People v. McGhee (1987), 154 Ill. App. 3d 232, 507 N.E.2d 33.
As previously mentioned, Ms. Lorenzi testified that by 2 a.m. she was desperate, and although the police had not contacted her as promised, she nevertheless went to the police station, spoke to the desk sergeant, and was again told to wait. Instead, she went to an upstairs area of the station and spoke to a Spanish-speaking detective who had come to her house. He also told her to wait downstairs. She waited in the station for another hour and one-half. Nobody contacted her. She went upstairs again. The same Spanish-speaking detective told her to "get the hell out" of there because they were talking to defendant. Several times more she unsuccessfully tried to see her daughter. Eventually, at 8:30 a.m., long past any opportunity for counselling, she was allowed a visit.
According to the record, defendant's court reporter statement was taken at 5:15 a.m. She signed it at 6:15 a.m. Ms. Lorenzi was at the station trying unsuccessfully to see her daughter while investigative questioning was proceeding and the statement was taken. The State chose not to call the desk sergeant to testify in contradiction, nor the Spanish-speaking detective to whom she had spoken. No one who was even potentially in a position to contradict Ms. Lorenzi testified for the State in this aspect of the case.
Detective Halvorsen, who was constantly with defendant; youth officer Pulia, who was with defendant most of the time from 12:30 a.m. on; and ASA Dillon, who was with defendant from about 1:15 a.m. on, did testify. They, however, were in no position to contradict Ms. Lorenzi because they claimed they were not "aware" she was present at Area 5 headquarters. The circuit judge correctly found that defendant's mother arrived sometime after the arrest; the judge erroneously found, however, that the officers testified that at no time did she ask to see her daughter. In fact, no officer testified that Ms. Lorenzi did not ask to see her daughter; rather, they claimed that they were not "aware" of her request. On almost identical facts, Justice Charles Freeman, now an Illinois Supreme Court justice, but then writing for a unanimous appellate court, explained in People v. Brown (1989), 182 Ill. App. 3d 1046, 1053-54, 538 N.E.2d 909:
"Brown's mother testified that she arrived at Area 6 late in the evening, around 7 o'clock on December 23. It is a reasonable inference from the testimony of the State's witnesses that they were not aware of her presence at Area 6 until they ended their interrogation of Brown at about 8:30 p.m. However, the fact that the assistant State's Attorney and police officers who were questioning Brown did not know of his mother's presence at Area 6 is insufficient to avoid the obligation to allow a parent to see his or her child where, as here, the parent has indicated an interest by her presence at the police station. Under such circumstances, the officers who know of the parent's presence have an affirmative duty to inform those actually questioning a juvenile of the parent's presence and request to see her child. And, in order to ensure the true voluntariness of a statement, those actually questioning the juvenile have an affirmative duty to stop the questioning and allow the parent to confer with her child." (Emphasis added.)
Clearly, the alleged "notice" given here was vacuous. Defendant's statements were made before she had an opportunity to confer, prior to questioning, with an adult demonstratively interested in her welfare, her mother, who was present at the station for over six hours. Such failure is "material to determining the voluntariness of [a minor] defendant's statement." People v. Knox (1989), 186 Ill. App. 3d 808, 815, 542 N.E.2d 910 (Knox); People v. R.B. (1992), 232 Ill. App. 3d 583, 594, 597 N.E.2d 879.
In Knox, defendant's convictions were reversed because the confession should have been suppressed on his motion. There, Knox, also age 15, was arrested at his home at 9:15 p.m. His father was then at home and he was told he could accompany his son to the station, but the father could not because he was caring for his other younger children. Defendant arrived at the station at 9:30 p.m. As in the present case, the arresting officer notified the police youth division of Knox's presence between 9:45 and 10 p.m., but no youth officer appeared. As also asserted in the instant case, Knox was advised of his rights and stated he understood them. Starting about 9:45 p.m., Knox had a 45-minute interview with the police, during which he admitted his involvement in the crime. An assistant State's Attorney was notified. At 1:45 a.m., the assistant State's Attorney again advised Knox of his rights. Knox repeated his confession. His statement was reduced to writing and was read and signed by Knox at 2:21 a.m., after Knox made and initialed corrections in the statement, read it once to himself and again when it was read aloud to him by the assistant State's Attorney. Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 809-13.
Knox's mother testified that she was not home when the police came. When she arrived home at 9:40 p.m., she learned her son had been arrested and went to the station, arriving there at about 10:10 p.m. She identified herself at the desk and was told to wait. At 12 a.m., a detective told her that her son had already confessed, that an assistant State's Attorney would have to be called, and that she might as well go home. Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 811.
In Knox, both the parents and the youth division were notified of Knox's arrest and presence in the station. The appellate court found the fact that neither was actually present during defendant's confession required suppression, first, because Knox's father's opportunity to accompany his son was an "empty" one due to his responsibility for the other children (Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 813) and, second, uncontradicted testimony given by his mother established that "the police contributed significantly to eliminating any opportunity defendant had from speaking to his mother at the police station." (Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 813-14.) Considering this evidence, the court stated:
"We do not believe such conduct by police is consistent with the great care required where a juvenile's incriminating statement is received. At worst, the police purposely precluded defendant's mother from contact with defendant by neglecting to see if defendant's mother had arrived until after such time as defendant had completed his confession. At best, the police simply subjected defendant to the same routine questioning of a criminal suspect without special regard for his youth. Either scenario is impermissible and casts some doubt over the voluntariness of defendant's statement." (Emphasis added.) (Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 814.)
The same conclusion is compelled by consideration of the evidence in the instant case.
Here, the ongoing interrogation was part of a pattern of police attempts to question the minor without prior parental counselling. This pattern of conduct started when the police, already interrogating defendant, told the mother not to come to the station; the pattern continued when the mother, desperate to see her daughter, nevertheless came, only to be obstructed from communicating with her daughter until after statements were made, reduced to writing, and signed.
Juveniles possess the same constitutional privilege against self-incrimination as adults; and when juveniles are unaided by counsel, great care "must be taken to assure that the admission was voluntary, in the sense not only that it was not coerced or suggested, but also that it was not the product of ignorance of rights or of adolescent fantasy, fright or despair." (In re Gault (1967), 387 U.S. 1, 55, 18 L. Ed. 2d 527, 561, 87 S. Ct. 1428, 1458.) Further, special care must be taken in scrutinizing the record where a juvenile is involved, since juveniles could be "easy victim[s] of the law." Haley v. Ohio (1948), 332 U.S. 596, 599, 92 L. Ed. 224, 228, 68 S. Ct. 302, 303-04; People v. Travis (1984), 122 Ill. App. 3d 671, 674, 462 N.E.2d 654.
In another factual setting similar to the present case, People v. R.B. (1992), 232 Ill. App. 3d 583, 592-93, 597 N.E.2d 879, the appellate court held:
"Juvenile confessions are to be carefully reviewed to ensure that they are voluntary and not coerced, suggested, or the product of a juvenile's ignorance of rights, his adolescent fantasy, fright or despair. (People v. Holcomb (1989), 192 Ill. App. 3d 158, 548 N.E.2d 613; People v. Racanelli (1985), 132 Ill. App. 3d 124, 476 N.E.2d 1179.) The test is whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the statement was made freely, without compulsion or inducement of any sort (Haynes v. Washington (1963), 373 U.S. 503,10 L. Ed. 2d 513, 83 S. Ct. 1336), with consideration given to the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation. (Schneckloth v. Bustamonte (1973), 412 U.S. 218, 36 L. Ed. 2d 854, 93 S. Ct. 2041.) Considering the totality of the circumstances, and particularly the absence of a youth officer or parent prior to incrimination, we conclude that the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to suppress his statement and quash arrest.
This court has stated that the failure to telephone a juvenile defendant's parents, or the absence of a parent during questioning, is a factor in determining voluntariness, but is not determinative of whether defendant's confession should be suppressed. (People v. Stachelek (1986), 145 Ill. App. 3d 391, 495 N.E.2d 984; In re J.S. (1984), 121 Ill. App. 3d 927, 460 N.E.2d 412.) However, where the State failed to take appropriate steps to ensure that a juvenile defendant had an opportunity to confer with an interested adult, either a parent or a youth officer, this court has held that the police conduct rendered his confession inadmissible. People v. Knox (1989), 186 Ill. App. 3d 808, 542 N.E.2d 910." (Emphasis added.)
In In re J.O. (1992), 231 Ill. App. 3d 853, 855, 596 N.E.2d 1285, yet another case involving similar facts, the appellate court held:
"A juvenile's age and the fact that the interrogation occurred in the middle of the night may properly be considered in evaluating the voluntary nature of a confession. (Haley v. Ohio (1948), 332 U.S. 596, 92 L. Ed. 224, 68 S. Ct. 302.) Additionally, if parents have indicated an interest by their presence, then they should be allowed to confer with their children before any questioning begins, as well as be present when any questioning occurs. (In re S.D.S. (1982), 103 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 431 N.E.2d 759.) The presence or absence of a parent is a factor in evaluating the voluntary nature of a confession under the totality of the circumstances test. In re S.D.S. (1982), 103 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 431 N.E.2d 759." (Emphasis added.)
In the case sub judice, not only was defendant interrogated before having an opportunity to confer with a concerned adult but, worse, any opportunity to do so was effectively frustrated by police. This factor is "material" in determining the voluntariness of defendant's statement. (Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 815; R.B., 232 Ill. App. 3d at 594.) In Knox, the court concluded:
"Here, however, the failure to have a juvenile officer present is material to determining the voluntariness of defendant's statement. That failure, in view of the failure to permit defendant's mother an opportunity to see her son at the police station, deprived defendant of his only chance to consult with any adult interested in his welfare prior to making a statement. Such is not the type of sensitivity to be accorded to receipt of a minor's statement.
We therefore reverse defendant's convictions and remand the matter for a new trial." (Emphasis added.) Knox, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 815-16.
The same result is required in the instant case. The dissent mis-characterizes our decision by charging that we apply a per se rule instead of a totality of the circumstances test in determining the vol-untariness of defendant's confession. Our decision, however, is not based solely on the fact that defendant was interrogated without the opportunity to confer with a concerned adult. Here, a juvenile defendant, age 15, was interrogated throughout the night as part of a pattern of police conduct designed to elicit a confession, as well as to obstruct parental counselling. Under all these circumstances, the confession was not voluntary. That defendant was tried as an adult is after the material fact.
Notwithstanding the strong evidence of defendant's guilt in this case, reversal is mandated on principle and a new trial is ordered for reasons set forth above.
Since this case must be retried, other assignments of alleged trial error need not be considered here.
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
McCORMICK, J., concurs.