Opinion ID: 2219911
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: On the evening of March 12, 1999, Decatur police officer Shane Brandel and Detective Daniel Street were investigating a burglary, unrelated to this case. As Brandel and Street were speaking with the occupants of a house at 1329 East Main Street in Decatur, they heard gunshots. Stepping outside onto the front porch and heading toward the street, Brandel and Street saw two men running toward them through a vacant lot. Brandel testified that the faces of the two men were dark and thus he inferred they were black. One suspect wore a black coat while the other wore a dark coat and seemed to be three or four inches taller than the other. Street testified that both men wore dark clothing and, at the time, he believed them to be roughly the same height and build. Brandel stated that the man in the black coat lifted his coat and reached under his waistband. Though he did not see the black-coated man pull anything out, Brandel reached for his pistol. At that point both suspects turned around and began running north. Street testified that after Brandel said something along the lines of Stop, police[!] the two suspects turned and ran north. Brandel pursued the suspects on foot while Street returned to his vehicle and drove west on Main Street, listening to Brandel's reports on the radio. While Brandel was pursuing the suspects on foot he lost sight of them twice. The first time, he lost sight of them for four to five seconds as he rounded a corner into an alleyway between East Main and East Prairie Street. The second time, he lost sight of the suspects for about 20 seconds when they darted between some houses on East Main. Brandel testified that, when the suspects again came into view, he was certain, based on their clothing and build, they were the same suspects he had been chasing. Eventually, the suspects parted, each running on an opposite side of a motor home parked in a lot between 1212 and 1228 East Main Street. Brandel followed the closest suspect, the one in the blue coat, and arrested him on the front porch of the house at 1212 East Main. That suspect was Shannon Hunter. Brandel testified that he did not see any other persons during his pursuit. Brandel was unable to recall whether Hunter was short of breath or perspiring when he was arrested. Brandel stated that he did not see either suspect discard anything during the chase. He did not believe the suspects were wearing masks or eyewear and did not notice any stripes or different colors on their coats, describing them only as solid blue or black. Defendant's counsel showed Brandel a black coat with white stripes that other police officers found in a driveway between the houses at 1229 and 1237 East Main Street, a few blocks away from the scene of the shooting. Brandel could not identify it as a coat worn by either suspect. During the chase, Brandel noticed a car parked 150 feet northeast of the point where he first spotted the suspects. The police later discovered Forrest's dead body in that car. He had been shot in the head, left arm, left thigh, and right thigh. Though the car was in neutral and the stereo was blaring, it was not running. The driver's side window was shattered and shards of glass were strewn on the street in front of 120 North Stone Street and at the point where the car had come to rest slightly northwest of that location. Two bullet holes were found in the driver's door, one bullet was found on the front passenger floorboard, and one was found in the panel of the front passenger door. Street testified that as he drove west on Main Street he noticed police cars with lights on at Jasper Street. He turned left (south) onto Jasper Street and continued to the intersection of Wood and Jasper. At the intersection, Street saw a black man in dark clothing run onto Wood Street from the north. The man crossed Wood Street and ran toward the east side of Walgreens at 1201 East Wood. At that point, Street lost sight of him behind a fence. Street continued south on Jasper Street and, turning east onto Clay Street, stopped mid-block with his car headlights off. Street saw the man emerge from between some houses, stop on the sidewalk, and then walk on Clay Street at a normal pace. Eventually, the man crouched and hid under a bush at 1304 East Clay Street. Street testified that, at that point, he had not seen any other foot traffic on Clay Street. After he saw the man hide under the bush, Street radioed police dispatch. Not a minute later, another Decatur police officer, Shawn Guenther, pulled the man out from under the bush. That man was defendant, Jacoby Wheeler. Street testified that this was the same man he saw running toward him after hearing gunshots while he and Brandel were at 1329 East Main Street. However, Street was not able to identify Hunter as the other suspect he saw running toward him. Additionally, he did not notice either suspect make any drastic change of clothing, nor did he notice stripes or hoods on the suspects' coats. Street further admitted that the black coat shown to him at trial had white stripes down each sleeve which, had he noticed, he would have described in his report. Jason Derbort, another Decatur police officer, also testified. Derbort responded to a report of shots fired, parked his car at the intersection of Main and Jasper Streets, and turned off his headlights. Seeing a black man in dark clothing and a dark coat run out of the lot where the motor home was parked, Derbort turned on his headlights and emergency lights, got out of his squad car, and yelled at the man to stop. Derbort testified that the man then headed southeast. Soon after the event, however, Derbort wrote in his police report that the man ran south. Regardless, Derbort testified that he followed the man and could see that the dark coat he was wearing had white stripes down the sleeves. As the man continued to run, Derbort lost sight of him for around two seconds as he ran through the driveway between 1229 and 1237 East Main Street. When he saw the man again, he was no longer wearing the dark coat but was now clad in a green and yellow jacket. The man continued running, crossed Wood Street, fled between 1295 and 1305 Wood Street, and jumped a chain-link fence. Derbort, unable to jump the fence due to the weight of his full winter gear, went around the fence in pursuit. He testified that he saw no other foot traffic as he pursued the man. When Derbort again saw the man, Officer Guenther was ordering him out from under the bush at 1304 East Clay. As noted, that man was Jacoby Wheeler and he was wearing the green and yellow jacket Derbort had seen while in pursuit. Retracing the route the suspects had taken, police found various items. Where the suspects initially turned and ran from Brandel and Street, police found a .22-caliber revolver containing five live rounds and one spent round. Along the suspects' route of flight, police found a ski mask lined with a pair of nylon stockings, a black neoprene mask, a stocking cap, and a .357 Magnum chrome revolver containing two live rounds and four spent rounds. The neoprene mask, stocking cap, and .357 Magnum revolver were not found in the initial police search. Instead, those items were found in a search just after midnight on March 13, 1999, when police discovered that more than one gun might have been involved in the shooting. Brandel noted that those items were found at a time when the area was no longer secured. Brandel explained that to be secured means that an area is controlled in such a way that the integrity of the crime scene is maintained and no unauthorized persons are allowed into or out of the area. In addition to the above, police also found two right-hand brown jersey gloves on the front bumper of the motor home where the suspects parted company. Further, they found a black coat with the sleeves turned inside out and the white lining facing upward in the area where Officer Derbort had lost sight of the man who he claimed turned out to be Jacoby Wheeler. Police wore gloves in picking up each item of evidence, but did not change their gloves from one item to the next. Additionally, each item was photographed where it lay and the photographs were admitted into evidence at trial. The day after the murder, Deosha Singleton, defendant's girlfriend of seven years, told Detective Gannon that she overheard defendant and Hunter speaking to each other on the day of the murder. According to Singleton, she heard someone saying I'll do it. I'll do it and someone saying do it and the other saying no. At trial, however, she testified that she had lied to Gannon because she wanted to leave the police interview room. Teronica Jones, with whom codefendant had a son, testified that Hunter used her car on March 12, 1999. She further testified that she picked up the car the next morning at Main and East Streets. Jones acknowledged, however, that she had made a contradictory written statement that she retrieved the car about 2½ blocks southwest of where Forrest was killed. Two women, neither of whom knew defendant or Hunter, but both of whom lived near the alley where Forrest was found dead, also testified. Misty Gilman testified that she heard gunshots the night of March 12, 1999. After hearing the shots, she looked outside her apartment at 1423 East Prairie Street and saw two persons in the alley and three persons on the sidewalk head toward Prairie Street. One of the men in the alley wore a red and black Chicago Bulls jacket. Gilman acknowledged that she made a contradictory written statement that she had seen only three persons, two in the bushes right off the alley and another going north. Tamara Hodges testified that she heard a car pull up near her home at 1363 East Prairie around 8:45 p.m. on March 12, 1999, and just sit there. She heard gunshots, looked out her window, and saw two black men run north on Stone Street, jump into a sports car, and drive west on Prairie Street. Hodges further testified that when the car drove off in a westerly direction she did not remember hearing any tires squealing or similar noises. Little forensic evidence tied defendant directly to the items of evidence found by police. Eric Young, a forensic scientist specializing in trace chemistry, testified that if someone had stepped on broken glass, it was likely, though not certain, that fragments of the glass would become embedded in the soles of that person's shoes. He further testified, however, that such fragments could become dislodged by running. While some glass was found in defendant's shoes, that glass did not match the glass from Forrest's shattered car window. The ski mask and stocking cap found by police contained human head hairs that did not come from either defendant or Hunter. No blood was found on either man's clothing. The firearms and ammunition recovered by police did not yield fingerprints. No gunshot residue was found on the jacket defendant was wearing when he was apprehended. However, gunshot residue was found on Hunter's coat, the brown gloves, and the black coat with white stripes police found along defendant's purported path of flight. Defendant challenged the accuracy of the residue finding, though, by introducing testimony establishing that failure to change gloves or clean evidence-processing surfaces can result in gunshot particles being transferred from one exhibit to another. Travis L. Hindman, a forensic pathologist called by the State, testified that it was his opinion that Forrest suffered a fatal head wound at point-blank range from either a .22- or a .25-caliber bullet. Moreover, he testified that the leg wounds Forrest suffered came from a medium-class pistol such as a .357 Magnum or a .38 caliber while the hollow-point bullet in Forrest's left arm definitively came from a .357 Magnum handgun. Robert J. Hunton, a forensic scientist called by the State, also concluded that the bullet from Forrest's left arm came from a .357 Magnum handgun. Moreover, Hunton concluded that the bullet came from the exact .357 Magnum chrome revolver police recovered in this case. His opinion was based upon rifling marks on the bullet that were distinctive to bullets fired from that particular weapon. Using the rifling-mark technique a second time, Hunton concluded that the bullet on the passenger floorboard and the one in the passenger front door also came from that revolver. Evidence at trial indicated that defendant and Hunter associated with each other before the murder. Winifred Forrest, Demetrian Forrest's grandmother, testified that defendant and Hunter played billiards together multiple times a week during the summer and fall of 1998. She also testified that defendant had previously been friends with Demetrian. Michael Cunningham, an acquaintance of defendant, saw defendant and Hunter at a party days before the murder. Cunningham testified that everyone at the party, including himself, was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Though his memory was hazy, Cunningham remembered mentioning that if he were Jacoby Wheeler, he would pay Forrest not to testify. Though he was not completely certain, Cunningham also remembered Wheeler, or perhaps someone else, remarking that he did not want to go back to prison. Cunningham further testified that he saw that defendant had at least one handgun with him when he left the party with Hunter. Though Cunningham denied making any deal with the State for his testimony, he did indicate that he could not remember everything that happened. Further calling into question his testimony, a defense investigator, Dean Paisley, testified that Cunningham admitted to him that anything he had told the police was a combination of what he recalled from his mental state of drinking and using drugs and his desire to get any sentence he may receive reduced. Cunningham, however, denied making that statement. In support of its case, the State elicited testimony to establish that defendant had a motive to murder Demetrian Forrest. Macon County State's Attorney Scott Rueter testified that in 1998, while he was an assistant State's Attorney, he was assigned to prosecute a case, eventually scheduled to go to trial on March 16, 1999, in which defendant was charged with the attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm of Angelo Williams. Rueter testified that during discovery in that case, he disclosed Demetrian Forrest as a witness. Rueter indicated that it was his belief that Forrest's testimony would, along with other evidence, implicate defendant. Lisa Holder White, defendant's attorney at the time Forrest was disclosed as a witness, testified that while she was aware that the State might call Forrest as a witness she did not know that for sure. To rebut any suggestion that Forrest was killed because he was to be a witness against defendant in the Williams case, the defense proffered evidence that Forrest was an informant in other cases and had testified against William Ellzey, the highest ranking member of the Gangster Disciples in Decatur. That evidence would have shown that Ellzey had received a sentence of imprisonment for life in an unrelated criminal proceeding; that Forrest had lost some of Ellzey's drugs; that Forrest had been behind in payments to Ellzey; that Forrest had been physically disciplined for coming to Ellzey with a gold necklace instead of a cash payment; and that Forrest had some relationship with Ellzey's girlfriend. In addition to the above evidence, Hunter made an offer of proof that Demetrian Forrest's grandmother Winifred Forrest feared for his safety and was uncomfortable because of his testimony against William Ellzey. The defense contended that their proposed evidence would have shown a theory for which the jury could infer that someone other than defendants murdered Demetrian Forrest. The trial court ruled that the information regarding Ellzey was too speculative to be allowed before the jury. The court ruled that the defense could not ask Winifred Forrest if she feared for Demetrian's safety. Moreover, the court told defendants that while they were free to argue that someone else murdered Forrest, as far as arguing that someone else in particular did it such evidence was way too speculative to allow to go before the jury. At the beginning of his closing argument, after thanking the jury for its attention and determination, the prosecutor made the following comment, which defendant now challenges before this court: MR. CURRENT [Prosecutor]: A murder case is an unusually difficult type of case for the prosecution to prove because the defendant has killed the main prosecution witness. The deceased never gets to testify. The deceased never gets to tell his side of the story. Then, who is left to take up his cause and try to speak for him? Often, it's a lone prosecutor, a stranger, who is left to champion the deceased. A solitary figure appears in Court bearing the burden of avenging another's death and presenting the truth to a jury and the Court. But, often time [ sic ], justice only requires a solitary champion because truth and justice is not a load as heavy as it appears. The load has an unspeakable lightness. Throughout the course of the rest of his argument, the prosecutor made a number of other comments that defendant also challenges: MR. CURRENT: I would suggest to you that you jurors lead sheltered lives. You stepped into a world, over a month ago, that to many of you never existed. You have no idea what kind of criminals and serious crime are lurking out there. There are dangerous people. There are mean streets. Not everyone lives in a peaceful neighborhood like you or has safe neighborhoods. The police are often referred to as `the thin blue line'. Well, what does that mean, `the thin blue line'? The police are there to protect you from the likes of Kenneth Lovelace, Gregory Williams, Andre Eubanks, Sean Marshall, Timothy Glass, Franklin Small. Who do citizens callcitizens of this County call when they need assistance? Who do citizens call when someone is breaking into their house or assaulting them? The police do not call Kenneth Lovelace, Gregory Williams, Andre Eubanks, etc. When you get up in the morning or your spouse gets up in the morning or a family member gets up in the morning and you go to work, are you risking your life to earn a paycheck? Are you putting your life on the line when you go to the office or your work? Yet, police-bashing seems to be a semi-popular sport until a citizen is in distress. Then, that same officer is expected to come to a citizen's salvation. Well, who do citizens want to serve and protect them in times of need? I would submit they want officers like Shane Brandel and Dan Street and Jason Derbort. Shane Brandel, you look at him, he looks like the boy who grew up next-door. The boy who grew up in the neighborhood who's finally an adult. Dan Street. Here's a man who served 4 years in the United States Marine Corps and then continued his service with the Decatur Police Department. A reserved, deliberate, low-key man. That's the advantage of a Jury Trial. You get to eyeball a witness when he testifies. You get to see him. You get to see how he reacts to questions, prosecution questions, defense questions. You get an idea for what kind of person you are dealing with. I would suggest to you that Shane Brandel and Dan Street are part of the new breed of policeman. These are men who are educated, intelligent, and well-spoken. They're not the coarse, muscle-bound brutes who can't find any other way of making a living.    MR. CURRENT: Your eyes have, also, noticed that each defendant has two attorneys for a total of four attorneys representing these defendants. And contrary to representations made to you during the jury selection or voir dire, you have seen with your own eyes these are not two completely different independent teams of lawyers. You watch with your own eyes as they converse frequently. One will go back and ask another for assistance; one will talk to another attorney; then go back and start asking the same questions or different questions. MR. BAXTER [counsel for Wheeler]: Objection, your honor. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. BAXTER: Thank you. MR. CURRENT: You have four lawyers with in excess of 100 years of legal practice and 75 years of school grilling Shane Brandel. MR. MATTINGLEY [counsel for Hunter]: Again, objection. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. BAXTER: Thank you. MR. CURRENT: Consider who was questioning Shane Brandel and Dan Street; for Shane Brandel, an entire afternoon and an entire morning, and for Dan Street, four hours. MR. BAXTER: Same objection, Your Honor. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: Don't you think that vast array of legal talent who have had 2½ years to study this case inside out, top to bottom, is going to find some discrepancy with which they can hurl their mighty harpoons? If you didn't know it now, you do know trial lawyers are Monday morning quarterbacks. MR. CURRENT: Every Monday morning, they can tell you all the bad decisions the quarterback made the previous day while he was being double-blitzed. A trial lawyer can dissect, bisect, and magnify any past action, all with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and all with the benefit of time and numbers. But, in the final analysis, the attorneys weren't there risking their lives on March the 12th of 1999. They were not in the arena. MR. BAXTER: Objection, Your Honor. MR. MATTINGLEY: Objection. THE COURT: Overruled. You may continue, Mr. Current. MR. CURRENT: The policemen were in the arena. So, in light of all this, is it too surprising that the defense attorneys obtained what they thought were some points in their favor? But, the rules of the game at which attorneys defend, operate, and go under seem to require a complete perfection on the part of a witness. If a witness isn't perfect, then, the skill of the attorney has revealed the witness to be a liar, the witness to be stupid, or the witness to be confused MR. BAXTER: Objection, Your Honor. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: any of which render the witness unworthy of belief. But, in the everyday real life world in which we all live, there is no perfection. In the real world, we judge each other by a less exacting standard. We realize that most people are hard-working, conscientious, capable, honest, and good-hearted people who do their best in a difficult and trying world. Can you think of any 2 minutes in your life in which you could withstand a full day of cross-examination by a four-lawyer team? MR. DAVIS: Judge, I object. He's placing the Jury THE COURT: Sustained. MR. CURRENT: Could you withstand  MR. DAVIS: I object, Judge. He's askinghe's putting the Jury in the place of the parties. THE COURT: That objection is overruled. MR. CURRENT: The attorneys made a great deal to[-]do about the police reports of Shane Brandel and Dan Street. Now, as a citizen, when you call the police, you expect an instant response. Even sooner if your life is at stake. You don't want to call 911 only to be told by the dispatcher the following message: `All available police officers are typing police reports at their typewriters and word processors at the present time. As soon as they are done performing their secretarial duties, they will be sent out on the street. And for your information, most of these officers just came in from a murder case, and we know how exacting[ly] the defense attorneys will cross-examine them.' MR. BAXTER: Objection. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. BAXTER: Ask the Jury to be instructed and to disregard that. THE COURT: The Jury is instructed to disregard the last comment. Proceed, Mr. Current. MR. CURRENT: `We know how closely their words will be examined; so, you can expect an additional 4 or 5 hours before the officers will be available so they can make sure that every word i[s] perfect, all syntaxes.' MR. BAXTER: I object to that. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: Your honor THE COURT: Continue, Mr. Current. MR. CURRENT:I would like to THE COURT: Go ahead. MR. CURRENT: `Every word is perfect, all syntaxes are acceptable, and all paragraphs are sufficiently long enough to gain approbation from anyone.'    MR. CURRENT:    Then, last Thursday, you experienced a very sad and disgusting day when Lisa Holder White took the Witness Stand. A judge is a lawyer, but a judge, also, takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois and to enforce the laws of this State. Her testimony, last Thursday, at the behest of Jacoby Wheeler's attorney was revolting to any person who values the truth. MR. DAVIS: Objection. THE COURT: Sustained. MR. BAXTER: Ask the Jury to be instructed to disregard. THE COURT: Disregard that comment, Ladies and Gentlemen. MR. BAXTER: Thank you. MR. CURRENT:    As she [Lisa Holder White] testified, one had visions of William Jefferson Clinton flashing before our eyes. MR. DAVIS: I object to that. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: Whether one is a Democrat, a Republican, or Independent, her performance was vintage Bill Clinton. While testifying before a Federal Grand Jury and when pressed on an issue, Clinton responded, `It depends on what your definition of is is.' At a news conference, Bill Clinton pointed his finger at the camera, while discussing Monica Lewinski, and declared, `I never had sexual relations with that woman.' MR. BAXTER: Objection. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: I guess it depends on what your definition of what `sexual relations' is.    MR. CURRENT: If you want a frank assessment of John Platzbecker, the police officer, maybe, his elevator doesn't run all the way to the top floor.    MR. CURRENT: Mr. Demetrian Forrest dies March 12th of 1999, and Dean Paisley is going out June 26th of 2001, in the middle of the summer, to take some pictures for you. Two years and three months later, somebody decides, well, it might be nice to have some pictures and it might be nicer if we took them in the summertime which is completely different from the winter as far as foliage and growth and, maybe, the Jury will fall for it. Donald Hopper MR. BAXTER: Objection, Your Honor. THE COURT: Overruled. MR. CURRENT: Donald Hopper. He waits until after jury selection starts. We're all in here trying to pick a jury, and he's out there snapping pictures. Now, it's two years and five months later, and he's out there taking pictures. Now, how serious are they about giving you accurate and fair information?    MR. CURRENT:    You've also noticed from closing arguments from the defense, you hear everything twice. You hear the prosecution's story once. You hear the defense twice. It's almost like being in a room being brainwashed. Just because you hear it over and over and over doesn't mean it's true. All it means is you're hearing it more times than you've heard it from the other side. (Emphases in original.) The jury found the defendants guilty as charged and eligible for the death penalty in September 2001. Both defendant and Hunter waived a jury for sentencing. Having found sufficient mitigating factors to preclude a sentence of death, the trial court sentenced defendant (as well as Hunter) to 55 years' imprisonment. We will consider each of defendant's arguments in turn.