People v. Bush

234 N.E.3d 754

2023 IL 128747

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee,

v.Mitchell Deandre BUSH, Appellant.

(Docket No. 128747)

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Filed November 30, 2023

Rehearing Denied January 22, 2024

Appeal from the Appellate Court for the Third Distinct; heard in that court on appeal from the Circuit Court of Peoria County, the Hon. John P. Vespa, Judge, presiding.

James E. Chadd, State Appellate Defender, Santiago A. Durango, Deputy Defender, and Amber Hopkins and Mark D. Fisher, Assistant Appellate Defenders, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, of Ottawa, for appellant.

Kwame Raoul, Attorney General, of Springfield (Jane Elinor Notz, Solicitor General, and Katherine M. Doersch and Garson S. Fischer, Assistant Attorneys General, of Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant, Mitchell Deandre Bush, was found guilty of felony murder, second degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, two counts of mob action, reckless discharge of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon after a jury trial. The appellate court reversed defen- dant’s conviction of aggravated battery with a firearm, vacated the jury’s finding of guilty of reckless discharge of a firearm, and affirmed defendant’s convictions and sentences of felony murder and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. 2022 IL App (3d) 190283, ¶ 1, 464 Ill.Dec. 41, 212 N.E.3d 52. This court granted defendant’s petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315(a) (eff. Oct. 1, 2021). For the following reasons, we affirm the appellate court’s judgment.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On May 17, 2016, defendant and his cousin Henry Mayfield (Mayfield) were involved in a neighborhood dispute. Two families were involved, the Roberson group and the Price group. Laterra Price’s son had sold an expensive belt to Minnie Roberson’s son. The belt belonged to Price, and Price wanted the belt returned. Members of Price’s group went to Roberson’s residence multiple times on the day of the shooting. The dispute intensified over the course of the day and culminated in defendant firing the shots that killed Dwayne Jones and injured Lathaniel Gulley (Gulley).

¶ 4 A. Circuit Court Proceedings

¶ 5 Defendant was charged by indictment, with codefendant Mayfield, of two counts of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 2016)), one count of felony murder (id. § 9-1(a)(3)), one count of aggravated battery (id. § 12-3.05(e)(1)), and two counts of mob action (id. § 25-1(a)(1)). Defendant was also charged individually with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (id. § 24-1.1(a)).

¶ 6 1. Pretrial Motion in Limine

¶ 7 Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion in limine to admit a "rap video reciting the events at issue in this case." The defense sought to admit the video if either Gulley or his brother Gabe Gulley (Gabe) testified inconsistently with the statements made in the video. The defense proffered the video as an offer of proof. At the beginning of the video, Gabe states that "this is a true story" and "true facts." Gabe continues that the video relates to the homicide of Jones (referred to in the video by his nickname "Wheezy") that occurred on May 17. At the end of the video, Gulley appears and says, "this was a real life story."

¶ 8 In the video, Gabe states that he received a call from his brother. Gulley told Gabe there was a "situation" where Gulley beat up some younger individuals after they were talking about "pulling triggers." Gabe told Gulley to pick him up because he was "ready" or "trained" to go. Gulley arrived and picked up Gabe and Wheezy. The group returned to Roberson’s home. Gabe states that there were "four of us posted in that driveway" when four cars pulled up. Gabe appears to state that the four individuals in the driveway thought they were going to "knuckle" the others. Mayfield then swung a pole at Wheezy, which prompted defendant to empty a clip, striking Wheezy and Gulley. Gabe concludes the video by describing the injuries to Wheezy, his death, and the effect the events had on Gabe.

¶ 9 At the hearing on the motion, trial counsel stated that the video represented Gabe’s version of the events, namely, that Gulley called Gabe because he was needed in a fight. Trial counsel sought to use the video if Gabe’s story changed during trial. The State responded that the video was not a prior statement and, instead, was a "work of art," not a "statement given to authorities." The trial court denied defendant’s motion, stating that to admit a prior statement there must be "some indication of a necessity to be honest, to be true, to be accurate." The trial court concluded that there was not that guarantee in making a rap video.

¶ 10 2. Jury Trial

¶ 11 The evidence at trial was largely uncontested. The shooting and the moments before the shooting were captured on a cell phone video. We summarize the relevant portions of the trial evidence and note conflicts in the evidence where necessary.

¶ 12 On May 17, 2016, a dispute arose between the families Roberson and Price, concerning a belt that Price’s son had sold to Roberson’s son. The belt was Price’s, and she wanted it returned. The dispute played out over the course of the day on May 17 at Roberson’s home on Virden Street in Peoria. Various members of Price’s group returned to Roberson’s home several times. During one visit, a physical confrontation occurred with Gulley, who was Roberson’s boyfriend, striking Tresean Dillard and other members of Roberson’s group striking Jayurion Mayfield (Jayurion). Jayurion and Dillard are the teenage cousins of Price. Jayurion is the son of Henry Mayfield and Kimberly Williams. Dillard is the son of Sharonda Brown. The perspective from members of Price’s side was that Jayurion and Dillard had been "jumped." Police arrived and convinced Price, Dillard, Jayurion, and Brown, who had arrived after the altercation, to leave the scene.

¶ 13 During the first physical altercation, Mayfield was at a dialysis appointment. Williams picked up Mayfield and then picked up defendant, as it was customary for Mayfield and defendant to socialize after the dialysis appointments. While in the car, Williams received a call over speaker phone from Price informing Williams that Jayurion had been jumped by multiple adults and other people. Williams discussed that information with Mayfield. Williams then picked up Jayurion from Price’s house, which was only a few blocks from Roberson’s residence. On the car ride to Roberson’s, Jayurion explained that multiple adults and children had jumped him and Dillard. Defendant testified that he did not hear any of the conversations about the physical confrontation.

¶ 14 Williams pulled in front of Roberson’s residence, and Williams, Mayfield, Jayurion, and defendant all walked toward Roberson’s driveway. Within seconds, two more vehicles carrying Jerricca Williams (Williams’s daughter), Sharonda Brown, Dillard, and Price arrived, among others. There were approximately 12 people, who were part of Price’s group, standing on the sidewalk or street immediately in front of Roberson’s property.

¶ 15 After the first altercation, Roberson left with Gulley to pick up Gulley’s son from school. While away, the two received reports about a commotion outside Roberson’s residence. The two dropped off Gulley’s son at Gulley’s mother’s home and picked up Gabe and Jones for support and protection. When Roberson, Gulley, Gabe, and Jones returned, the cars containing Price’s group started to arrive at Roberson’s residence. A group of approximately eight or nine people joined Roberson’s group in Roberson’s front yard and driveway.

¶ 16 Tensions quickly escalated as the groups yelled back and forth. Each group’s version of events painted the other side as the aggressors. For example, Roberson and Gulley testified that no one on their side had any weapons. On the other hand, Jayurion testified that members of Roberson’s group had knives, bats, and cans in socks. Williams also testified that Roberson’s group had knives, sticks, and objects in socks. Williams explained that Roberson’s group was in an "up-guarded posi- tion," "ready to fight." Gulley admitted that he was ready and willing to fight.

¶ 17 Defendant testified that he displayed his gun, but only after threats were directed at him and Price’s group. According to defendant, Gulley responded "we got guns, too." Gulley testified that he did not recall what he said but that he did not converse with defendant and no one on Roberson’s side had a weapon. Defendant testified that he then "cocked the gun back" and told Gulley that the gun was not a toy and that he was not playing. At this point, Mayfield entered Roberson’s driveway and swung a broomstick at Jones and Gulley. Jones attempted to grab the broomstick, but Mayfield retained possession and retreated from the driveway. Gulley testified that Mayfield yelled "shoot" immediately prior to defendant firing the shots. Defendant testified that he did not see Mayfield as the aggressor and thought the broomstick came from the other side. Defendant was terrified due to Mayfield’s physical condition. Defendant testified that he fired the shots because he was "scared."

¶ 18 Defendant’s interview with police, the day after the shooting, was admitted into evidence. Defendant initially denied being the shooter. After being told that police knew he was the shooter, defendant admitted to being the shooter but claimed that he picked the gun up after it fell out of the shirt of someone on the other side. When told that his account was inconsistent with video evidence, defendant admitted to bringing the gun because he felt something would happen to him if he did not have the gun. Defendant stated at the end of the interview and in his testimony that he brought the gun so that Mayfield could help him sell it. Defendant generally maintained that he fired...