People v. Rouse

16 N.E.3d 97

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee

v.Justin ROUSE, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 1–12–1462.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Third Division.

July 16, 2014.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 14, 2014.

Michael J. Pelletier and Sarah Curry, both of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Anita M. Alvarez, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Miles J. Keleher, and Clare Wesolik Connolly, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

Presiding Justice HYMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant Justin Rouse, convicted of first degree murder before a jury, raises three issues on appeal. First, he contends reasonable doubt can be shown through the State's witnesses who, in implicating him, had a motive to lie and, hence, should not have been believed. Next, Rouse argues that the jury's special finding—that Rouse did not personally discharge the firearm that caused the victim's death—contradicts the verdict. Finally, Rouse maintains he was denied due process where, over defense counsel's objection, the trial court granted the jury's request to watch the surveillance footage.

¶ 2 We affirm. The credibility of the witnesses was a matter for the jury to decide and the evidence supported Rouse's conviction for first degree murder where eyewitness testimony, as well as his own admissions, linked him to the shooting. As to the special finding, Rouse forfeited this challenge, having failed to object at trial or include the claimed error in a posttrial motion, and we decline his invitation to review the error under the plain error doctrine, finding his argument has not met either prong of the doctrine. Regarding the jury's review of the recording in the presence of both parties and the court during jury deliberations, the trial court exercised proper discretion due to technical difficulties preventing the recording from being viewed in the jury room.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 Justin Rouse was charged with two counts in the shooting death of Jose Regalado: first degree murder and personally discharging a weapon during the commission of the murder. A jury found him guilty of first degree murder and the trial court sentenced Rouse to 32 years' imprisonment.

¶ 5 On June 15, 2008, someone shot Regalado while he and a friend worked on a car in the alley behind his apartment complex. The State's theory was that La Raza street gang members entered the alley and shot Regalado after being informed that members of a rival gang, the Latin Kings, were in the alley.

¶ 6 At the time of the shooting, the La Raza street gang consisted of two groups. The first group, the “North Pole,” hung out in the Rogers Park neighborhood at the intersection of Clark and Estes Streets. The second group, the “West Side Sect,” hung out at Harding and Wabansia Streets. The day of the shooting, members of both groups met at Homberto “Psycho” Cornell's apartment at 1360 West Touhy to discuss Eric Roman's decision to leave the gang. (Throughout his brief, Rouse refers to Cornell as Coronel. At trial, the witness identified himself as “Homberto Cornell.”)

¶ 7 Eric Roman testified he joined the La Raza street gang when he was 15 or 16 years old and was 19 or 20 when he tried to leave. He claimed he never attained a rank within the gang. Roman met with Rouse, Cornell, Chandel “Shadow” Ramsey, and Liborio “Lobo” Beltran, all members of the North Pole group. “Monster,” the leader of the West Side Sect, and his brother also attended the meeting. Roman described Monster as tall and weighing about 400 pounds. According to Roman, the west side group had more power than the North Pole group.

¶ 8 When the meeting ended, Roman, Rouse, Cornell, Ramsey and Beltran walked four or five blocks to the intersection of Clark and Estes. Monster drove to the intersection in his white van. At the corner, someone from the west side group asked who had “security,” meaning a weapon. Roman heard Rouse say he was going to get a gun. Rouse then left the group by himself and returned 20 minutes later.

¶ 9 Roman walked over to the southeast corner of Clark and Estes and stood in front of the Laundromat while other gang members stood in front of a Chinese restaurant on the northeast corner of the intersection. Roman saw a police officer approach a few men standing in front of the restaurant. Roman did not see who the officer spoke with, but he testified that no one was arrested. When the police officer left, Roman saw some of the La Raza gang members return to the corner.

¶ 10 At the time of the shooting, the victim, Jose Regalado lived with his girlfriend, Sonia Gonzalez, and their daughter, in an apartment building at 1729 West Touhy. Around 8:30 that night, Regalado and a friend, Martin Hernandez, were in the parking lot behind the building installing speakers in Hernandez's car. Sonia Gonzalez's sister, Alicia, lived in the same apartment building and was talking to the men though her bedroom window as they worked. Five minutes after she stopped talking with them, Alicia heard a gunshot. She turned to look outside her bedroom window and saw five men running from the parking lot and southbound in the alley. Alicia did not recognize any of them. Alicia ran to the parking lot where she saw Regalado lying by the car faceup. He had been shot in the head. Alicia called the police.

¶ 11 Roman testified that just before the shooting, he saw Beltran leaving the alley riding a bike on the east side of Clark Street. Beltran said “Kings” were in the alley, referring to the Latin Kings street gang, a rival of the La Raza gang. Rouse stood on the corner of Clark and Estes with some other La Raza gang members. Roman saw gang members from both groups of the La Raza street gang get together and talk, but he could not hear what they were saying because he was too far away. He saw Rouse, Cornell, Ramsey, and Beltran, along with three unidentified West Side members, enter the alley. Roman did not see the shooting, but he saw those same men run out of the alley after he heard a gunshot.

¶ 12 Ramsey testified that after the meeting about Roman's future with the gang, he was hanging out at the corner of Clark and Estes Streets with Beltran. When the police approached the gang members gathered in front of the Chinese restaurant, Ramsey and Beltran walked away. They returned to the corner after the police left. A short time later, Ramsey saw two members of the West Side Sect walk into the alley. When those two men returned to the corner, they said there was a Latin Kings gang member in the alley. Then, six or seven La Raza gang members, including Rouse and Cornell, walked into the alley. Ramsey and Beltran followed the group into the alley. Ramsey testified he did not know if anyone had a gun.

¶ 13 As the group approached the alley, Ramsey saw Regalado and Hernandez working on a car. Ramsey heard the gang members tell the men, in Spanish and while flashing gang signs, to “throw down the crown,” a sign of disrespect to the Latin Kings. Cornell approached Regalado and Hernandez first and punched Regalado in the face. Ramsey testified Rouse then pulled out a gun from his pocket and shot Regalado. Ramsey turned around and ran out of the alley.

¶ 14 Homberto Cornell testified at trial after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit first degree murder for his role in Regalado's death. Cornell received 14 years' imprisonment.

¶ 15 Cornell testified he was on the corner of Clark and Estes with 10 members of the North Pole group of the La Raza gang and 5 members of the West Side Sect when the police pulled up. Cornell walked into the Chinese restaurant and the police followed him and then put him into a squad car. The officers took notes of Cornell's identification and what he was wearing, but did not arrest him.

¶ 16 After the police left, Cornell saw Gustavo, a member of the North Pole group, walk into the alley that ran north and south between Estes and Touhy, on the east side of Clark Street. Gustavo came back and said there were Latin Kings in the alley. Cornell heard Monster say that someone should go get a gun and then saw Rouse, Ramsey, and Gustavo leave. When the men returned a short time later, Cornell did not see a weapon. Rouse, Cornell, two members of the West Side Sect, Monster's brother and another male, all went into the alley to confront the Latin Kings. Monster's brother said something to Regalado and Hernandez. Cornell did not recognize Regalado and Hernandez and did not know if they were members of the Latin Kings. Monster's brother yelled, “King killers,” a sign of disrespect to the Latin Kings. Cornell did not have a gun and did not see a gun on either Regalado or Hernandez.

¶ 17 After Monster's brother disrespected the Latin Kings, Cornell approached Regalado, punched him in the face and threw a beer bottle at Hernandez. When someone behind him yelled “move,” Cornell turned around and ran back in the direction he had come. As he was running, Cornell saw Rouse, five feet ahead, standing with his hands in front and holding a black object. Cornell testified he and Rouse did not have anything covering their faces, but the West Side Sect wore bandanas over theirs. Rouse and the other gang members also ran back to the corner of Clark and Estes.

¶ 18 Martin Hernandez testified he grew up with Regalado in Mexico and that they had been friends for years. He acknowledged he had a pending charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Hernandez testified that while he and Regalado were in the parking lot installing speakers in his car, he heard someone running. When he looked up, someone threw a beer bottle at him. He saw five to seven people running toward them yelling, “king kill.” Hernandez testified that one of the men, whom he described as a “Latin guy,” punched Regalado and then someone shot Regalado in the forehead. Hernandez recalled the shooter was African American, but he testified he could not see...