People v. Wright

1

2023 IL App (4th) 220499-U

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. QUINCY WRIGHT, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-22-0499

Court of Appeals of Illinois, Fourth District

September 1, 2023

This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Winnebago County No. 21CF2089 Honorable Randy Wilt, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE LANNERD delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Turner and Cavanagh concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

LANNERD JUSTICE.

¶ 1 Held: The appellate court affirmed, concluding (1) the State properly authenticated photographs from a cellular phone, (2) defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to file motions to sever charges and redact video footage, (3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting testimony regarding defendant matching a suspect description and (4) no errors occurred such that their cumulative effect deprived defendant of a fair trial.

¶ 2 Defendant, Quincy Wright, appeals from his convictions for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony (720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a) (West 2020)) (count I) and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, a Class 4 felony (625 ILCS 5/11-204.1(a)(1) (West 2020)) (count II). Specifically, defendant argues (1) the trial court erred when it admitted allegedly unauthenticated cellular phone (cell phone) photographs into evidence, (2) ineffective assistance of trial counsel, (3) the trial court erred when it admitted improper hearsay evidence, and (4) the cumulative effect of these alleged errors deprived him of a fair trial. The State responds no errors occurred and defendant's convictions and sentences should be affirmed. We affirm.

¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 4 A. Charges

¶ 5 On October 26, 2021, the State charged defendant by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony (720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a) (West 2020)) (count I) and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, a Class 4 felony (625 ILCS 5/11-204.1(a)(1) (West 2020)) (count II). Count I alleged defendant, after being convicted of a felony in Winnebago County Case No. 15-CF-519, knowingly possessed a 50-round, .40-caliber "drum" magazine containing 31 live rounds of ammunition prohibited under section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012 (Criminal Code) (720 ILCS 5/24-1 (West 2020)). Count II alleged defendant, having been given a visual or audible signal by police officer Lucas Limberg directing him to stop, willfully refused to obey the direction and fled from Officer Limberg in violation of section 11-204(a) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-204(a) (West 2020)), and during said flight, drove at a rate of at least 21 miles per hour over the legal limit. On November 17, 2021, the criminal complaint was superseded by bill of indictment. Defendant was also cited for leaving the scene of an accident, improper passing on the shoulder, and driving without a license.

¶ 6 B. Jury Trial

¶ 7 The trial court conducted defendant's jury trial in February 2022.

¶ 8 1. State's Case-in-Chief

¶ 9 a. Officer Jacob Roberts ¶ 10 Officer Jacob Roberts testified he was currently employed as an officer with the Loves Park police department, where he had served for seven years. On October 25, 2021, around 5 p.m., Officer Roberts was on patrol duty when he was dispatched to a car accident on North Second Street. Another police officer, Officer Limberg, was on already on scene when Officer Roberts arrived. Officer Roberts observed a red Pontiac on the roadway that was facing the wrong direction as well as red paint transfer marks on the median. Upon searching the Pontiac, Officer Roberts recovered an iPhone cell phone, handgun magazines, and a larger drum magazine. Officers photographed these items within the Pontiac. The State then introduced People's exhibit Nos. 1-5, which Officer Roberts testified were the photographs taken of the items in the Pontiac on October 25, 2021. The trial court admitted the exhibits over defendant's objection.

¶ 11 After seizing the items from the Pontiac, Officer Roberts brought them to the police department where he then transferred them to Officer Limberg. The State then introduced People's exhibit No. 23, which Officer Roberts testified was the iPhone he seized from the Pontiac, and People's exhibit No. 10, which was the drum magazine. Officer Roberts testified when he found the drum magazine, it contained live rounds of ammunition. The State also introduced People's exhibit Nos. 11 and 12, which were two pistol magazines.

¶ 12 On cross-examination, Officer Roberts testified he did not author a report after searching the Pontiac. When he transferred the items from the Pontiac to Officer Limberg, he did not prepare a report or otherwise document the transfer.

¶ 13 b. Detective Brian Cascio

¶ 14 Detective Brian Cascio testified he was currently employed as a detective with the Loves Park police department. On November 3, 2021, Officer Limberg requested Detective Cascio's assistance with retrieving data from a black iPhone. Officer Limberg provided the iPhone to Detective Cascio, which Detective Cascio then identified as People's exhibit No. 23. After receiving the iPhone, Detective Cascio performed a forensic extraction on the iPhone's subscriber identity module (SIM) card. After completing the extraction, Detective Cascio handed the iPhone back to Officer Limberg.

¶ 15 c. Detective Adam Wolgast

¶ 16 Detective Adam Wolgast testified he was currently employed as a detective with the Loves Park police department. On November 8, 2021, Officer Limberg asked Detective Wolgast for assistance with an iPhone that was stored in an evidence locker at the police department. Detective Wolgast retrieved the iPhone from the evidence locker and drove it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in Rockford. Upon arrival, Detective Wolgast presented the iPhone to Officer Jim Lake. Detective Wolgast identified People's exhibit No. 23 as the iPhone he retrieved from the Loves Park police department evidence locker and gave to Officer Lake.

¶ 17 d. Stipulations

¶ 18 Following a brief recess, the State introduced People's exhibit No. 20, which was a stipulation. The State then read the stipulation into the record, stating if Eric Taylor was called to testify, he would testify to the following:

"On October 25, 2021, Eric Taylor was residing at 3 Jacoby Place in Rockford, Illinois. On that residence he has surveillance cameras mounted. A camera was mounted on his residence pointing towards the driveway and street. The surveillance system records continuously and on October 26, 2021, Eric Taylor allowed Officer Limberg to record a short clip from his home surveillance system. On October 25, 2021, the surveillance system was operating properly. *** This video clip from Eric Taylor is marked as People's Exhibit 14 and the parties stipulate to the foundational requirements."

¶ 19 The State also introduced People's exhibit No. 21, which was another stipulation. The parties stipulated defendant had been previously convicted of a qualifying forceful felony offense.

¶ 20 e. Officer Limberg

¶ 21 Officer Limberg testified he was currently employed as an officer with the Loves Park police department. Around 5 p.m. on October 5, 2021, Officer Limberg was on patrol duty driving southbound on North Second Street. Officer Limberg observed a red Pontiac with an expired registration sticker driving in the lane next to him. Upon checking the registration through the Secretary of State, Officer Limberg confirmed the registration had expired in 2017 and belonged to a Nissan, not a Pontiac.

¶ 22 After the driver of the Pontiac noticed Officer Limberg next to him, the Pontiac slowed down and moved behind Officer Limberg's squad car. Officer Limberg could not see what the driver looked like because the windows were tinted. Officer Limberg pulled into a nearby turn lane and waited for the Pontiac to pass him, which it did. Officer Limberg then pulled behind the Pontiac again and activated the lights on his squad car to initiate a stop. The Pontiac then accelerated and did not stop, so Officer Limberg pursued it. When the Pontiac reached the intersection of North Second Street and Beacon Street, the traffic signal was red to continue southbound. The Pontiac drove onto the right shoulder of the road and passed the line of waiting cars, disregarding the red light. Officer Limberg stopped pursing the Pontiac at this time because he believed it would be dangerous to continue. Officer Limberg pulled over for a few minutes and then continued southbound on North Second Street. As he neared the ramp on Spring Creek Road, he noticed several cars were stopped before observing the red Pontiac had crashed into the median and was now facing the opposite direction of traffic.

¶ 23 The State then introduced People's exhibit No. 13 which Officer Limberg testified was a disc containing video footage from his squad car's dashboard camera on October 25, 2021. The disc was admitted into evidence with no objection and published to the jury while Officer Limberg testified regarding its contents. After observing the Pontiac had crashed into the median, Officer Limberg approached the vehicle and noticed no one was inside and music was playing. The music appeared to be playing from an iPhone he found on the floorboard, which he then picked up and placed on the driver's seat. Officer Limberg also spoke to an individual named James Peterson who was present at the scene. Peterson provided Officer Limberg information regarding the direction the driver of the Pontiac had fled and a general...