People v. Gill
State: Illinois
Court: 4th District Appellate
Docket No: 4-96-0757
Case Date: 12/08/1997
NO. 4-96-0757
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of
v. ) Champaign County
MARTINEZ A. GILL, ) No. 92CF1142
Defendant-Appellant. )
) Honorable
) John R. DeLaMar,
) Judge Presiding.
_________________________________________________________________
PRESIDING JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the
court:
On January 3, 1995, defendant Martinez A. Gill entered a
negotiated plea of guilty to one count of first degree murder of
Shelvin Johnson and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm
of Juviouns M. Meeks. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 38, pars. 9-
1(a)(1), 12-4.2(a). Pursuant to the plea agreement, the remaining
nine charges of first degree murder relating to the deaths of
Johnson and Eunice G. Penermon were dismissed. Ill. Rev. Stat.
1991, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(2). Defendant was sentenced to
consecutive terms of imprisonment of 60 years for murder and 30
years for aggravated battery with a firearm. The issue on appeal
is whether the sentences amounted to an abuse of discretion because
the trial court failed to adequately consider defendant's rehabili-
tative potential. We affirm.
Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and
to reconsider his sentence. In the motion, defendant argued that,
when the plea agreement was initially offered, a maximum term of 50
years was included. Defendant argues he thought he was going to
get a 50-year sentence and had he known he would be sentenced to 90
years, he would not have pleaded guilty. The record shows
defendant understood and agreed that the sentence could be between
26 years and 120 years. With regard to sentencing, defendant's
motion argued the trial court should have considered as mitigating
his cooperation with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in a
pending investigation and the trial court should have granted a
continuance because of a supplement to the presentence investiga-
tion report delivered to defendant's counsel the day before
sentencing.
On appeal, in arguing that his sentence was excessive,
defendant contends the trial court (1) did not accord sufficient
weight to his cooperation with federal authorities, (2) failed to
properly assess information in a psychological report relating to
him prepared by Dr. Harry Gunn, and (3) should have given weight to
the State's initial 50-year offer. The only one of these arguments
contained in defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and
reduce his sentence was cooperation with federal authorities being
a mitigating factor. As a result, the remaining two issues are
waived by failing to raise them in the motion. People v. Catron,
285 Ill. App. 3d 36, 38, 674 N.E.2d 141, 142 (1996); 145 Ill. 2d R.
604(d).
The issue relating to cooperation with federal authori-
ties also is not properly preserved for appeal. When a defendant
appeals a sentence imposed pursuant to a negotiated guilty plea, he
must move to withdraw the guilty plea and vacate the judgment and
demonstrate that granting the motion is necessary to correct a
manifest injustice. People v. Evans, 174 Ill. 2d 320, 332, 673
N.E.2d 244, 250 (1996). This court has held that the rule
announced in Evans applies to cases in which the guilty plea is
negotiated, even though it is not entered in exchange for a
recommendation by the State for a specific prison term, because by
pleading guilty defendant concedes that a sentence imposed within
the statutorily prescribed sentencing range is not excessive.
People v. Economy, 291 Ill. App. 3d 212, 216-19, 683 N.E.2d 919,
922-24 (1997); Catron, 285 Ill. App. 3d at 37, 674 N.E.2d at 142.
Defendant does not argue that the sentences imposed in this case
fall outside the statutory range for the crimes of which he was
convicted.
In this case, although defendant filed a motion to
withdraw the guilty plea in the trial court, on appeal defendant
has abandoned the ground asserted as the basis for withdrawing the
guilty plea and argues solely that the sentences are excessive.
Defendant, therefore, cannot establish that the granting of the
motion to withdraw the guilty plea is necessary to correct a
manifest injustice. By abandoning the ground to withdraw the
guilty plea on appeal, the principles announced in Evans, Economy,
and Catron are invoked to prevent defendant from arguing that his
sentence is excessive.
Even if the issue had not been waived, it is meritless.
The trial court was aware of defendant's cooperation with federal
authorities and considered it. The trial court correctly noted
that the history of defendant's juvenile delinquency and adult
criminal conduct demonstrated an escalating pattern of violence
toward others. The trial court concluded that defendant's
impulsiveness and inability to maintain control of himself made him
an extremely dangerous person requiring the structure of incarcera-
tion.
Absent an abuse of discretion, a sentence will not be
overturned on appeal. People v. Streit, 142 Ill. 2d 13, 19, 566
N.E.2d 1351, 1353 (1991). It is not this court's function to
reweigh the factors involved in sentencing. People v. Coleman, 166
Ill. 2d 247, 262, 652 N.E.2d 322, 329 (1995). No abuse of
sentencing discretion has been demonstrated.
The judgment of the circuit court of Champaign County is
affirmed.
Affirmed.
KNECHT and COOK, JJ., concur.
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