People v. Leggions

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People v. Leggions

State: Illinois

Court: 4th District Appellate

Docket No: 4-07-0187 Rel

Case Date: 06/13/2008

Preview:Filed 6/13/08

NO. 4-07-0187 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PHILLIP L. LEGGIONS, Defendant-Appellee.

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Appeal from Circuit Court of Macon County No. 06CF1546 Honorable James R. Coryell, Judge Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE APPLETON delivered the opinion of the court: In November 2006, the State charged defendant, Phillip L. Leggions, with unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2006)). In December 2006, he filed a motion for suppression of evidence on the grounds that the police lacked probable cause or reasonable, articulable suspicion to seize him. At the conclusion of an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court granted the motion. The court found that the police lacked probable cause to arrest defendant and that two people exiting one vehicle and entering another--even in a high-crime area--did not create a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity so as to justify an investigatory stop. The State appeals, arguing the police had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, for the area was known for narcotics trafficking, and when people got out of their own vehicle and into another vehicle, it often meant they were buying and selling narcotics. We conclude that a finding of reasonable suspicion in these circum-

stances would subject too many innocent travelers to arbitrary detention--and with little more, in the way of justification, than their presence in a high-crime neighborhood. Therefore, we affirm the circuit court's judgment. I. BACKGROUND Michael Gannon was a patrol sergeant with the Decatur police department, and he testified that on October 23, 2006, he organized a surveillance of the 1100 and 1200 blocks of East Leafland Avenue. During the first six months of 2006, there had been 12 shooting incidents in those blocks, where gangs, drugs, and murder were rampant. The house at 1128 East Leafland Avenue was a hangout of the Leafland Street Boys' Gang. Gannon personally had "been involved in four weapons seizures from people either coming to or leaving that residence two months prior to this incident," and he also "personally [had] been involved in numerous [drug] transactions at that location." Gannon testified that at 2:30 p.m. on October 23, 2006, he took a position two to three blocks away from 1128 East Leafland Avenue. He had an unobstructed view of the house. Within 15 minutes, he saw a green GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle park almost directly in front of the house. Within two minutes, a smaller, dark vehicle pulled up behind the Yukon, and two black men got out of that vehicle and into the Yukon. Gannon believed a drug deal was "going down" because in his "12 years of observing numerous drug transactions," "individuals [met] at a location, exit[ed] their vehicle, g[o]t in another vehicle, complete[d] a transaction[,] and then le[ft]." On this occasion, Gannon did not see any drugs or guns from his vantage point two or three blocks away, nor did he see anything change hands. About five minutes after the two men entered the -2-

Yukon, Gannon radioed the other police officers on the scene to move in and investigate, and a squad car pulled in front of the Yukon. Six to eight officers, pistols drawn, ordered everyone in the Yukon to show their hands. Because the side windows of the Yukon were tinted, the officers opened its doors to make sure no one was pointing a firearm at them. The passengers raised their hands, but defendant, in the driver's seat, put his hands down toward his feet. A Decatur police officer, Chad Shull, ordered everyone out of the Yukon. He then saw, in plain view, a brown piece of paper in the middle of the driver's-side floorboard, between the driver's seat and the brake pedal, and on top of the brown paper, a white substance that looked like crack cocaine. The substance field-tested positive. The police arrested defendant for unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2006)). II. ANALYSIS A. Standard of Review When reviewing a circuit court's ruling on a motion for suppression of evidence, we uphold the court's factual findings unless they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. People v. Gherna, 203 Ill. 2d 165, 175, 784 N.E.2d 799, 805 (2003). If we accept the court's findings of fact, we decide de novo whether those facts require a suppression of evidence. Gherna, 203 Ill. 2d at 175, 784 N.E.2d at 805. The parties do not dispute the facts in this case; they dispute the legal effect of those facts. Our standard of review is de novo. B. Initially, Was the Seizure of Defendant an Investigatory Stop or Was It an Arrest? The fourth amendment provides that "[t]he right of the people to be secure -3-

in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." U.S. Const., amend. IV. Likewise, under our state constitution, "[t]he people shall have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers[,] and other possessions against unreasonable searches[] [and] seizures." Ill. Const. 1970, art. I,

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