In re K.M.
In re K.M.
Opinion
*158 ¶ 1 Minor-respondent K.M. was adjudicated delinquent for residential burglary and sentenced to 18 months' probation. On appeal, K.M. contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress physical evidence and his custodial statement. For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand.
¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 3 On October 19, 2015, the police suspected K.M. was involved in a residential burglary and later arrested him on his porch. The State subsequently filed a three-count petition for adjudication of *1177 *159 wardship and charged K.M. with (1) residential burglary, (2) burglary, and (3) theft of property with a value exceeding $ 500, including, inter alia , a television. K.M. filed a motion to quash his arrest and to suppress evidence seized as a result of an alleged illegal search. Testimony at the suppression hearing and trial was essentially the same and is summarized in relevant part below.
¶ 4 At the December 19, 2016, suppression hearing, Detective Grossman testified that the Sauk Village Police Department received an anonymous call on October 19, 2015, around 12:18 p.m. from an individual who reported seeing people enter the residence at 22438 Yates Avenue, with items, particularly a television. 1 The police department opened a burglary investigation. Grossman traveled to the Yates Avenue address. Upon arrival, Grossman spoke to the first responding officer, Officer Howard. Grossman and Howard conducted a search of the area surrounding the residence including the garbage cans located on the driveway and the detached garage. 2 According to Grossman, the garbage can was not covered with a lid.
¶ 5 That same afternoon, Sauk Village police received another call reporting a burglary. The caller, later identified as Frank Host, stated that he had returned home and discovered computer accessories, personal documents, and a large flat-screen television were missing. Another officer responded to the call and recorded a statement including the victim's identity and a description of the missing items.
¶ 6 After receiving notice of the call, Grossman and Howard further examined the contents of what they had observed in the garbage. According to Grossman, the garbage was full, but he could identify documents in the garbage that belonged to the victim. He further testified that he did not have to manipulate the garbage in any way to see the victim's name on the documents. The officers then returned to the garage and found items matching the description of the stolen items. They removed these items from the garage and knocked on the door of the residence. No one answered the door; however, Grossman noticed people peeking out of the window. Grossman further testified that a short time later another person arrived at the residence and then alerted the owner of the home, Africa Campbell, who arrived at the residence shortly after. 3
¶ 7 Campbell identified herself, and the officers explained their presence at her house. Campbell then entered the home. She returned to the outside carrying a large flat-screen television. She also brought outside K.M. and two other individuals from inside the house. Grossman testified that they then arrested K.M. "[b]ased on the totality of the circumstances, the residential burglary report that [they] had, the description provided by the anonymous caller, and the items recovered." At no point did the officers obtain a search warrant or an arrest warrant.
¶ 8 Officer Howard testified that at approximately 12:14 p.m. on October 19, 2015, he responded to a dispatch call that took him to 22438 Yates. Upon arrival, he waited for backup. It was relayed to him that that the officers on the scene were to *1178 *160 search for individuals. 4 In the process of their search they received another call from dispatch about a man reporting a burglary. Officer Howard's sergeant spoke with Frank Host, the victim of the burglary, and determined that the items taken were documents including a passport, bank statements, a black television, a black laptop, and a black external hard drive. With this new information, Howard and the other officers walked up the driveway toward the back and the side of the residence. Howard saw a garbage can with a black box on top of the garbage can. He opened the black box and found the victim's passport and documents with the victim's address inside the black box.
¶ 9 After searching the garbage can, Howard went to the detached garage and entered through an open side door. Once inside, he spotted a black laptop with an external hard drive in the rafters of the garage. He retrieved the laptop and the hard drive before attempting to make contact with the people inside the residence. Howard did not recall how contact was attempted but further testified that the woman who occupied the residence eventually made contact with the officers. Grossman then relayed "the case status and what was going on" to the woman. She responded by going inside the front door of the residence. Howard and the officers stayed outside and never went into Campbell's home.
¶ 10 Howard testified that Campbell reappeared holding a large flat-screen television, which she turned over to the officers. The television matched Host's description of his missing television. Howard made an in-court identification of K.M. and further testified that K.M. matched the description of the possible burglars of the victim's home. On cross-examination, Howard testified that while searching the garbage and the garage he did not see anyone enter or leave the residence.
¶ 11 Campbell testified as follows. She is K.M.'s mother, and on October 19, 2015, she lived at 22438 Yates. She lived with her brother, six children, and her niece. Her yard was fully enclosed by a fence, including the garage and the area next to the driveway where her garbage cans are located. When the police first arrived at her home, she was in South Holland that morning with her friend. Grossman spoke with her over the phone, and he stated that there were burglary suspects inside of her home and told her to come home in 10 to 15 minutes or else he would kick in her door. When she arrived, she spoke with the officers outside of her home but she denied giving the officers consent to search her property.
¶ 12 At the conclusion of the hearing, the motion to suppress was allowed in part and denied in part. The court stated:
"So as to the portion as to the garbage can and what was seen in the garage I'll grant your motion to suppress that evidence; however, we have the officer testifying that the mother comes home, they tell her what happened, she goes in the house, she brings out a TV, and then subsequently she brings out the minor. That part of the motion will not be suppressed. I'll allow that evidence as to the TV and the arrest of the minor."
¶ 13 On February 10, 2017, K.M. filed a motion for reconsideration of the court's ruling on his motion to suppress. The State agreed with the court's prior ruling that the evidence from the garbage can and the garage were properly suppressed. K.M.'s counsel argued that K.M.'s mother had been threatened and coerced by the police *1179 *161 and therefore the television and K.M's subsequent arrest must also be suppressed. The trial court denied K.M.'s motion.
¶ 14 The testimony at trial was consistent with the testimony at the suppression hearing.
5
At trial, Grossman further testified that, after K.M.'s arrest, he spoke with K.M. at the police station. Grossman presented K.M. with a preprinted form containing
Miranda
warnings (see
Miranda v. Arizona
,
¶ 15 The trial court adjudicated K.M. delinquent based on the residential burglary and theft charges. K.M. subsequently filed a motion "to reconsider adjudicatory findings" and for a new trial. The trial court denied K.M.'s motion for a new trial but vacated the finding of delinquency based on the theft charge. Thus, K.M. was adjudicated delinquent based on the residential burglary charge and sentenced to 18 months' probation. This appeal followed.
¶ 16 II. ANALYSIS
¶ 17 On appeal, K.M. argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress both physical evidence and his custodial statement because they were obtained as a direct result of an illegal search.
¶ 18 When reviewing a lower court's ruling following a suppression hearing, the appellate court may consider both the evidence produced at the hearing and the evidence presented at the subsequent trial.
People v. Kidd
,
¶ 19 The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution ensures the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const., amend. IV ; see also
Elkins v. United States
,
¶ 20 K.M. contends that his arrest was due to law enforcement's exploitation of illegally obtained evidence. Specifically, he asserts that Campbell's delivery of the television, his arrest, and his confession were fruits of an illegal search. The State does not dispute that the search of the property was an illegal search of the curtilage *1180 *162 of the home. The State argues, however, that the arrest was proper because the officers had independent probable cause to believe that a crime had been committed by someone in the house prior to any illegal search. Alternatively, the State argues that Campbell was not induced to produce the television because of the illegally seized evidence obtained by the police.
¶ 21 A. Independent Probable Cause
¶ 22 The State argues that the officers had independent probable cause to support K.M.'s arrest on his porch. The State posits there was enough information to satisfy the probable cause requirement because the victim's phone call corroborated the anonymous call that a burglary had occurred and K.M. matched the anonymous caller's description. K.M. responds that the anonymous call and the reported burglary are insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. We agree with K.M.
¶ 23 Probable cause exists when the facts known to the officer at the time of the arrest are sufficient for a reasonably cautious person to believe that the arrestee has committed a crime.
People v. Wear
,
¶ 24 In the context of tips forming the basis for probable cause, a reviewing court considers the informant's "veracity, reliability, and basis of knowledge."
People v. Sparks
,
¶ 25 Recently in
People v. Lopez
,
¶ 26 In reversing the conviction, the appellate court found that "where there is no evidence that the tipster gave a name or contacted the police through an emergency number, 'the tip must be treated as an anonymous one, and its reliability hinges on the existence of corroborative details observed by the police.' "
Id.
¶ 22 (quoting
People v. Smulik
,
¶ 27 The State asks us to assume that the tipster called the 911 dispatch system and thus the caller had some indicia of reliability. However, there is no evidence in the record indicating that the tipster contacted the police through an emergency number. Furthermore, the tipster did not provide a name and therefore must be treated as anonymous. See id. ¶ 22. Thus, the tipster's "reliability hinges on the existence of corroborative details observed by the police." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id.
¶ 28 Here, the anonymous caller only relayed to the police that they saw people entering the residence of 22438 Yates Avenue carrying items such as a television. Nothing in the record suggested that the caller observed these people participate in any unlawful conduct. In fact, it could appear that the people entering into the house were engaging in innocuous behavior. Furthermore, there is no evidence that any effort was made to verify the anonymous tip before the officers attempted to contact the residents of 22438 Yates Avenue. The officers never observed anyone engaged in criminal activity to corroborate the phone call. In fact, the officers did not even see K.M. until they arrested him. Therefore, we find that the tip was uncorroborated and unreliable.
¶ 29 Relying on
People v. Clay
,
¶ 30 We find K.M.'s argument persuasive. Like
Clay
, the evidence showed that K.M. might have engaged in otherwise innocent conduct that just happened to take place in near temporal and physical proximity to a reported crime. Evidence of proximity to the scene of a crime does not generally provide police probable cause to arrest.
Id. at 29,
¶ 31 The State further argues that when the officer knocked on the door, he saw someone looking out of the window but no one answered the door. The State posits that such behavior shows consciousness of guilt, which provided further probable *1182 *164 cause to believe that the individuals in the house were evading the police. The State's argument is not persuasive. There are many obvious reasons why minors would not answer a door for a stranger. Furthermore, we are unaware of any case law that provides for imputing guilt to citizens simply because they do not answer when a police officer knocks on the door.
¶ 32 We find Grossman's testimony, that the officers arrested K.M. "[b]ased on the totality of the circumstances, the residential burglary report that [they] had, the description provided by the anonymous caller, and the items recovered," telling as to whether the officers had independent probable cause. His testimony is contrary to the State's position and indicates that the items recovered from the garage and the garbage were indeed a factor in this case. Accordingly, we find that the State did not have independent probable cause to arrest K.M. on his porch.
¶ 33 B. Attenuation
¶ 34 Having found that no independent probable cause existed to arrest K.M., we now determine whether Campbell's delivery of the television, K.M.'s arrest, and K.M.'s subsequent confession were attenuated from the initial illegal search.
¶ 35 As noted before, the fourth amendment protects "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const., amend. IV. Under the exclusionary rule courts are precluded from admitting evidence that is gathered by a law enforcement violation of the fourth amendment.
People v. Sutherland
,
¶ 36 "The fruit-of-the-poisonous tree doctrine is an outgrowth of the exclusionary rule providing that 'the fourth amendment violation is deemed the "poisonous tree," and any evidence obtained by exploiting that violation is subject to suppression as the "fruit" of that poisonous tree.' "
People v. Burns
,
¶ 37 The exception at issue here is the attenuation doctrine, under which evidence challenged for a fourth amendment violation is admissible if the connection between the unconstitutional police conduct and the evidence is remote or has been interrupted by some intervening circumstances.
Utah v. Strieff
, 579 U.S. ----, ----,
¶ 38 K.M. argues that the arrest, the television evidence, and the custodial statement were not attenuated from the initial illegal search and should be suppressed. K.M. argues that Grossman's testimony shows that the police relied upon the illegally obtained evidence to convince Campbell to produce the television from her house and as probable cause to justify the arrest. K.M. further asserts that it is unreasonable to think that, when explaining "the situation and case status," the officer would not have mentioned the fact that they had just recovered stolen property from Campbell's garage. The State argues that Campbell voluntarily produced the television and K.M. The State contends that there is nothing in the record to support respondent's speculation that Grossman told Campbell about the illegally seized evidence or that he exploited it.
¶ 39 1. Temporal Proximity
¶ 40 The first factor, temporal proximity between the illegal search and the arrest of K.M. favors suppressing the evidence. Here, the record demonstrates that Grossman and Officer Howard retrieved the television from Campbell on her porch only minutes after illegally searching her garbage and her garage. Furthermore, the subsequent arrest of K.M. was only minutes after the illegal search and moments after Campbell produced the television. There was a minimal lapse of time between the search and the arrest. As such, the first factor weighs in favor of K.M.'s argument for suppression.
¶ 41 2. Independent Intervening Event
¶ 42 "An intervening circumstance is one that dissipates the taint of unconstitutional police conduct by breaking the causal connection between the illegal conduct and the [evidence]." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
People v. Wilberton
,
¶ 43 The State argues that Campbell's conduct in producing the television was a voluntary act, free from any taint of the illegal search, and constituted an intervening circumstance that provided independent probable cause to seize the television. However, the record belies the State's contention. The record demonstrates that after the illegal search and the recovery of the victim's documents and computer accessories, Grossman's discussion with Campbell on the phone prompted her return home. Upon her return, he then explained to her in person the "situation and case status." The police never broke the causal connection between their illegal search and obtaining the television. The officers never left K.M.'s property, which demonstrates that the taint of the unconstitutional conduct was ongoing at the time that the police made contact with Campbell. Any contact with Campbell during that timeframe was sufficiently a part of the taint including her delivery of the television. We conclude that there was no independent intervening event that broke the causal chain between the illegal search and the discovery of the television. Thus, this factor also weighs in favor of K.M.'s motion for suppression.
¶ 44 3. Purpose and Flagrancy of the Official Misconduct
¶ 45 "[A]ttenuation is less likely to be found where the police misconduct in bringing about the illegal arrest is flagrant. Police action is flagrant where the
*1184
*166
investigation [was] carried out in such a manner to cause surprise, fear, and confusion, or where it otherwise has a 'quality of purposefulness,'
i.e.
, where the police embark upon a course of illegal conduct in the hope that some incriminating evidence * * * might be found."
People v. Jennings
,
¶ 46 Taken together, all the factors weigh in favor of suppressing the evidence. We find that there was no attenuation between the illegal search of property, the officers obtaining the television, and K.M.'s arrest. As such, we hold that the trial court erred in denying the motion for suppression as to the television and to quash K.M.'s subsequent arrest.
¶ 47 C. Suppression of the Confession
¶ 48 K.M. argues that his confession should be suppressed because of his illegal arrest. "The determination that an illegal arrest has occurred is not dispositive of the issue of the admissibility of a subsequent confession."
People v. Bates
,
¶ 49
Brown
establishes the factors to be considered in determining whether a confession was the product of the illegal arrest. These factors include (1) the proximity in time between the arrest and the confession, (2) the presence of intervening circumstances, (3) the purpose and flagrancy of the police misconduct, (4) whether
Miranda
warnings were given.
Brown
,
¶ 50 In reviewing this issue, we find that the record provides little information about the events after K.M.'s arrest. In order to determine the appropriate course of action on review, "we must consider whether the record before us is sufficiently complete to allow an independent
*1185
*167
determination on the issue of attenuation."
People v. Ollie
,
¶ 51 III. CONCLUSION
¶ 52 For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings.
¶ 53 Reversed and remanded with directions.
Justices Howse and Ellis concurred in the judgment and opinion.
The caller called multiple times during the investigation directing the police to 22438 Yates Avenue.
A third officer, Sergeant Mieczak, was also present at the residence. The record is unclear as to his involvement in the investigation because he did not testify at the hearing.
The record is unclear who made contact with Africa Campbell.
The record is unclear who gave Howard these instructions.
The trial was conducted on May 18, 2017.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.