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People v. Cordero6/10/2005
Defendant, Gabriel H. Cordero, appeals his convictions of driving under the influence (DUI) (625 ILCS 5/11--501(a)(2) (West 2000)) and operating an uninsured vehicle (625 ILCS 5/3--707 (West 2000)). Defendant moved the trial court to quash his arrest and suppress evidence, contending that he had been illegally seized by a Lake County deputy sheriff. The trial court denied defendant's motion. Thereafter, defendant was convicted of the above-mentioned charges, following a stipulated bench trial. On appeal, defendant contends that he was illegally seized. We agree and reverse.
On September 30, 2001, defendant was arrested for DUI. On April 21, 2002, defendant filed a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. The following facts are taken from the parties' agreed statement of facts, as the hearing on the motion to quash and suppress was not transcribed.
Deputy Quinones of the Lake County Sheriff's office testified that she had been employed by that office for approximately 2" years. On September 30, 2001, at about 2:42 a.m., she was patrolling near Luke's Restaurant on Route 43 in Knollwood. As she passed the restaurant, heading south, she observed a vehicle parked in the parking lot. Deputy Quinones took special notice of the vehicle because the restaurant had been closed for many hours, the parking lot was not lit, and she was "suspicious" that the vehicle might have been involved in criminal activity such as robbery. Deputy Quinones executed a U-turn and, as she entered the Luke's parking lot, the vehicle began to leave the parking lot. Deputy Quinones then executed a traffic stop of the vehicle as it pulled into the street. Deputy Quinones also testified that she had no indication of illegal activity other than the late hour, the darkened parking lot, the fact that the restaurant had been closed for a long time, and her observation that the car was parked outside of the parking space lines.
The trial court (Judge Patrick N. Lawler) denied defendant's motion to quash and suppress. It reasoned that, had defendant remained stationary and not left the parking lot, then the stop would have been improper. However, because of the late hour, the fact that all of the businesses served by the Luke's parking lot were closed, and defendant's "furtive" and sudden departure upon the approach of a police car, the trial court held that Deputy Quinones' actions satisfied the reasonable suspicion standard and fell within her community caretaking function.
On May 30, 2002, defendant filed a motion to reconsider the ruling. The motion to reconsider alleged that the trial court erred in determining both that Deputy Quinones' conduct satisfied the reasonable suspicion standard and that the encounter could be considered to be justified under the community caretaking function of the police. On June 26, 2002, the trial court heard argument and denied the motion to reconsider. Immediately thereafter, on June 26, 2002, defendant filed a notice of appeal. On October 15, 2002, defendant filed a motion for summary remand and construction of a record, pointing out that he had filed an unauthorized interlocutory appeal. On October 31, 2002, this court granted defendant's motion for summary remand and dismissed the appeal.
After the cause was remanded, no alternative record of the suppression hearing was prepared. On January 21, 2003, however, defendant filed another motion to reconsider the ruling on the motion to quash and suppress. Defendant argued that the stop performed by Deputy Quinones could not be justified as an exercise of the deputy's community caretaking function as a police officer. On April 1, 2003, the State moved to dismiss the second motion to reconsider a
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