Find Court Cases > Go Back to List > People v. Murray

People v. Murray

Case Date: 03/23/2000
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-97-3419

People v. Murray, No. 1-97-3419

1st District, March 23, 2000

FOURTH DIVISION

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

JAMIE MURRAY,

Defendant-Appellant.

 Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Honorable Stuart E. Palmer, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE SOUTH delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Jamie Murray, was convicted of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder and sentenced to an extended term of 70 years for murder and a consecutive sentence of 30 years for attempted murder for a total of 100 years.

This court affirmed the conviction and sentence in a published decision. People v. Murray, No. 1-97-3419 (September 16, 1999).

On February 28, 2000, the Illinois Supreme Court entered a supervisory order directing this court to vacate its judgment and reconsider the sentence in light of People v. Whitney, No. 85986 (October 21, 1999). Pursuant to that mandate, we hereby vacate the sentence in case No. 1-97-3419, and reconsider the matter pursuant to People v. Whitney.

The two issues on appeal are (1) whether the trial court erred in denying the motion to quash the arrest and suppress defendant's statement, and (2) whether defendant's consecutive sentence was based upon an improper factor and whether the aggregate sentence of 100 years constituted an abuse of discretion.

The evidence adduced at trial was that on July 10, 1994, at approximately 4:45 p.m., the victims, Eric Smith and Tierre Randle, were walking down an alley in the vicinity of 1351 North Lockwood Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, when an individual, later identified as defendant, ran up from behind them, firing several shots, striking and killing Eric and injuring Tierre. Defendant was arrested on a later date and identified in a lineup by two eye-witnesses to the shootings, Tierre Randle and Ellis Walker, Eric's grandfather.

Dr. Edmund Donoghue, chief medical examiner for the Cook County medical examiner's office, testified that the cause and manner of Eric Smith's death were multiple gunshot wounds. It was stipulated that Tierre Randle suffered a gunshot wound to the right foot with an open fracture to the right great toe proximal phalanx or big toe. He was treated and released within 2