People v. Capuzi

Case Date: 11/04/1999
Court: 2nd District Appellate
Docket No: 2-98-1031, 1034, 1035 cons.

People v. Capuzi, Nos. 2-98-1031, 2-98-1034, 2-98-1035 cons.

2nd District, 4 November 1999



THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

LOUIS CAPUZI,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Lake County.

Nos. 97--CF--3188 97--CF--3193 97--CF--3189 98--CF--237 97--CF--3190 98--CF--238 97--CF--3191 98--CF--239 97--CF--3192

Honorable John T. Phillips, Judge, Presiding.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

PAUL KOROLUK,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Lake County.

Nos. 97--CF--3188 97--CF--3189 98--CF--237

Honorable John T. Phillips, Judge, Presiding.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

FRANK PEREZ,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Lake County.

Nos. 97--CF--3192 97--CF--3193 98--CF--238

Honorable John T. Phillips, Judge, Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE BOWMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants, Louis Capuzi, Paul Koroluk, and Frank Perez, were indicted for residential burglary (720 ILCS 5/19--3(a) (West 1996)). They moved to quash search warrants for their residences and to suppress evidence seized pursuant to the search warrants. The trial court granted defendants' motions on the grounds that the descriptions of property to be seized contained in the warrants were too general and that the judge who issued the warrants was not a neutral and detached magistrate. The State filed a certificate of impairment, and this appeal ensued. The State contends that (1) each defendant had standing to challenge only the search of his own residence and lacked standing to contest the search of any other residence; (2) the search warrants' general descriptions of the property to be seized were appropriate under the circumstances; (3) even if the search warrants were too general, the officers who executed the warrants were entitled to rely in good faith on their validity; and (4) there was no evidence that the judge who issued the search warrants was biased against defendants.

The warrants at issue were based on a sworn complaint dated November 19, 1997, and executed by Sergeant Thomas West of the Chicago police department. West stated that he belonged to a multijurisdictional task force that was investigating over 100 residential burglaries committed in Chicago and surrounding counties between September 1996 and November 1997. The task force had focused its investigation on Koroluk and Capuzi. Both Koroluk's residence at 2153 West Race Street in Chicago and Capuzi's residence at 702 North Rockwell in Chicago, which was also the residence of Capuzi's stepson Perez, had been under surveillance.

West alleged that on November 14, 1997, Koroluk, Capuzi, and Perez were observed loading a large dark bag into a maroon GMC Jimmy truck at Capuzi's residence. Defendants left in the truck and returned three hours later in a different vehicle. West further alleged that on November 15, 1997, the homes of Kun Ho Kim and Alan and Camy Gould, both of Long Grove, were burglarized. At both the Kim and the Gould homes, the burglars cut telephone wires to circumvent the alarm systems, opened doors with pry bars, disabled the motion sensors, and then went to the attics to further dismantle the alarm systems. Police officers found similar sets of footprints outside both homes. The complaint did not set forth the items that were stolen from the Gould and Kim residences other than to say that a set of golf clubs was taken from the Kim residence.

On the evening of November 15, the Goulds arrived at their home to find a "red Blazer type" vehicle parked in their driveway. The Goulds were able to see the driver of the vehicle, whom they later identified as Koroluk. Approximately 1