People vs. V.B.

- A 17 year old Defendant was charged as an adult with Felony Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding of a Police Officer. The material facts are that the Defendant was allegedly speeding 100 MPH down a major highway, where part of the highway was geographically within the boarders of a City and other part was located in unincorporated DuPage County. The City Police Officer with his radar device was in a marked car, located in the center median in the highway, sitting stationary. However, he was on the portion of the road that was unincorporated. As a result, a high speed chase ensued where the police were in actual “hot pursuit” of the vehicle. The chase lasted about 18 minutes over several miles. After a complete investigation, it was determined that the officer could not specifically identify the driver, or get a license number or provide the current make or model of the car. Eventually, during the chase the police officer loss sight of the vehicle and abandoned the “hot pursuit”. Then, the officer returned back to the Police Department, where an anonymous tip from a confidential informant, whom purportedly called the station to tell the police that the car they sought was seen going into the “9500 block of Jackson”, in the City. In response, the police, with several units, without verification, traveled to the area, went house to house in a two block square area, where they simply went to the back yard of a house, surrounded by a fence, and allegedly saw a car “similar” to the one chased, where, the Defendant was present. The car or backyard could not be seen from the street. Therefore, without a search warrant or consent, or any other info connecting the Defendant to the chase, several armed officers interrogated the Defendant, where he admitted to the offense. As such, he was placed under arrest, the car was seized, and the State sought to forfeiture the vehicle, since it allegedly facilitated a felony offense. Accordingly, Salvatore C. Miglore filed a Motion to Quash the Arrest and Suppress the Evidence and the Statements of the Defendant, incriminating himself. A complete investigation by Salvatore C. Miglore’s forensic investigator with crime scene re-enactments, surveys of the highway for city boundaries, a working video, which contained a test of the purported chase and photo’s, recreating the scene and layout of the house and yard, thereby caused the trial court to quash the arrest and suppress all of the evidence, due to an illegal search of the premises, in an area of the backyard called the “curtilage”, which is protected, as if you were in your own home; and, where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists, under the Constitution. As a result, the case was dismissed and Defendant’s car was returned. The Court found that the search, seizure and arrest were constitutionally unreasonable, amongst other favorable findings.