People v. Eubanks
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Rock Island police responded to a report of shots fired. Rush and Childs were found in a bullet-ridden car. Rush died of his gunshot wounds. Officers spoke to witnesses who had observed a dark Lincoln Town Car at the scene at the time of the shooting. An off-duty police officer had heard the gunshots and had observed a dark Lincoln Town Car fleeing. The Lincoln and its occupants—Phelps and Reed—were stopped. Both implicated Eubanks as the shooter. Police located Eubanks weeks later. He agreed to be interviewed. Eubanks denied any involvement but admitted to being with Phelps and Reed that day. He later stated that Reed had “set it up.” Under a subsequent plea agreement, the parties agreed to a 35-year sentence. Eubanks gave a detailed videotaped statement confessing to the crimes.
The court granted a subsequent motion to vacate the plea. At his stipulated bench trial, Eubanks's statement was admitted into evidence. Eubanks was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He filed a post-conviction petition alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to suppress his statement under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402(f). The appellate court and Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the petition. The videotaped statement was not part of the negotiation process and, therefore, inadmissible under Rule 402(f). A plea deal was in place when Eubanks gave his statement. Giving that statement was not a condition precedent of the deal but, rather, was a fulfillment of the deal.
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