People v. Jones

── People v. Jones ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 26, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 231206-U No. 1-23-1206 First Division May 26, 2026 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ____________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ) Appeal from the ILLINOIS, ) Circuit Court of ) Cook County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) No. 12 CR 4377 v. ) ) Honorable RAKYM JONES, ) Thomas Gainer, ) Thomas Joseph Hennelly, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judges, Presiding. ____________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE COBBS delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Fitzgerald Smith and Justice Howse concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The circuit court’s judgment is affirmed where: (1) the admission of portions of Officer Smith’s testimony was harmless error; (2) the court did not err in declining to reopen proofs; (3) defendant’s sentence did not violate either the United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution; (4) defendant’s sentence was not excessive. ¶2 Following a jury trial, defendant-appellant Rakym Jones was found guilty of two counts of attempted first degree murder and one count of aggravated battery and sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment. On direct appeal, defendant argues that: (1) the trial court erred in admitting No. 1-23-1206 portions of Officer Smith’s testimony; (2) the trial court erred in declining to reopen proofs for defendant’s motion to suppress; (3) defendant’s 60-year sentence violates the eighth amendment of the United States Constitution and the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution; and (4) defendant’s sentence is excessive. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 On January 30, 2012, defendant, who was 17 years old at the time, was arrested. On March 2, 2012, a grand jury indicted him on several counts of attempted first degree murder and aggravated battery based on allegations that, on August 23, 2011, at 16 years old, he and codefendants Gary Moore and Frederick Dean fired multiple shots at a rival gang member, Michael Jackson, with one shot striking 13-month-old Melanie Espejel (Melanie). ¶5 A. Pretrial Proceedings ¶6 Pretrial proceedings commenced before Judge Thomas Gainer. On July 10, 2013, the State filed a motion in limine to allow proof of other crimes/prior bad acts, specifically seeking to introduce evidence that defendant evaded arrest, provided a false name, and attempted to escape from the interview room after his arrest. On December 18, 2013, over defendant’s objection, the trial court granted the motion. However, the court stated that it would not allow “the State to put in evidence of [defendant’s] possession of cannabis[,]” and would leave that up to the defense as to “whether or not that’s something you want to play out [wit