People v. Casas
2016 IL App (2d) 150456
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2016Background
- In 1996 Casas was indicted for a Class X cocaine offense, released on bail, and posted a cash bond.
- He failed to appear on June 9, 1998; the bond was forfeited and a bench warrant issued. He did not surrender within 30 days and was tried in absentia and sentenced.
- In April 2014 Casas was stopped by police, gave a false name, then admitted his identity, the outstanding warrant, and that he had used aliases to avoid arrest.
- In December 2014 the State charged Casas with violation of bail bond (720 ILCS 5/32-10(a)) based on the 1998 forfeiture and alleged the offense was continuing through his 2014 apprehension.
- Casas moved to dismiss as time-barred under the 3-year felony statute of limitations; the trial court granted dismissal relying on People v. Grogan.
- The State appealed, arguing violation of bail bond is a continuing offense tolling the limitations period until apprehension; the appellate court reversed and remanded.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether violation of bail bond is a continuing offense tolling the statute of limitations | The offense continues from forfeiture until the defendant surrenders or is apprehended; limitations tolls until custody | The offense was complete when the defendant failed to surrender within 30 days of forfeiture; limitations expired after 3 years | Violation of bail bond is a continuing offense; limitations tolled until defendant returned to custody |
| Whether the superseding information adequately invoked the continuing-offense exception | Information alleged the offense continued through apprehension and asserted continuing-offense theory | Information did not cite section 3-8 explicitly; argued defective notice | Charging document was sufficient to give notice; not fatally defective |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Grogan, 197 Ill. App. 3d 18 (Ill. App. Ct.) (held violation of bail bond is not a continuing offense)
- People v. Miller, 157 Ill. App. 3d 43 (Ill. App. Ct.) (held escape is a continuing offense; limitations tolled while at large)
- Toussie v. United States, 397 U.S. 112 (1970) (refused to treat draft-registration failure as a continuing offense)
- United States v. Bailey, 444 U.S. 394 (1980) (construed federal escape statute as continuing)
- United States v. Gray, 876 F.2d 1411 (9th Cir. 1989) (failure to appear for sentencing treated as a continuing offense)
- Woolsey v. State, 906 P.2d 723 (Nev. 1995) (held bail-jumping is a continuing offense)