People v. Rosenberg

Docket No. 96834-Agenda 5-September 2004 Following a jury trial in the circuit court of La Salle County, defendant Adam Rosenberg was convicted of one count of controlled substance trafficking (720 ILCS 570/401.1(a) (West 1998)), involving 30 or more grams of a substance containing ketamine. He was sentenced to a term of 18 years' imprisonment. Defendant, a resident of Massachusetts, was arrested based upon a traffic stop of his alleged accomplice, David Belmonte, and a subsequent search of the car Belmonte was driving. The search revealed several boxes of ketamine in the trunk of the car. Defendant was not present in the car or in the State of Illinois when the stop took place. Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. He alleged that on February 22, 2000, a police officer stopped Belmonte, also a resident of Massachusetts, for a traffic violation. Belmonte was driving a rental car and presented the officer with a valid driver's license and rental agreement for the car. The officer issued a warning to Belmonte for following too closely and then asked for consent to search the car. Belmonte consented and a search was conducted. Nothing incriminating was found in the passenger compartment of the car. Belmonte did not give officers a key to the trunk. They gained access to the trunk through the backseat. An officer reached into the trunk and felt several boxes. He opened one of the boxes and removed a small bottle containing a clear liquid. Belmonte was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Belmonte gave a statement implicating defendant and claimed that the boxes in the trunk belonged to defendant. Based on this information, police arrested defendant. Defendant's motion further alleged that neither he nor Belmonte consented to a seizure of the boxes in the trunk of the rental car and that the conduct of the officers constituted an illegal seizure. Defendant asked the court to quash his arrest and suppress all evidence obtained through the illegal search and seizure.