Rolling Meadows murder trial starts

Patrick Taylor's murder trial began Tuesday with prosecutors introducing the jury to Marquis Lovings, a “good-hearted, good-natured” 30-year-old man who they say Taylor killed during a robbery in Rolling Meadows in August 2006.

“Marquis was generous to a fault,” said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber, describing Lovings' penchant for expensive cars and watches; his two homes, the Rolling Meadows condominium where he was murdered and an apartment in Chicago's Gold Coast; and his “very successful” career selling marijuana.

Taylor heard about Lovings' wealth and lifestyle and he wanted a piece of it, Gerber said. And on Aug. 19, 2006, Taylor tried to take it, inciting a “night of terror” that left Lovings dead, Gerber said.

Armed with a .40 caliber handgun with an extended clip that held 25 rounds, Taylor and another armed man entered the home, threatened Lovings and his friends and demanded money from a safe in the condo, Gerber said.

Several of those friends testified Tuesday.

Veljko Vjelica, who goes by Charles Vjelica, testified that he and several others drove in two cars with Lovings to the suburbs earlier that day, eventually winding up at Lovings' condo. Lovings and two other friends entered the home while Vjelica and Kevin Gholston parked Gholston's car and went to the condo.

“That gentleman opened the door and had a gun to my face. He said, ‘Yeah, it's real (expletive),'” Vjelica testified, pointing to Taylor.

Taylor pulled him inside and hit him on the head, Vjelica said. He also said that the proximity and hallway light allowed him to get a good look at the defendant, who was wearing an orange track suit at the time.

“I'll never forget his (Taylor's) face,” Vjelica said, adding that the intruders forced everyone to lie on the floor and took their wallets, money and jewelry.

Both Vjelica and Gholston testified that they identified Taylor as the shooter to police through photo and in-person lineups.

Taylor then ordered Lovings open a safe that belonged to his roommate, Vjelica said. When he failed to do so, Taylor shot him twice, said Vjelica, who held his friend as he died.

Taylor remained mostly expressionless, but did mouth “it's a lie” at one point during the prosecution's opening statement.

Attempting to discredit the state's witness on cross examination, Cook County Assistant Public Defender Jim Mullenix got a visibly annoyed Gholston to admit he “smoked a blunt or two” that day and drank a beer or two.

Referring to Taylor's arrest for Lovings' murder nearly one year after the shooting, Gerber insisted that the Rolling Meadows police proceeded carefully and deliberately.

Unlike television, where the case concludes in an hour, “these investigations take time,” Gerber said. “These people dot their I's and cross their T's.”

“Dot the I's and cross the T's, but don't look at the physical evidence … Ignore the lack of it. That's the state's case,” Cook County Assistant Public Defender Kristina Yi said during her opening statement.

Nothing links Taylor to the crime scene: no fingerprints, no DNA, no fibers, said Yi, who compared the absence of physical evidence to a 200-pound ape in the room.

Moreover, the description of the attackers were general and were provided by Lovings' friends, who Yi suggested were biased against Taylor. She says police began investigating Taylor after receiving a tip from a Lovings' family member about six weeks after the shooting. Yi also stated that a casual acquaintance of Lovings, who was also at the condo that night, did not identify Taylor as the shooter.

But prosecutors want jurors to ignore that, Yi said.

Referencing the onetime belief that the earth was flat, she reminded jurors that conviction does not equal accuracy.

“Just because you are confident doesn't mean you are right,” she said. “This is not ‘CSI.' This is not ‘Law and Order.' This is real life. This is my client Patrick's life.”

Testimony continues Wednesday in Rolling Meadows.