Appeals court overturns 2 Naperville murder convictions

An Illinois appeals court has overturned the first degree murder convictions of two Aurora men who were sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of a Naperville man in 2008.

Two separate panels found that Naperville police illegally detained the men following the murder of 23-year-old John D. Rosales who was shot when two other men stormed through his door and demanded money and drugs from him.

Cherrod Moore, 31, and Courtney Mayes, 24, were in Rosales’ home playing video games when the men stormed through the door and shot Rosales in the neck. Prosectors said Moore and Mayes admitted they were in on the robbery.

In both appellate decisions, the courts found that the arrests of the two men were unlawful and the statements given to police during their detention should have been thrown out.

Both Moore and Mayes called police after the shooting, met officers on the driveway of the home and were cooperative during the investigation, according to the appellate court ruling.

The ruling found that police arrested Mayes at the scene without probably cause and detained him at the station for more than 24 hours during which he made statements that implicated him in the crime. The new ruling states the trial court should have allowed a motion to suppress statements and evidence gathered during the unlawful arrest.

In Moore’s case, the court ruled that because he was held for more than 14 hours after his handcuffs were removed, that should have been considered unlawful arrest and statements gathered during that time should have been thrown out.

The courts remanded cases to the trial court for a new trial.