People v. Blahuta

264 N.E.2d 819, 131 Ill. App. 2d 200, 1970 Ill. App. LEXIS 1089
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 30, 1970
Docket53705
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 264 N.E.2d 819 (People v. Blahuta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Blahuta, 264 N.E.2d 819, 131 Ill. App. 2d 200, 1970 Ill. App. LEXIS 1089 (Ill. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE DRUCKER

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant was convicted after a bench trial of the offenses of attempted burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1) and possession of burglary tools (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 19 — 2). Judgment was entered and he was sentenced to two to six years for attempted burglary and one to two years for possession of burglary tools, the terms to run concurrently. Defendant raises three points on appeal: (1) he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the trial court erred when it failed to hold a conpetency hearing on its own motion; and (3) sentences should not have been imposed for both attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools.

Testimony of Frank Gresik, complaining witness, for the State.

He owns a grocery store located at 3024 Wabansia, Chicago, Illinois, and lives above the store. On June 25, 1968, at 1:00 A.M. he heard pounding noises and went downstairs with a flashlight to investigate. He came down from the second floor to the back of the building. His store is ground level. There are steps on the side of the building going down to the basement where groceries for use in the store are kept.

When he flashed the light at the basement door he saw the defendant standing there and sweating. The defendant was not inside the building. He knew the defendant by name since the defendant lived in the neighborhood and had been in the store before. As he flashed the light at defendant he noticed a crowbar leaning against the basement door. When he asked the defendant what he was doing there, defendant said he was defecating. He allowed the defendant to leave. He then went down the steps and found that the door had been jimmied. On further inspection he also noticed that the door was all chipped. He had not noticed any marks on the door before June 25th.

He picked up the crowbar and brought it upstairs. He told his wife to call the police. After the police arrived he gave them defendant’s name and description. The police tiren left to see if they could find the defendant. A short time later the police returned accompanied by the defendant. The defendant had no authority to enter his building. He gave the police the crowbar.

Testimony of George Carlson, a police officer, for the State.

On June 25, 1968, at about 1:00 A.M. his partner and he responded to a call. Mr. Gresik informed him of certain events that had occurred and gave him a description of a man. His partner and he then left. A short time later he observed the defendant walking southbound in the 1700 block of Albany. As the squad car approached the defendant, he observed defendant throw a screwdriver to the ground. He never lost sight of the screwdriver. He arrested the defendant and retrieved the screwdriver.

His partner and he then returned to Gresik’s store and examined the basement door. There were marks on the door. Mr. Gresik gave him the crowbar which was inventoried. In court he identified the defendant as the man he arrested, the screwdriver he recovered, and the crowbar given to him by Mr. Gresik.

Testimony of John Grabinger, a police officer, for the State.

His testimony was substantially the same as that of his partner, Officer Carlson. Upon an examination of the basement area he noticed marks on the door and chippings of wood on the ground just below where the marks were.

The defense presented no evidence.

Opinion

One of the offenses defendant was charged with was attempted burglary. “Attempt” is defined in Illinois Revised Statutes, 1967, ch. 38, par. 8 — 4(a), as:

(a) Elements of the Offense.
A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific offense, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that offense.

Burglary is defined in Illinois Revised Statutes, 1967, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1, as:

A person commits burglary when without authority he knowingly enters or without authority remains within a building, house-trailer, watercraft, aircraft, motor vehicle as defined in the Illinois Motor Vehicle Law, approved July 11, 1957, as amended, railroad car, or any part thereof, with intent to commit therein a felony or theft. This offense shall not include the offenses set out in Section 4 — 102 of the “Illinois Motor Vehicle Law”, as heretofore or hereafter amended.

Defendant first contends that since only circumstantial evidence was introduced, he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the jimmied basement door with wood chips on the ground, Mr. Gresik’s finding of the crowbar leaning against the same door, and defendant’s late night presence at the basement door were facts from which reasonable inferences could be drawn that defendant had taken substantial steps toward the commission of a burglary. Further, defendant’s explanation of his presence was unsubstantiated. It seems probable that in view of the acts already committed by the defendant, the completed burglary would have been achieved if it had not been for Mr. Gresik’s investigation of the late night noises. Under somewhat similar circumstances, the court in People v. Rose, 124 Ill.App.2d 447, 450, stated:

Thus, if it had not been for the approaching police car, it seems probable in view of the acts already committed, that the crime of burglary would have been completed. There was a near proximity to success in carrying out the burglary; the evidence was sufficient to establish acts constituting substantial steps toward its accomplishment, as required by the statute. People v. Woods (1962), 24 Ill.2d 154, 158, 159, 180 N.E.2d 475; People v. Paluch (1966), 78 Ill.App.2d 356, 358-360 inch, 222 N.E.2d 508.

While there was no direct evidence of defendant’s intent to commit the burglary, since he did not admit his guilt, we believe that there were sufficient facts presented to warrant the inference of the requisite intent of defendant to commit a burglary. People v. Rose, supra, and cases therein cited.

The defendant also argues that his guilt as to both offenses was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt because the evidence was unsatisfactory and conflicting. The evidence presented by the State consisted of three witnesses, all of whom testified in a coherent and credible manner. In a non-jury trial it is the function of the trial court, as the trier of the facts, to determine the credibility of tire witnesses and the weight to be accorded their testimony. Tire trial court’s finding will be disturbed only where the evidence is so unreasonable or unsatisfactory as to create a reasonable doubt of defendant’s guilt. (People v. Stover, 121 Ill.App.2d 263, and People v. Adorno (1970), 126 Ill.App.2d 98.) In the instant case the evidence shows that defendant’s guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
264 N.E.2d 819, 131 Ill. App. 2d 200, 1970 Ill. App. LEXIS 1089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-blahuta-illappct-1970.