People v. Camp

559 N.E.2d 26, 201 Ill. App. 3d 330, 147 Ill. Dec. 26, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 997
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 29, 1990·No. 1-87-3802·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE MANNING

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Richard Owen Camp, was charged by indictment with the offenses of burglary and criminal damage to property; the latter charge was dismissed by the State. Following a trial before a jury in the circuit court of Cook County, the defendant was found guilty of burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1(a)), and subsequently was sentenced to a term of 12 years. 1

Defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence, asserting three grounds for reversal: (1) that the trial court’s refusal to give the jury his tendered instruction on voluntary intoxication as a defense deprived him of a fair trial; (2) that he was prejudiced by the trial court’s refusal to grant his request for a continuance in order to secure witnesses who would establish his defense of voluntary intoxication; and (3) that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing defendant to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Prior to trial defendant was evaluated for admittance in the Treatment Alternative to Street Crime Program (TASC). Although the evaluation found defendant to be an addict, it determined that he was unacceptable for the TASC program.

At trial, the following facts were adduced. On Saturday, May 11, 1986, at approximately 12:45 a.m., Victor Lownes of 120 North Oak Park Avenue parked his automobile in the municipal lot and walked towards his apartment when he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from the Tasty Dog restaurant. The Tasty Dog was on the southwest comer of the intersection of Euclid and Lake Streets, which was about 200 or 300 feet from where Lownes lived and between 50 and 100 feet from where he parked his car. He turned and saw the right profile of a white male of average build, in his twenties, who was wearing a blue shirt and looking into the Tasty Dog through the broken glass window. Lownes observed the man step into the restaurant through the six-foot-square window. Lownes then walked home, which took approximately two minutes, and called the Oak Park police to report the incident.

Officer Keenan Williams was on patrol that night. He was in an unmarked squad car at the intersection of Chicago and Ridge Streets when he received a radio dispatch at about 12:49 a.m. reporting a burglary in progress at 701 West Lake Street. He arrived at the scene about one minute later at which time he observed a man, whom he later identified in court as the defendant, standing behind the cash register. When the man noticed Williams, he moved toward the rear of the restaurant. Williams yelled “Police, halt,” but the man exited through the rear door and commenced to run.

Following an 80-yard chase, Williams tackled the man and knocked him to the ground. With the assistance of Officer Edward Hadac, who had arrived at the scene and paralleled the foot pursuit in his patrol car, Williams handcuffed the man. He noticed cuts and bruises on the man’s face, and that his breath exhaled a “strong odor” of alcohol. Officer Hadac also observed some facial injuries and bleeding but noticed “[njothing at all unusual about his [defendant’s] breath.”

The parties stipulated that if called as a witness, the emergency nurse, Sandra Watson, would testify that she smelled an “odor” of alcohol on the defendant’s breath while he was being treated at West Suburban hospital on the morning of May 11, 1986, for facial cuts.

During the instruction conference, the trial court denied the defense’s motion to submit a jury instruction on voluntary intoxication which states: “[(An intoxicated) ([a] drugged)] person is criminally responsible for his conduct unless his [(intoxication) (drugged condition)] renders him incapable of acting [(knowingly) (intentionally)].” (Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No. 24 — 25.02 (2d ed. 1981).) Thereafter, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, the trial court denied defendant’s post-trial motion for a new trial and sentenced defendant to an extended term of 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and two years’ mandatory supervised release.

Defendant first contends on appeal that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on his defense of voluntary intoxication. It is well settled in Illinois that voluntary intoxication does not excuse criminal conduct and generally is no defense to a criminal charge. (People v. Lion (1957), 10 Ill. 2d 208, 214, 139 N.E.2d 757.) However, voluntary intoxication is a defense if it negatives the existence of a mental state which is an element of the offense (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 6 — 3(a)), based upon the rationale a defendant cannot be said to be guilty if he was intoxicated to such a degree as to be unable to form an intent. People v. Klemann (1943), 383 Ill. 236, 239, 48 N.E.2d 957.

Burglary is a specific intent crime because it contains, as an element of the offense, the requirement that the defendant entered the premises with the intent to commit a theft or felony. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1(a); People v. Cabrera (1987), 116 Ill. 2d 474, 492, 508 N.E.2d 708; see also People v. Racanelli (1985), 132 Ill. App. 3d 124, 476 N.E.2d 1179.) In fact, intent is the gravamen of the offense of burglary. (See People v. Steppan (1985), 105 Ill. 2d 310, 473 N.E.2d 1300.) Voluntary intoxication is available as a defense to a specific intent offense where its effect is to negate the defendant’s mental state where such mental state is an element of the offense. People v. Hillenbrand (1988), 121 Ill. 2d 537, 555, 521 N.E.2d 900.

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People v. Camp, 559 N.E.2d 26, 201 Ill. App. 3d 330, 147 Ill. Dec. 26, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 997 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

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