People v. Cook

354 N.E.2d 122, 41 Ill. App. 3d 946, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3051
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 19, 1976
DocketNo. 60501
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 354 N.E.2d 122 (People v. Cook) 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. Cook, 354 N.E.2d 122, 41 Ill. App. 3d 946, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3051 (Ill. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE MEJDA

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant was indicted for the offenses of rape, armed robbery, and deviate sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 38, pars. 11 — 1(a), 18 — 2, and 11 — 3). Following a jury trial, verdicts of guilty were returned as to each offense and judgments of conviction were entered. Defendant was then sentenced to a single term of 10 to 30 years in the penitentiary.

On appeal defendant contends that (1) his identification was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) prejudicial trial errors contributed to the guilty verdict in the improper (a) prosecutor’s remarks in opening argument, (b) attempted cross-examination of an alibi witness, (c) cross-examination of a reputation witness, (d) cross-examination of defendant as to prior arrest, and (e) prosecutor’s comments on the law in two instances in closing argument; and (3) the sentence imposed was excessive.

We affirm the judgments of conviction and remand with directions as to sentencing. The pertinent facts follow.

At trial the complaining witness testified. At approximately 6:30 a.m. on February 21, 1972, she was on her way to work. While walking from her home to a bus stop at 70th Street and Jeffrey Boulevard, in Chicago, a man whom she identified at trial as defendant crossed from the opposite side of the street. He grabbed her by the arm, showed her a knife concealed in a newspaper, and told her not to scream. He took her across the street and into the hallway of a building where he demanded money. She gave him $15 from her purse. He then took her up to a stairway landing and ordered her to remove her coat and the lower part of her clothing, after which he placed his mouth on her vagina for about five minutes then had sexual intercourse with her. When he left she ran home and called the police. She gave them a description of the assailant as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, between 5’4” and 5’6” in height, 150 pounds in weight, short hair, slight mustache, medium brown complexion, and wearing red corduroy pants and a brown tweed jacket. After being examined at a hospital the complainant was shown photographs at the police station but did not identify any of them. On March 20, 1972, at approximately 7:30 p.m., she and her husband were sitting in a parked car at the intersection of 71st Street and Jeffrey Boulevard when she recognized the defendant walking on the street. Her husband hailed a police car and defendant was arrested.

On cross-examination the victim testified to the following. When defendant first approached her on the street it was daylight; also, there was a light at the top of the stairway landing. The entire incident involved an estimated 20 minutes. She could not recall ever having described her assailant to the police as being 20 to 27 years old. Although he was wearing red pants and a brown tweed jacket at the time of his arrest, the similarity of the clothing to that worn by her assailant did not influence her identification of defendant on March 20. She would be able to identify the front door of the building where the attack took place. The door was of solid wood without any windows. A photograph exhibited to her accurately portrayed the building and the door, except that the door in the photograph had a window in it.

Officer Donald Mitchell of the Chicago Police Department testified. On February 21, 1972, he investigated the instant attack. The complainant described her assailant as being 20 to 27 years old. To his knowledge, he recorded each detail of her description and did not record one of weight.

Officer Garth Angel of the Chicago Police Department testified. He arrested defendant on March 20, 1972. At that time defendant was wearing red pants and a light brown coat. In his opinion, defendant’s complexion was medium brown.

Evon Riley testified for defendant. He resided with her and her three children at 7126 South Bennett Avenue, in Chicago. On February 21,1972, he did not go to work because he had flu and was home between 6 and 8 a.m. on that date. She had known the defendant for 13 years, and his reputation in the community was that of a peaceful, law-abiding citizen. On cross-examination the prosecutor repeatedly attempted to question the witness as to when she had first learned of defendant’s arrest on the charges. The trial court sustained defense’s objections to this inquiry on the basis that the prosecutor admitted he was not prepared to introduce evidence to refute any response thereto.

Phillip Jones testified. He had known defendant for 12 years, and his reputation in the community is one of a peaceful, nonviolent person. On cross-examination Jones stated that he did not know defendant’s whereabouts between the hours of 6 and 8 a.m. on February 21, 1972.

Frands Giordani and Eddy Johnson each testified; they had known defendant for 5 and 15 years respectively, and his reputation in the community is that of a peaceful, law-abiding citizen.

Defendant testified in his own behalf. It was stipulated that he was 31 years of age. He denied robbing and attacking Patricia Watkins. He did not awaken on the morning of February 21, 1972, until 8 or 9 o’clock. Although it was a legal holiday, defendant was scheduled to work but remained at home because he was ill with flu. Defendant is 5’8” in height and weighs 135 pounds. His only prior arrest was in connection with a gambling raid when no formal charge was placed against him. On cross-examination he was asked and denied that he had once been arrested as a patron of a house of prostitution. After his response an objection to that inquiry was sustained by the trial court.

Albert Brooks testified for defendant. He has been the janitor at the building at 7002 South Chappel in Chicago for 5 years; he identified that building as the one in the photograph shown to the complaining witness. On February 21, 1972, the front door of that building was the same as it appeared in the photograph, with a glass window in it.

In opening argument the prosecutor stated to the jury, without objection, that unlike a repealed Illinois doctrine whereby a dog owner cannot incur liability for a dogbite unless he has notice of the animal’s biting propensities, defendant does not have a license to commit one rape because he is a nice fellow. In closing, the prosecutor stated to the jury that the testimony of the complaining witness was sufficient to convict defendant if it was accepted by them. On objection by defendant the trial court stated that it would instruct the jury. The prosecutor then argued, without objection, that the jury would be instructed that if all the evidence convinced them beyond a reasonable doubt of defendant’s guilt, they must return guilty verdicts despite evidence of defendant’s good reputation.

After deliberation the jury returned verdicts of guilty on each offense charged. At the conclusion of a hearing in aggravation and mitigation defendant was sentenced to a term of 10 to 30 years in the State penitentiary.

Initially, defendant contends that the identification testimony of the complaining witness was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Bluebook (online)
354 N.E.2d 122, 41 Ill. App. 3d 946, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 3051, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-cook-illappct-1976.