People v. Davis

951 N.E.2d 230, 409 Ill. App. 3d 457, 351 Ill. Dec. 410, 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 404
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 29, 2011·No. 4-10-0004·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE STEIGMANN

delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Justices Appleton and McCullough concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

Following an August 2009 bench trial, the trial court convicted defendant, Lindsey B. Davis, of obstructing justice (720 ILCS 5/31—4(a) (West 2008)). Shortly thereafter, the court sentenced defendant to 7 days in jail and 24 months of probation, ordering defendant, in pertinent part, to pay a $200 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fee.

Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) the State failed to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) the trial court erred by failing to award her $10 against her DNA fee for time she spent in pretrial custody. Because we agree that the court erred by failing to award her $10 against her DNA fee, we affirm as modified and remand with directions that the court amend its sentencing order to reflect a $10 credit against defendant’s DNA fee.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The State’s Charges and Defendant’s Trial

In December 2008, the State charged defendant with (1) one count of obstructing justice and (2) two counts of aiding a fugitive for her involvement in concealing the fact that the father of her children, Jason Bates, was hiding in her house. At an August 2009 bench trial, the parties presented the following evidence.

1. The State’s Case

The State presented testimony from police officers that they were looking for Bates because they had a warrant for his arrest. Officers arrived at the residence where defendant was staying and knocked on the door. Defendant answered. When asked whether she had seen Bates, defendant responded that she had not and could not remember the last time she had seen him, explaining that only her brother and her children were inside the home.

After speaking privately to her brother (who was also present when the police arrived) a short time later, defendant began crying and said that Bates was in the house. Defendant also conceded that she knew Bates had warrants out for his arrest. Officers then searched the house and found Bates.

2. Defendant’s Case

Defendant testified that Bates had been at the house earlier that day to see the children, but that she told him to leave because she knew he was wanted by the police. Bates told her that he was going to leave, and she assumed that he had done so.

Bates testified that he had stopped at the house to see his children and told defendant that he was leaving. However, he decided to stay because it was snowing and cold outside. Bates was in the kitchen for about 15 minutes when he heard knocking at the door. He assumed it was the police. Bates said that he walked from the kitchen, through the living room — where defendant was sitting in a chair — up the stairs, and into the attic. He did not think that defendant saw him.

Defendant explained that she had not seen Bates pass through the living room on the way up the stairs. She acknowledged that although she was sitting in a chair near the front door, she was delayed in getting to the door because of her pregnancy. Defendant explained that she gave the officers consent to search the house for Bates only because they were “drilling her” with questions.

B.. Defendant’s Conviction and Sentence

Following defendant’s trial, the trial court convicted defendant of obstructing justice and acquitted her of both counts of aiding a fugitive. Shortly thereafter, the court sentenced defendant to 7 days in jail and 24 months of probation, ordering defendant, in pertinent part, to pay a $200 DNA fee.

This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Defendant argues that (1) the State failed to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) the trial court erred by failing to award her $10 against her DNA fee for time she spent in pretrial custody. We address defendant’s contentions in turn.

A. Defendant’s Claim That the State Failed To Prove Her Guilty Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Defendant first contends that the State failed to prove her guilty of obstructing justice beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree.

1. The Crime of Obstructing Justice and the Standard of Review

A person obstructs justice when, with intent to prevent the apprehension of any person, she knowingly “[djestroys, alters, conceals or disguises physical evidence, plants false evidence, [or] furnishes false information.” 720 ILCS 5/31—4(a) (West 2008).

In People v. Dat Tan Ngo, 388 Ill. App. 3d 1048, 1052, 904 N.E.2d 98, 102 (2008), this court outlined the standard for reviewing claims challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, as follows:

“ ‘When reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case, the relevant inquiry is whether, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.’ People v. Singleton, 367 Ill. App. 3d 182, 187, 854 N.E.2d 326, 331 (2006). The trier of fact has the responsibility to determine the credibility of witnesses and the weight given to their testimony, to resolve conflicts in the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from that evidence. People v. Lee, 213 Ill. 2d 218, 225, 821 N.E.2d 307, 311 (2004). A court of review will not overturn the verdict of the fact finder ‘unless the evidence is so unreasonable, improbable!,] or unsatisfactory that it raises a reasonable doubt of defendant’s guilt.’ People v. Jones, 219 Ill. 2d 1, 33, 845 N.E.2d 598, 616 (2006).”
2. The Evidence Presented in This Case

In this case, as is often the case, the trier of fact was presented with two versions of the events that led to the charges: (1) the State’s version and (2) the defendant’s version.

a. The State’s Version

The officers arrived at the house. Defendant and Bates saw the police at the door. Defendant, knowing that the police had a warrant for Bates’s arrest, stalled for time while Bates ran to hide in the attic. Defendant answered the door and told the officers that Bates had left. After speaking to her brother, who apparently was unwilling to lie for Bates, defendant acknowledged that Bates was there and consented to a search of the house.

b. Defendant’s Version

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People v. Davis, 951 N.E.2d 230, 409 Ill. App. 3d 457, 351 Ill. Dec. 410, 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 404 (Ill. Ct. App. 2011).

951 N.E.2d 230 (People v. Davis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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