People v. Hari

822 N.E.2d 889, 355 Ill. App. 3d 449, 291 Ill. Dec. 14, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 7
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided January 5, 2005·No. 4-03-0130·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinions

JUSTICE TURNER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In February 2002, the State charged defendant, David A. Hari, with single counts of first degree murder and attempt (first degree murder). In November 2002, a jury found defendant guilty. In January 2003, the trial court sentenced defendant to 48 years’ imprisonment on the murder count and imposed a consecutive 25-year prison term on the attempt count.

On appeal, defendant argues (1) the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the defense of involuntary intoxication, (2) the State failed to correct false testimony of defendant’s former cell mate and defendant was unable to cross-examine the cell mate about his motive to lie, and (3) the State’s rebuttal evidence deprived defendant of a fair trial. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In February 2002, the State charged defendant by information (later amended in September 2002) with the offense of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a)(1) (West 2002)), alleging he, without lawful justification and with the intent to kill or do great bodily harm to Jeff Thomas, shot Thomas causing his death. The State also charged defendant with attempt (first degree murder) (720 ILCS 5/8 — 4(a), 9 — 1(a)(1) (West 2002)), alleging he, with the intent to commit first degree murder, performed a substantial step toward the commission of that offense in that without lawful justification and with the intent to kill Lisa Hari, shot her with a .22-caliber weapon. Defendant pleaded not guilty.

In November 2002, defendant’s jury trial commenced. Doug Livingston testified he lived across the street from Lisa. On February 10, 2002, he “heard a couple of gunshots go off” and observed a person lying in the middle of the road. He identified the man as Jeff Thomas, who was dressed in his “dress blues.” Livingston then went to Lisa’s house, and upon entering the foyer, he saw blood on the floor, the steps, and “on the side wall as you go up the steps.” He then encountered Lisa and saw that she had been wounded.

Travis Brown, a police officer with the City of Paxton, testified he received a dispatch concerning a domestic disturbance between defendant and Lisa on January 12, 2002. On February 10, 2002, Officer Brown stated he received a dispatch of a shooting around 6 p.m. Upon arrival at the scene, he noticed a man in a Navy uniform lying on the ground in “a pool of blood.” He then entered the residence and came upon Lisa, who “was not coherent enough to speak.”

Randy Kinzinger, the police chief of the Village of Roberts, testified he waited across the street from the residence of defendant’s mother, Carol Hari, at around 7 p.m. on the date of the shootings. At approximately 9 p.m., defendant arrived in his white truck, and Kinzinger arrested him. In Kinzinger’s squad car on the way to the sheriffs office, defendant asked what this was all about. During this time, defendant did not stumble, stagger, or have difficulty walking. Kinzinger stated defendant’s speech was normal and he did not slur, mumble, or have difficulty in conversing with him.

Lisa Hari testified she filed for divorce in January 2002 from her 13-year marriage to defendant. They had two children. During the latter part of 2001, Lisa became involved -with Jeff Thomas. Jeff told his wife he was having an affair, and Lisa told defendant she wanted a divorce. On January 12, 2002, Lisa and defendant had an argument, and he “restrained [her] and would not let [her] leave,” so she called the police. Defendant moved out on January 13, 2002, and he took his belongings, including his rifle. A couple of weeks later, Lisa discovered a package of photographs was missing. The pictures included some of her in her nightgown and of her and Jeff. She later learned defendant had shown the pictures to Jeffs wife. Jeff moved in, and they changed the locks on the doors because she was “scared” of defendant. Besides Lisa and Jeff, the only others who had keys included her parents; her son, Zack; and her neighbor, Doreen Hendricks.

On February 10, 2002, Lisa had a telephone conversation with defendant concerning the hoys’ church activity that evening. She returned home between 4:30 and 5 p.m. She received a call from Jeff, and he stated he would arrive at the house around 6 p.m. She then returned a phone call to her brother but heard a noise in the basement that sounded “like when [defendant] would cock the gun.” While still on the phone, Lisa went downstairs to check on the noise. She walked around the basement and saw defendant “coming out with a gun.” She told her brother, “oh, my God, he is here.” Defendant then “started firing,” and she “ran to try to get away.” She testified she next remembered waking up in the hospital with gunshot wounds to her head, arm, and upper hip.

Zack Hari, defendant’s 12-year-old son, testified defendant drove him and his brother to church around 5 p.m. on February 10. He stated his dad had no trouble driving his truck or difficulty in talking with him. At the church, defendant gave him “a real tight hug, tighter than usual[,] and he left.”

Dr. Violette Hnilica, a forensic pathologist, testified she performed an autopsy on Jeff Thomas. She described four gunshot wounds in the mid-right trunk, the left buttock, the left forearm, and near the neck with the bullet severing his carotid artery. She determined the cause of death to be from multiple gunshot wounds.

Tracy Parker testified he was incarcerated at the time of trial in the Ford County correctional center. He had convictions for aggravated battery (1992), burglary (1994 and 2000), and arson (1994). While serving a sentence on a federal charge of possession of firearms by a felon, Parker was charged with the offense of conspiracy to escape. He pleaded guilty in October 2002 and anticipated being sentenced in January 2003. Parker and defendant were cell mates in the Ford County jail for seven weeks. After a few weeks, defendant started talking about his case. He told Parker about the pictures of his wife taken by Jeff and was “pretty mad about it.” Defendant then got his .22-caliber rifle out of a gun cabinet and hid it in a basement utility room. On the weekend of the shooting, defendant told Parker, he went over to the house and waited for Lisa and Jeff to come home. Defendant told him he borrowed a key from the neighbor and made a copy of it to get in. Defendant stated he shot Jeff and then shot Lisa.

On cross-examination, Parker stated he pleaded guilty to the conspiracy-to-escape charge and less than two days later approached the correctional authorities regarding information about defendant’s case. Parker stated he could not receive a downward departure from his federal sentence because defendant’s trial was a state case. Parker testified it could not “help [him] in either way.” He had no expectation of receiving anything for his appearance at the trial.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. Hari, 822 N.E.2d 889, 355 Ill. App. 3d 449, 291 Ill. Dec. 14, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 7 (Ill. Ct. App. 2005).

822 N.E.2d 889 (People v. Hari) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Hari
843 N.E.2d 349 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2006)
People v. Bartgen
836 N.E.2d 798 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005)
People v. Garcia
113 P.3d 775 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2005)
People v. Hari
822 N.E.2d 889 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005)