People v. Harris

606 N.E.2d 392, 238 Ill. App. 3d 575, 179 Ill. Dec. 560, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1818
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 13, 1992·No. 1-91-3952·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE GORDON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant Charles Harris was convicted of robbery and theft. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 18—1(a), 16—1(a)(1).) He was sentenced to four years’ probation for robbery on the condition that he absent himself from the State of Illinois. On appeal, defendant challenges his conviction and sentence, contending that: (1) he was not proven guilty of robbery beyond a reasonable doubt; and (2) the condition of his probation that he leave this State is invalid.

At trial, the victim, Lucille White, testified that about 11:30 a.m. on February 26, 1990, she was walking to work on Addison Street in Chicago. As she approached 5340 West Addison, she observed defendant come out of a gangway and approach her. When defendant was close to the victim, he pushed her, took her purse and ran. She chased defendant into another gangway and through a yard. As defendant ran, she also noticed the name “Interstate” in gold or yellow letters on the back of his jacket. After following him for awhile, she did not continue because she feared for her safety. The victim described her assailant to police as a black man with either a mustache or a beard who was wearing a dark blue or black jacket and a baseball cap.

The following morning, the victim took her car to a car wash located at Belmont and Long. As her car was being washed, she noted that one of the four car wash employees drying off a car was defendant. Upon identifying defendant, the victim moved to a corner of the car wash where she continued watching him until her car was ready. When her car was brought out to her, she left and drove to her father-in-law’s home, where she told her husband that she had just seen the man who robbed her the day before. The next time the victim saw defendant was after he was arrested about 10 days later.

Kurt Koziol, the owner of the car wash, testified that defendant was employed by him since the summer of 1988 or 1989. Koziol maintained time cards for each of his employees. Defendant’s time card indicated that on the day of the robbery, defendant punched in at 8:16 a.m. and punched out at 6:08 p.m. Since Koziol was “in and out” of the car wash on that date, he did not know whether defendant ate his lunch at work, although it was customary for the employees to do so. He also stated that since the car wash was busy that day, he wondered how defendant could have left. In addition, he could not remember whether defendant owned or ever wore a jacket with the word “Interstate” on the back.

Defendant denied taking the victim’s purse. He stated that on the date in question, he ate his lunch at work and did not leave the car wash at any time that day. He also denied owning a jacket as described by the victim. Defendant had several prior convictions, including one for theft.

At the close of all of the evidence, the court found defendant guilty of robbery and sentenced him to four years’ probation on the condition that he absent himself from Illinois.

Defendant first contends that he was not proven guilty of robbery beyond a reasonable doubt and that his conviction was the product of the victim’s mistaken identification of him as the man who robbed her. At issue, therefore, is whether the identification of defendant as the robber was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a bench trial, it is the function of the trial court, as the trier of fact, to assess the credibility of the witnesses, to determine the weight that should be accorded their testimony and to resolve any inconsistencies and conflicts within that testimony. (People v. Bradford (1989), 187 Ill. App. 3d 903, 917, 543 N.E.2d 918.) On review, a criminal conviction will not be set aside unless the evidence is so unsatisfactory, improbable or implausible that it creates a reasonable doubt as to defendant’s guilt. (People v. Slim (1989), 127 Ill. 2d 302, 307, 537 N.E.2d 317.) When presented with a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, it is not the reviewing court’s function to retry the defendant (People v. Collins (1985), 106 Ill. 2d 237, 261, 478 N.E.2d 267), or to substitute its judgment for that of the trier of fact (People v. Snulligan (1990), 204 Ill. App. 3d 110, 118, 561 N.E.2d 1125). Rather, the reviewing court must determine, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, whether any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. People v. Collins, 106 Ill. 2d at 261.

The burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the identity of the person who committed the offense. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 3—1.) The testimony of a single eyewitness is sufficient to support a conviction provided that the witness had the opportunity to view the accused under circumstances which would permit a positive identification. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 307.) This is so even in the presence of contradictory alibi testimony, provided that the witness’ in-court identification is positive and credible. People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 307.

In evaluating a victim’s identification testimony, the circumstances to be considered include: (1) the opportunity the victim had to view the accused during the incident; (2) the victim’s degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of the victim’s prior description of the accused; (4) the certainty with which the victim identifies the accused; and (5) the length of time between the commission of the crime and the victim’s identification of the accused. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 307-08.) It is not required that a witness distinguish individual features when identifying a suspect. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 308-09.) A positive identification has been held to be sufficient where the witness provides a general description of the accused, one which is based on the total impression the accused’s appearance made on the witness. People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 309.

In the instant case, the victim was a credible identification witness for the prosecution. She had a good opportunity to observe defendant in broad daylight during the incident. Her view of him was clear and unobstructed. As defendant emerged from the gangway and approached her, she had ample time to focus on his face. In addition, her identification of defendant was certain at the time of his arrest and at trial. When she saw defendant at the car wash, the day after the robbery, she was so frightened that she hid from him. Although the defense presented alibi testimony, the trier of fact was not obligated to accept this testimony over victim’s positive identification of defendant. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 315.) The weight to be accorded such alibi evidence is a credibility question for the trier of fact. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d at 315.) Defendant questions the length of time between the date of the robbery and the date of his arrest, but we find, as the court did in Slim, that the time period of a week and a half was not significant considering the nature of the incident and the surrounding circumstances. (People v. Slim, 127 Ill.

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People v. Harris, 606 N.E.2d 392, 238 Ill. App. 3d 575, 179 Ill. Dec. 560, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 1818 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

606 N.E.2d 392 (People v. Harris) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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