People v. Hopkins

593 N.E.2d 1028, 229 Ill. App. 3d 665, 171 Ill. Dec. 208, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 782
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 20, 1992
DocketNo. 4—91—0711
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 593 N.E.2d 1028 (People v. Hopkins) 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. Hopkins, 593 N.E.2d 1028, 229 Ill. App. 3d 665, 171 Ill. Dec. 208, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 782 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

JUSTICE STEIGMANN

delivered the opinion of the court:

In July 1991, a jury convicted defendant, Ronald Hopkins, of burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1(a)), and he was later sentenced to seven years in prison. Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) as applied in this case, the burglary statute unconstitutionally created a mandatory presumption of an essential element of the crime; (3) the trial court improperly admitted evidence showing he had been fingerprinted in another county under another name; and (4) the sentencing order was defective for failing to specify the number of days of credit defendant was due for time he served in pretrial custody.

We affirm and remand with directions.

I. Facts

The State’s case rested almost entirely upon the testimony of Ronald C. Wells, who testified that he owned the Central Supply Company in Bloomington. His business sold maintenance and cleaning supplies. The store is approximately 5,000 square feet and includes a showroom and display area. The store’s cash register was located about 30 feet from the front door.

Between noon and 1 p.m. on August 30, 1990, Wells was working alone in the store when a black man and a black woman in their forties came into the store, looked around, and asked questions of Wells regarding the store’s merchandise. At first, they conversed near the cash register, but as the three of them talked further and Wells showed them various products displayed on a far wall, they had walked approximately 30 feet from the cash register. At that point, a display area 12 to 15 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet tall stood between Wells and the cash register.

As Wells and the other two people spoke, a third person, another black male, walked into the store. Wells noted that the third person was wearing a red baseball cap. Because Wells was helping the other “customers,” he did not initially pay much attention to the third person. However, after “about a minute,” he looked over to see what the third person was doing and noticed him behind the counter on which the cash register sat, stooping down as if hiding behind the counter. The cash register drawer was open and the man’s hand was pulling on the cash drawer. Wells could see all of this by looking over the top of the five-foot display between him and the cash register. Wells could see the person’s head and described the person’s hand on the cash drawer as making “a graspy motion.”

Wells yelled, “What are you doing behind my counter?” He then walked toward the cash register, picked up a telephone on the way, said “I’m calling the law,” and proceeded to dial 911 to summon the police. The telephone was within five feet of the cash register. At that point, the person behind the cash register ran from behind the counter and walked out the front door.

Wells then walked over to the other two people who were still in the store and asked them if they knew the third person or “if they were involved in it.” They told Wells, “Oh no, oh, no. We don’t know that person and we’re getting out of here. We don’t want to get involved in this.” They then left the store within about 10 seconds after the third person had left. Wells followed them outside and within another 10 seconds a police car drove up. Wells told the officers what had happened and pointed out the two people to whom he had been showing products, who were then walking up the street, about a block and a half away. The police left Wells and soon returned to the store to bring Wells to a location where a car had been stopped.

The police asked Wells if he recognized the people in the car. The car contained four people, and Wells identified the two people seated in the back seat as the two who entered the store first. Wells also identified the passenger in the front seat as the person Wells saw with his hand in the cash register drawer. Wells did not recognize the driver.

Wells identified defendant as the person who had gone behind the counter and opened the cash register. Although defendant was wearing a blue baseball cap in the car, Wells noted that defendant had worn a red baseball cap in the store.

As Wells watched, a police officer asked defendant to get out of the car and then searched it. The officer found a red baseball cap under the front passenger seat. When the officer showed the cap to Wells, he identified it as the same type of baseball cap that defendant had been wearing in the store. Wells also identified the cap at trial when it was introduced as an exhibit.

Wells testified that defendant and his confederates never attempted to buy anything in the store. Regarding the question of defendant’s authority to enter the business, Wells testified as follows:

“Q. [The prosecutor]: Did you ever give the Defendant permission or authority to enter your business for the purpose of stealing anything?
A. [Mr. Wells]: No.
Q. Your business is a retail store, is it not?
A. Yes.
Q. Sells to customers off the street?
A. Yes, mm-hmm.
Q. And would the general public have authority to enter your store for the purpose of buying products?
A. Yes.
Q. Would you give anyone permission to enter your store for any other purpose, such as stealing?
[Defense attorney]: I’d object, Your Honor. That’s a leading question.
THE COURT: Well, he’s answered the question, sustained.
[The prosecutor]: I’m sorry?
THE COURT: He answered a question earlier that he said he didn’t give him authority to do so.”
On cross-examination, Wells further testified as follows:
“Q. [Defense counsel]: *** [W]hen we say — or I say that you’re open for business, you’re actually inviting people to come into your business, are you not?
A. [Mr. Wells]: Yes.
Q. You’re hoping they’ll come in?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. Do you have any signs posted in the building or in the front of the building that would indicate no thieves have authority to enter this building?
A. No.
Q. Okay. So a normal individual approaching your building, seeing that it’s a retail establishment that is open for business, would assume that he can walk right on in?
A. Yes.”

Officer Albert Emery of the Bloomington police department testified that while on patrol on August 30, 1990, he responded to the call from Central Supply Company.

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

Related

People v. Brown
2024 IL App (4th) 220959-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
People v. Merriweather
2021 IL App (2d) 190144-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
People v. Acklin
2020 IL App (4th) 180588 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Allen
2020 IL App (4th) 190117-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Holt
2019 IL App (3d) 160504 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2019)
People v. Johnson
2018 IL App (3d) 150352 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2018)
People v. Dorsey
2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
People v. Sandifer
2016 IL App (1st) 133397 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
People v. Gharrett
2016 IL App (4th) 140315 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
People v. Maldonado
930 N.E.2d 1104 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2010)
People v. Bridgewater
904 N.E.2d 171 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2009)
People v. Jackson
Illinois Supreme Court, 2009
People v. Meeks
887 N.E.2d 870 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008)
People v. Jackson
865 N.E.2d 195 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
People v. Lee
759 N.E.2d 930 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2001)
People v. Hill
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998
People v. Montefolka
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997
People v. Hamilton
670 N.E.2d 1189 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
People v. Cunningham
637 N.E.2d 1247 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
593 N.E.2d 1028, 229 Ill. App. 3d 665, 171 Ill. Dec. 208, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hopkins-illappct-1992.