People v. Morocho

2019 IL App (1st) 153232
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 10, 2019
Docket1-15-3232
StatusUnpublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2019 IL App (1st) 153232 (People v. Morocho) 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. Morocho, 2019 IL App (1st) 153232 (Ill. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

2019 IL App (1st) 153232 No. 1-15-3232 FIRST DISTRICT June 10, 2019

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of ) Cook County, Criminal Division. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 14 CR 16584 ) WILSON MOROCHO, ) Honorable Matthew E. Coghlan, ) Judge Presiding. Defendant-Appellant. )

JUSTICE GRIFFIN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Mikva and Justice Pierce concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 After a bench trial, defendant Wilson Morocho was convicted of three counts of

aggravated stalking. 720 ILCS 5/12-7.4(a)(1) (West 2014). The trial court merged the offenses

and sentenced defendant to four years in prison. On appeal, defendant challenges the facial

constitutionality of the offense upon which his conviction was predicated.

¶2 Defendant’s conviction was predicated upon a violation of section 12-7.3(a)(2) of the

Criminal Code of 2012 (Stalking Statute) (720 ILCS 5/12-7.3(a)(2) (West 2014)), which defines

the offense of stalking as follows: a person commits stalking when he or she knowingly

“threatens” a specific person two or more times and knows or should know the threats would No. 1-15-3232

cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress. The offense is aggravated if the defendant

causes bodily harm to the victim. 720 ILCS 5/12-7.4(a)(1) (West 2014).

¶3 Defendant argues that subsection (a)(2) is overbroad in violation of the first amendment

(U.S. Const., amend. I) and criminalizes wholly innocent conduct in contravention of the

guarantees of substantive due process. For the following reasons, we agree and find subsection

(a)(2) facially overbroad and unconstitutional.

¶4 BACKGROUND

¶5 On August 25, 2014, Beatriz Avila was working the morning shift at a franchise in the

James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. Throughout her shift she received a series of text

messages from defendant, the father of her son. After she viewed a message and burst into tears,

the victim’s coworkers asked her what was wrong. What she told them prompted one of her

coworkers to contact an Illinois State Police officer.

¶6 The victim was met by an officer and escorted to the second floor of the Thompson

Center to file a police report. She alleged in the report that defendant sent her threatening text

messages. After the report was filed, Illinois State Police officers told the victim to text

defendant and ask him to come to her workplace. She sent the text and defendant showed up. He

was immediately arrested.

¶7 Upon arrest, police recovered a knife wrapped in aluminum foil from defendant’s person.

They took pictures of the text messages defendant sent to the victim and photographed a bruise

on her arm. Defendant waived his Miranda rights (see Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966))

and participated in a police interview.

2 No. 1-15-3232

¶8 Defendant confessed verbally and in writing to sending the threatening text messages to

the victim on August 25, 2014, and possessing a knife on his person at the time of his arrest. He

stated, however, that he did not intend to harm the victim.

¶9 Defendant was charged with three counts of aggravated stalking (720 ILCS 5/12-

7.4(a)(1) (West 2014)) and 21 other offenses of which he was acquitted. We discuss here only

the facts that relate to the relevant aggravated stalking (id.) offenses.

¶ 10 Defendant waived his right to a jury, and the parties tried the case before a judge. The

State called the victim as its first witness. She testified that defendant sent her a series of

threatening text messages in Spanish on August 25, 2014. The State introduced into evidence a

series of photographs of the victim’s cell phone screen that depicted text messages sent by

defendant to the victim on the date in question.

¶ 11 One of the photographs showed defendant texted the victim, “[o]h, good, I have three

knives. Let’s see who I can kill in your house, hon.” When the victim sent a message asking

defendant where he was, defendant replied, “[a]t your job[.] But You are not coming out ***

where are you?”

¶ 12 Another photograph showed that defendant sent a message telling the victim that her

“mom arrived from work.” When the victim messaged defendant and asked “[h]ow do you know

that she arrived,” he replied, “I know a lot of things. Will you go to my house today *** Or do

you want problems with you father *** [s]o what, Hon, do you want problems or not.”

¶ 13 The State also introduced into evidence a photograph defendant texted to the victim that

depicted a knife wrapped in aluminum foil in his waistband. Defendant wrote below the

photograph, “Yes, my love.”

3 No. 1-15-3232

¶ 14 The victim further testified that defendant bruised her arm, on August 21, 2016, when he

tried to pull her into a room in his house. She identified a photograph of her injury taken by an

Illinois State Police officer.

¶ 15 Coworker Ruth Tenorio testified that she accompanied the victim to the second floor of

the Thompson Center to file a police report after the victim received a text message from

defendant that depicted him with a knife. She identified the photographs of defendant’s text

messages, the picture of him with a knife, and a photograph of the victim’s bruised arm.

¶ 16 Illinois State Trooper Tracy Grantlen testified that she interviewed the victim on August

25, 2014, and prepared a police report regarding a stalking incident. She further testified that

after defendant was arrested police recovered a knife from his person that looked similar to the

one depicted in the text message defendant sent to the victim. Trooper Grantlen testified to first

interviewing defendant with the assistance of Trooper Herrera, who spoke Spanish.

¶ 17 Trooper Herrera testified that defendant waived his Miranda rights and agreed to speak

with him. Defendant admitted to sending the victim threatening text messages, including the

message with the knife in his waistband. Defendant gave a written statement wherein he

admitted to threatening the victim but stated that he “would never do anything bad.” Trooper

Herrera then contacted Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA) Erick Sacks.

¶ 18 ASA Sacks testified that he interviewed defendant four times. Trooper Herrera was

present to translate from Spanish to English, and defendant waived his Miranda rights before

each interview. Defendant confirmed that he sent the text messages in question to the victim and

acknowledged their content. ASA Sacks testified that, when asked, defendant denied he was

going to follow through with his threats.

4 No. 1-15-3232

¶ 19 The State rested its case, and defendant moved for a directed finding. The trial court

granted it in part and denied it in part. Defendant called a single witness and rested his case.

¶ 20 The trial court found defendant guilty of three counts (counts IXX, XX, and XXI) of

aggravated stalking. 720 ILCS 5/12-7.4(a) (West 2014). Counts IXX and XX were predicated

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2019 IL App (1st) 153232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-morocho-illappct-2019.