People v. Quiver

563 N.E.2d 991, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1067, 150 Ill. Dec. 864, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1708
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 8, 1990
Docket1-88-1017
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 563 N.E.2d 991 (People v. Quiver) 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. Quiver, 563 N.E.2d 991, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1067, 150 Ill. Dec. 864, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1708 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE JOHNSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a jury trial, defendant, Danny Quiver, was found guilty of home invasion (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 12 — 11(a)(2)), residential burglary (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 19 — 3), and aggravated battery (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 12 — 4(a)). Defendant was sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Defendant appeals, seeking reversal of his home invasion and residential burglary convictions and remand of the cause for resentencing for the aggravated battery conviction; or reversal of all of his convictions and remand of the cause for a new trial; or remand of the cause for resentencing without the use of the victim impact statement. Defendant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the State proved that he knowingly entered an occupied dwelling place; (2) whether numerous instances of alleged misconduct in the State’s closing arguments deprived him of his right to a fair trial; and (3) whether the trial properly considered the victim impact statement as a factor in aggravation prior to imposing sentence.

We affirm.

At trial, the evidence established that on April 10, 1987, at approximately 1:30 a.m., defendant, without authority, entered complainant’s residence. Complainant lives in a 100-year-old mansion with his brother.

Complainant testified that on the evening of April 9, 1987, he and his brother went out for dinner. They returned home at approximately 12:30 a.m., April 10. The brothers entered the house through a side door. Complainant went up to his bedroom, located on the second floor toward the front of the house. His brother’s bedroom is on the third floor toward the rear of the house. Complainant fell asleep at approximately 1 a.m.

At approximately 1:30 a.m., complainant was awakened by a severe pain in the area of his head. When he got up from his bed, he noticed defendant standing on the other side of the room. Defendant then approached complainant and identified himself as a police officer. Complainant noticed that defendant carried a shiny object in his hand. Defendant then struck complainant with the object. It was later determined that the object defendant held was a pair of pliers.

After being struck, complainant fell to the floor. Defendant then proceeded to place his hands around complainant’s neck and told him that he was going to kill him. Complainant, after struggling with defendant, was able to push defendant off him. Defendant ran out of the bedroom and complainant went up to the third floor to check on his brother’s condition. Complainant’s brother was asleep and had not been harmed. Complainant got his brother’s .25 caliber automatic pistol. Both he and his brother then went downstairs to call the police. The telephone that complainant intended to use was located in the kitchen on the first floor. Complainant’s brother did not have a telephone in his bedroom.

Upon entering the kitchen, complainant noticed that the pantry door was partially closed. This door is normally kept open. When complainant opened the door, defendant lunged at him with what appeared to be a knife. Defendant then threatened to kill complainant. At that time complainant shot defendant three times. The object in defendant’s hand was a screwdriver.

When the police arrived, a rear window in the house was found open; a baseball cap was discovered on the ledge of the window; and a bicycle that did not belong to complainant was found beneath the open window.

As a result of his encounter with defendant, complainant sustained a broken nose, a broken cheekbone, and bruises and lacerations to his face. Complainant’s left eye remained completely closed for three weeks.

Defendant’s version of the events is vastly different from complainant’s testimony. According to defendant, he left his mother’s house on his 10-speed bicycle at about 11:20 p.m. on April 9, 1987. He testified that he was on his way to “hang out” with some friends on the near north side of Chicago. While in the vicinity of Clark Street and Diversey Avenue, he stopped for a rest. At that time, he noticed complainant staring at him. Complainant then allegedly approached defendant and invited him over to his house. Defendant believed that complainant wanted to have a sexual encounter.

Defendant testified that when they arrived at the house, complainant told him to leave his bicycle by the side of the house so as not to disturb his brother, who was also residing in the house. Complainant then allegedly took defendant to his bedroom and began to rub defendant’s chest. When defendant asked for money, complainant supposedly became enraged and a fight between the two ensued.

At some point in his struggle with complainant, defendant stated that he was able to break away from complainant. He did, however, see complainant run upstairs to the third floor of the house. Defendant ran downstairs to the first floor and hid in the pantry. Subsequently, complainant found defendant in the pantry and shot him once in the chest. The police were then called. Defendant further testified that complainant stated, “[T]he son of a bitch will be dead by the time [the police] get here” and proceeded to shoot defendant two more times.

Assistant State’s Attorney Lori Levin testified that she interviewed defendant while he was in the hospital. She was accompanied by two detectives from the Chicago police department. Defendant told her that his name was “Danny Davis” and that he parked his bicycle under a window outside of complainant’s house. Defendant stated that he opened a window and entered complainant’s house to see what was inside. He also admitted that his baseball cap fell from his head as he was climbing through the window. Defendant took a pair of pliers with him into the house. He also admitted to having struggled with complainant. Defendant never told the assistant State’s Attorney that the complainant picked him up to engage in some sort of homosexual act.

The State also introduced evidence of defendant’s prior burglary conviction and four prior theft convictions. In rebuttal, complainant denied defendant’s version of the incident.

After hearing all of the evidence, defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. It is from this decision that defendant appeals.

At the outset, we acknowledge that there are two vastly dissimilar versions of the events which transpired between complainant and defendant. The jury found defendant guilty and, therefore, evidently believed plaintiff’s version of the incident. This court will not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court where evidence is conflicting. People v. Woods (1980), 81 Ill. 2d 537, 542.

Defendant first contends that his convictions for home invasion and residential burglary must be reversed because the State failed to prove that he knowingly entered a dwelling place of another. Defendant claims that he reasonably believed that complainant’s home was a church or a museum in which there were no inhabitants.

Section 19 — 3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par.

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Bluebook (online)
563 N.E.2d 991, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1067, 150 Ill. Dec. 864, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-quiver-illappct-1990.