People v. Taylor

886 N.E.2d 523, 381 Ill. App. 3d 251, 319 Ill. Dec. 760, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 301
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 7, 2008·No. 5-06-0514 Rel·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a jury trial in the circuit court of Fayette County, defendant, Robert C. Taylor, was found guilty of domestic battery in violation of section 12 — 3.2(a)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Criminal Code) (720 ILCS 5/12 — 3.2(a)(1) (West 2004)). He was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail, with credit for 5 days served, fined a total of $500 plus court costs, ordered to obtain an alcohol substance-abuse evaluation and comply with any recommended terms, and ordered to pay a $10-per-month probation fee. On appeal, defendant raises the following issues: (1) whether the State proved defendant guilty of domestic battery beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) whether defendant is entitled to a credit of $5 per day toward the fine he was assessed for time he spent in custody prior to sentencing. We affirm in part and remand.

BACKGROUND

On December 16, 2005, Officer Todd Emerick of the Vandalia police department responded to a 9-1-1 call at defendant’s house. Defendant told Officer Emerick that Lisha Clary broke into his house and attacked him. After interviewing the parties and witnesses, Emerick arrested defendant. Defendant was later charged by information with domestic battery “in that said defendant, without legal justification, knowingly caused bodily harm to Lisha Clary, a family or household member of the defendant, in that said defendant struck Lisha Clary in the mouth with said defendant’s hands” in violation of section 12 — 3.2(a)(1) of the Criminal Code. Defendant was also charged with battery for striking Lisha Clary’s daughter, K.F., in the mouth.

On August 17, 2006, both counts proceeded to a jury trial. K.F., age 15, testified that she and defendant’s daughter, A.M., are friends. K.F. spent the night with A.M. at defendant’s house on the night of December 16, 2005. They were asleep in A.M.’s bedroom when they were awakened by a loud noise in defendant’s bedroom. They went to see what caused the noise and found KF.’s mother standing inside the room and defendant and Betty Kophazy sitting on the bed.

After seeing another woman on defendant’s bed, K.F. ran out of the house, using the back door. The door was intact when she ran out. She reentered and found defendant throwing tables at her mother and saw defendant hit her mother in the face. K.F. then got between defendant and her mother and hit defendant. Defendant hit K.F. back, cutting her face.

K.F. testified that at the time of the incident, she and her mother had been staying at defendant’s house for a couple of weeks and that her mom and defendant had been “going out.” During the weeks they were living at defendant’s house, K.F. witnessed defendant and her mother hugging and kissing. Both K.F. and A.M. encouraged the relationship between their parents. K.F. testified that her mother slept in defendant’s bedroom during the time they stayed at defendant’s house. K.F. kept her clothes in a bag in A.M.’s room. She was “pretty sure” that her mom kept her clothes and a bag of pills in defendant’s bedroom. After defendant hit her, K.F. again fled the house via the back door. She broke the window out of the door attempting to get out of the house and cut her arm on some glass.

Lisha Clary, age 42, testified that she had been staying at defendant’s house for approximately three weeks prior to the night in question. She said .that she and defendant “were dating” and that she slept in his bedroom. She stated that some of her clothes were in a bag and that some of her clothes were in a closet alongside defendant’s bed. She testified that she kept her medication at defendant’s house. She had been at defendant’s house earlier in the day, left, and returned around midnight. She initially testified that she did not have a key to defendant’s house. The door was unlocked. She later recalled that defendant left a key for her to use. She entered the house, walked through the kitchen and living room, and went to defendant’s bedroom. She found defendant lying on his bed with his head in the lap of another woman, Betty Kophazy. Betty was sitting on the bed and was wearing clothes, but defendant was naked.

Clary asked defendant if she could get her bag of clothes and medication, but defendant refused. Defendant got off the bed, came at her, and started striking her with his fists. She ran out of the bedroom and into the living room. Defendant picked up the coffee table and hit her in the back with it, causing her to fall to the floor. She got up and went into the kitchen, where defendant continued to hit her. K.F. intervened and hit defendant. Defendant then hit K.F. twice. K.F. got scared and tried to run out the back door. K.F. could not get the door open and her arm went through the storm window.

Defendant called the police from a telephone in his room. The police arrived on the scene. The police first talked to Clary and K.F. The police then went into the bedroom and talked to defendant. Defendant was handcuffed and taken out the back door. Clary denied hitting defendant in the bedroom.

On cross-examination, Clary admitted that she had been convicted of aggravated battery on July 26, 2006, on an unrelated matter in Fayette County and had served a sentence of 30 days in the county jail. The State stipulated that Clary also had been convicted of theft in a previous matter. Clary gave a written statement to police on the night in question. At that time she listed her address as 621 North Fifth in Vandalia, which is not defendant’s address.

On rebuttal, Clary said that she and defendant had engaged in sex. She recalled that they had engaged in sex a “couple days before” the night in question.

Todd Emerick, a police officer who responded to the domestic disturbance call at defendant’s house, testified that upon his arrival, he and his partner knocked on the door, but no one answered. They walked around the house and found broken glass outside the kitchen door. They heard yelling inside the house and could not get anyone’s attention. Ultimately, they identified themselves as police officers and walked inside. They observed K.F. in the kitchen. Emerick described her as “very upset, crying,” and “hysterical.” After interviewing the parties and the witnesses, they arrested defendant and transported him to jail.

While defendant reported that Lisha Clary broke into his house, Emerick noted that he and his partner found broken glass outside the kitchen door, which indicated that something or someone broke the glass from the inside, pushing out. Emerick further noted that there was broken glass in the living room and that a coffee table appeared to have been thrown. Emerick originally charged defendant with battery and listed the victim as K.F.

A.M., age 15, testified for the defense. Defendant is her father and she resides with him at his rental house, where the incident occurred. She said that at the time of the offense, no one else lived with them. She has been friends with K.F. since fifth grade. K.F. frequently spent the night at her house, and sometimes Lisha Clary would also spend the night on the weekends, with Clary sleeping on the couch. A.M. admitted that Clary left some clothes at the house, but she said that they always stayed in a green cloth bag in the living room.

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People v. Taylor, 886 N.E.2d 523, 381 Ill. App. 3d 251, 319 Ill. Dec. 760, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 301 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

886 N.E.2d 523 (People v. Taylor) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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