People v. Watkins

563 N.E.2d 806, 206 Ill. App. 3d 228, 150 Ill. Dec. 679, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1456
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 24, 1990
Docket1-87-2766
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 563 N.E.2d 806 (People v. Watkins) 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. Watkins, 563 N.E.2d 806, 206 Ill. App. 3d 228, 150 Ill. Dec. 679, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1456 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE CAMPBELL

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant, Joseph Watkins, was convicted of robbery and aggravated battery (Il. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, pars. 18 — 1, 12 — 4, respectively), and sentenced to two concurrent 12-year prison terms. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) he was denied his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel; (3) the State’s comments during closing argument deprived him of due process of law; (4) the trial court abused its discretion when it denied defendant’s pretrial motion to bar the State from impeaching him with a prior conviction; (5) the 12-year sentence imposed upon defendant for robbery was excessive; (6) the trial court improperly sentenced defendant to a 12-year prison term for aggravated battery; (7.) the trial court erred in failing to advise defendant of the possibility of treatment under the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 111½, par. 6301 et seq.)-, and (8) defendant’s 12-year sentences for robbery and aggravated battery were improperly disparate to the three-year sentence imposed upon codefendant, Gregory Burns, 1 for the same offenses. For the following reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed and, by agreement of the parties, defendant’s sentence for aggravated battery is reduced to five years.

The record sets forth the following facts relevant to this appeal. On September 3, 1986, at approximately 8:15 p.m., Selmo Hunter was assaulted by two males as he left the One Stop Food & Liquor Store in Chicago. At trial, Hunter testified that one of the assailants grabbed him and threw him down on the sidewalk. The other assailant then kicked him in the back of the head, and one of them took his wallet. Hunter identified one of the assailants as Gregory Burns, but was unable to make a positive identification of the other.

Steve Green, custodian at the One Stop Food & Liquor Store, testified that, on September 3, 1986, while he'was cleaning up the store parking lot, he saw Gregory Burns throw Selmo Hunter to the ground and kick him in the face. He then saw defendant take Hunter’s wallet and run. At trial, Green equivocated as to how long he had known defendant and as to how many times he had previously seen him. At first, Green stated that he had known defendant for seven or eight years and had seem him five times previously. On cross-examination, Green stated that he saw defendant for the first time on the day of the incident. He then admitted that what he had stated on direct was incorrect. Green then explained that when he had stated he had seen defendant five times earlier, he had meant five times on the day of the incident. Green further testified that after he saw the assault on Hunter, he went into the store and alerted the security guard, Bennie Harmon. The following day, Green viewed a lineup and identified Gregory Burns as one of the assailants. At that time, he also told the police about defendant’s involvement. However, he never viewed a lineup in which defendant appeared.

Next, Bennie Harmon, security guard at the One Stop Food & Liquor Store, testified that on September 3, 1986, at approximately 8:20 p.m., he saw both defendant and Gregory Burns in front of the One Stop Food & Liquor Store. Later, when he saw Hunter lying on the ground, Burns and defendant had already left.

Officer Eugene Poole of the Chicago police department then testified that he had arrested defendant on October 15, 1986. Two weeks earlier, Poole had learned that Gregory Burns had been arrested for the Hunter incident and that defendant was also involved. When Pool asked defendant about the robbery, defendant replied, “I was there but I didn’t do anything.”

The State then rested its case. Defense counsel indicated that she had a motion. However, the court said the motion would be heard later outside the presence of the jury and, at this time, they would continue with the defense witnesses.

Defendant then took the stand on his own behalf and testified that on September 3, 1986, at approximately 8 p.m., he was sitting on a garbage can across the street from the One Stop Food & Liquor Store, talking on a pay telephone, when he saw some guys running behind him toward a crowd. It looked like a fight was taking place. When he finished his telephone conversation, defendant walked toward the crowd. The security guard came out of the One Stop Food & Liquor Store, and two males ran from the crowd. Defendant saw Hunter lying on the sidewalk. Someone had put a coat under Hunter’s head, and two other people were picking up his groceries. When defendant spotted Hunter’s wallet lying on the ground, he picked it up and put it in his pocket. Steve Green saw defendant pick up the wallet and asked defendant what was in it. Defendant replied that he had not looked inside of it yet.

When the police and paramedics arrived, Hunter regained consciousness, grabbed his groceries, and got into his car. The police followed him. Several of defendant’s friends then asked him for some of the money from Hunter’s wallet. Defendant gave some money to a couple of his friends, but did not give any to Green, who asked defendant to pay back a gambling debt. Defendant further stated that on October 15, 1986, he had been in a lineup, but had not been identified.

The defense then rested its case. In rebuttal, the State admitted into evidence a certified statement of a conviction of theft against defendant, dated October 6, 1986. On surrebuttal, defendant admitted that he had taken Hunter’s wallet. Defendant’s motion for a directed verdict was then denied. Following deliberations, the jury found defendant guilty of the offenses of robbery and aggravated battery. Thereafter, defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied and, following a hearing in aggravation and mitigation, he was sentenced to two concurrent 12-year prison terms. Defendant’s timely appeal followed.

Initially, defendant argues that the State failed to prove him guilty of aggravated battery and robbery beyond a reasonable doubt on the ground that the evidence introduced by the State either did not link him to the crime or was discredited because of its numerous inconsistencies. It is well established that it is the function of the trier of fact to assess the credibility of the witnesses, to resolve any inconsistencies in their testimony and to draw reasonable inferences from that testimony. On review, the appellate court is not to substitute its judgment for the trier of fact. Rather, it is to review the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution and to reverse the judgment only if no rational trier of fact would have found the defendant guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. People v. Collins (1985), 106 Ill. 2d 237, 478 N.E.2d 267.

In the present case, defendant was convicted of robbery and aggravated battery. Pursuant to section 18 — 1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (the Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 18 — 1(a)), “[a] person commits robbery when he takes property from the person or presence of another by the use of force or by threatening the imminent use of force.” Further, pursuant to section 12 — 4(b)(10) of the Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
563 N.E.2d 806, 206 Ill. App. 3d 228, 150 Ill. Dec. 679, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-watkins-illappct-1990.