People v. Williams

582 N.E.2d 1158, 222 Ill. App. 3d 129, 164 Ill. Dec. 214, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2016
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 27, 1991·No. 1-89-1251·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinions

JUSTICE GREIMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a bench trial, defendant was found guilty of unlawful restraint and residential burglary. He was sentenced to the minimum four years for residential burglary and two years for unlawful restraint, sentences to run concurrently.

We affirm the convictions.

For residential burglary, the State must prove that the defendant knowingly and without authority entered the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a felony or theft. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 19 — 3.) Under the State’s theory, unlawful restraint was the underlying felony. The felony of unlawful restraint is proven when a person knowingly and without legal authority detains another. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 10 — 3.

On appeal defendant asserts that the conviction for residential burglary should be reversed because (1) the State did not prove the two elements of the statute: (a) that the defendant, without authority, entered the dwelling of another and (b) that he entered the house with the intent to commit the underlying felony; (2) the defendant was denied a fair trial because of the introduction of other uncharged misconduct of defendant; (3) the defendant’s cross-examination was unduly restricted; and (4) defendant was improperly convicted of multiple offenses.

Defendant and complainant, Ann Harrison (Ann), jointly owned the residence where the alleged residential burglary occurred. They were married and parties to dissolution of marriage proceedings pending in the circuit court of Cook County.

During the pendency of the matrimonial action, Ann sought and received orders of protection since early 1987, which orders were on several occasions extended in accordance with the appropriate statutory authority.

From time to time defendant visited his children on the premises with Ann’s permission and occasionally slept overnight. Occasionally, defendant and Ann engaged in consensual sexual relations as well. For a short period during the pendency of the order of protection, defendant lived in the residence with the couple’s minor children and Ann resided elsewhere, although at the time of the incident upon which his conviction was based, it is clear that defendant was not residing at the subject premises.

On numerous occasions police were called concerning defendant’s violation of the order of protection. On these occasions, defendant entered the premises without appropriate permission or in some manner harassed his wife.

Evidence showed defendant knew the protective orders were in place in May 1988 and that Ann renewed the orders without allowing them to lapse. There was further testimony that the defendant was not allowed into the residence without Ann’s permission.

On the morning of October 26, 1988, defendant entered the residence by crawling through a basement window. Ann testified that she was in the house at that time preparing to leave when defendant grabbed her from behind and would not allow her to leave. She kept reaching for the door handle, but defendant continued to hold her around the waist. Shortly thereafter, the parties engaged in a violent fight, injuring Ann and ripping her clothes.

Defendant testified that he had been invited by his wife to meet her at the house to discuss reconciliation and upon entering the home he had no intent to commit the alleged underlying felony.

The trial court found that the order of protection was valid and stated it was “crystal clear” that defendant knew and understood the terms of the protective order. The court further determined that defendant’s method of entering the house through the basement window “is indicative of the kind of entry made by a person who does not feel he has a right to enter the premises.” The trial court indicated and believed Ann’s testimony that the defendant had never come on the premises "without her permission and that defendant entered the premises with more than mere discussion on his mind.

The residential burglary statute provides as follows:

“A person commits residential burglary who knowingly and without authority enters the dwelling place of another with the intent to commit therein a felony or theft.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 19 — 3.

Defendant asserts that the State failed to prove that his entry on the day in question was “without authority” or that it was the “dwelling of another.”

In order to maintain this theory, defendant questions the validity of the order of protection although the record does not disclose that he raised an objection to its admission into evidence during the trial. Where the defendant fails to interpose an objection to a document during the course of a trial and no issue is raised in a post-trial motion, no issue has been preserved for appeal and defendant has accordingly waived any objections in this regard. People v. Enoch (1988), 122 Ill. 2d 176, 522 N.E.2d 1124.

While we agree with this proposition, we also believe that the order of protection was a valid and subsisting order which clearly directed the defendant be restrained from entering the premises which were previously the marital home of the parties. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, pars. 2312-19, 2312-14(b)(2).

Under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, par. 2311 — 1 et seq.), three types of orders of protection may be issued: plenary, emergency and interim orders. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, par. 2312 — 14(a).) Defendant contends that the order at issue was an emergency order and, thus, could extend only 14 days in accordance with sections 217 and 220 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, pars. 2312 — 17, 2312 — 20). However, there was no evidence in the record indicating this protective order was other than a plenary order under section 219 of the statute. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 40, par. 2312-19.

Defendant further suggests that he lacked knowledge of the orders of protection and therefore could not have “knowingly” entered the residence improperly.

A plethora of violent incidents lead us to a contrary view. Time and again the police were called to the residence as a result of defendant’s violation of the order of protection, so that it is difficult to imagine that defendant was not aware of these orders of protection even though the extension of the orders may have been ex parte in the sense that this defendant did not appear.

Further, defendant relies on People v. Wilson (1988), 176 Ill. App. 3d 358, 531 N.E.2d 134, to support his argument that he could not have knowingly broken into a home he jointly owns. In Wilson, defendant was the 17-year-old son of the complainant and had lived at his father’s house prior to leaving of his own accord to live with his grandmother. A judgment of dissolution of marriage required the father to provide the “primary place of residence” for his children, including defendant. Defendant had not lived at the house for 10 months when he broke in one night and stole items belonging to his father.

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People v. Williams, 582 N.E.2d 1158, 222 Ill. App. 3d 129, 164 Ill. Dec. 214, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2016 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

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