People v. Wilson

586 N.E.2d 547, 224 Ill. App. 3d 364, 166 Ill. Dec. 589, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2198
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided December 27, 1991·No. 1-90-2332·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE RIZZI

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant, Jerome Wilson, was convicted of attempted first degree murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 8—4, 9—1), armed robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 18—2), attempted armed robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 8—4, 18—2), and forcible detention (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 10—4). Defendant was sentenced to life in prison. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and vacate in part.

The following issues are before this court for review: (1) whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant had the specific intent to kill the victim; and (2) whether defendant’s convictions for attempted armed robbery and three counts of armed robbery must be reversed and his sentences vacated.

Gus Siaphares, Arthur Wagg, Roger Mattioli, Douglas Jensen, Dorine Chraca, and a man named George were in Gus’ Lounge bar located at 7000 West Diversey in Chicago, Illinois, on September 7, 1989, during the early morning hours. Siaphares was the bartender and owner. Wagg, Mattioli, Jensen, Chraca, and George were all patrons.

Siaphares and Mattioli testified that a man, whom they later identified as defendant, entered the bar armed with a gun at 1:30 a.m. and said, “[T]his is a stick-up.” The witnesses testified that defendant then grabbed Mattioli and placed a gun to his head. Siaphares and Mattioli further testified that Siaphares told defendant to take all the money he wanted but to leave his customers alone. The witnesses stated that defendant then released Mattioli, fired his gun in the direction of the bar, jumped on top of the bar, and asked Siaphares where was his gun. Wagg and Jensen testified that defendant then told the patrons, “take off your jewelry, take out your money, [and] put it on the floor.” Mattioli escaped while defendant was standing on the bar, and he subsequently informed the police of the incident. Mattioli left before defendant robbed him of any property.

After Mattioli escaped from Gus’ Lounge, defendant collected property belonging to Siaphares and the bar patrons. Siaphares testified that defendant took his wallet, which contained $120, his wrist watch, and $200 from the bar cash register. Siaphares also testified that he saw defendant take money from Chraca and Jensen. Jensen testified that defendant also took a ring and a wrist watch from him. Chraca testified that defendant robbed her of two rings. In addition, Wagg testified that defendant stole $20 from him. Wagg and Jensen testified that they saw defendant take money from George. George did not testify about the robbery.

Siaphares testified that defendant approached the front door of the tavern after he robbed the patrons and that the police told him to drop his gun. Siaphares further stated that defendant reentered the bar and tried to escape from the back door, which was locked. Chraca and Siaphares testified that defendant then grabbed Chraca’s hair and that defendant pulled Chraca through the front door by her hair and announced, “I have a hostage with me.” Siaphares and Chraca testified that they heard gunfire after defendant and Chraca moved outside.

Police officer Mark Sanders testified that he followed defendant and Chraca after they exited the tavern. Officer Sanders maintained that he was about 15 feet away from defendant when defendant “reached around his body *** in front of the hostage, *** aimed the revolver in my direction, *** and fired a shot.” Officer Sanders was shot in his right foot. Several police officers then fired their guns at defendant. Defendant was shot at that time. Officer Sanders then approached defendant, handcuffed him, and arrested him.

After closing arguments, the trial court found defendant guilty of the attempted murder of Officer Sanders, all counts of armed robbery, the attempted armed robbery of Mattioli, and the forcible detention of Chraca.

At the sentencing hearing, defendant was found to be an habitual offender (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 33B—1(a)), and sentenced to life imprisonment for the offense of attempted murder, six concurrent life imprisonment terms for each count of armed robbery, 15 years concurrent for attempted armed robbery, and seven years concurrent for forcible detention.

Defendant first contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had the specific intent to kill Officer Sanders. The People maintain that the requisite mental state has been proven because defendant fired a gun at Officer Sanders and Officer Sanders was hit by a bullet from the same gun.

A criminal conviction will not be reversed unless the evidence is so improbable or unconvincing that it creates a reasonable doubt of the defendant’s guilt. (People v. Trimble (1991), 220 Ill. App. 3d 338, 350; People v. Schorle (1990), 206 Ill. App. 3d 748, 758, 565 N.E.2d 84, 90.) When a conviction is challenged based upon the sufficiency of the evidence, the relevant question is “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Emphasis in original.) Jackson v. Virginia (1979), 443 U.S. 307, 319, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560, 573, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789; Trimble, 220 Ill. App. 3d at 350; Schorle, 206 Ill. App. 3d at 759, 565 N.E.2d at 91.

A defendant must have the specific intent to commit murder in order to be found guilty of attempted murder. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 8—4, 9—1; People v. Mitchell (1981), 98 Ill. App. 3d 398, 402, 424 N.E.2d 658, 661.) Intent is a state of mind which, if not admitted, may be established by proof of the surrounding circumstances including the nature of the assault, and the use of a deadly weapon. (People v. Winters (1986), 151 Ill. App. 3d 402, 405, 502 N.E.2d 841, 843.) The fact that a defendant fires a gun at a person supports the conclusion that said defendant did so with the intent to kill. People v. Thorns (1978), 62 Ill. App. 3d 1028, 1031, 379 N.E.2d 641, 643.

Upon viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we find that the trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant had the requisite specific intent to kill Officer Sanders. Officer Sanders testified that defendant “reached around his body and in front of the hostage, *** aimed the revolver in my direction, at me, and fired a shot.” The fact that defendant fired the gun at Officer Sanders evinces defendant’s intent to kill him.

Defendant next contends that his convictions for attempted armed robbery and three counts of armed robbery must be reversed and his sentence vacated because multiple convictions may not be based upon the same physical act, and because the State failed to prove the elements of one of the counts.

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People v. Wilson, 586 N.E.2d 547, 224 Ill. App. 3d 364, 166 Ill. Dec. 589, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2198 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

586 N.E.2d 547 (People v. Wilson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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