People v. Ybarra

651 N.E.2d 668, 272 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 209 Ill. Dec. 490, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 399
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 1, 1995
Docket1-93-2631
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 651 N.E.2d 668 (People v. Ybarra) 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. Ybarra, 651 N.E.2d 668, 272 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 209 Ill. Dec. 490, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 399 (Ill. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

JUSTICE THEIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, the defendant, Juan Ybarra, was convicted of burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1) and sentenced as a Class X offender to a term of 15 years’ imprisonment. The defendant appeals this decision, raising two issues for our consideration: (1) whether he was proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) whether he was properly sentenced. We affirm.

Chicago police officer Cruz Reyes testified that he was with his partner at about 12:30 a.m. on September 1, 1992, when they heard a loud alarm begin sounding from a block away. When they rounded the corner, Reyes observed the defendant "pulling back the boarded up bottom portion of the door” to a laundromat. Once the defendant pulled back a portion of the door, he crawled inside the laundromat.

Reyes stood at the front door to the laundromat, announced his office and ordered the defendant outside. Reyes testified that the defendant came out. The laundromat consisted of coin-operated machines and was closed. Upon searching the defendant, the police found no money or burglary tools on him.

The parties stipulated that if the owner of the building, Ahmed Awad, were called to testify, he would say that he did not give the defendant permission to be in that location and in that business at that time.

The defendant then testified that at about 10:30 p.m. on the night in question, he left his house and went to the liquor store two blocks away where he bought some beer. During the next two hours the defendant stood outside the liquor store and drank 40 ounces of beer and two bottles of wine. The defendant then went to the alley behind the liquor store and relieved himself. The defendant returned to the liquor store and purchased another bottle of wine. The defendant began walking toward his house but again stopped at the alley to relieve himself. The defendant then started drinking the wine as he walked.

The defendant testified that at about 12:30 a.m. on the night in question he "crawled inside the laundromat” through a partially boarded-up front door. At that time, the defendant heard the police tell him to come out so he complied. The defendant explained that he had entered the laundromat to use the washroom. He stated that he did not stop in the alley nearby because he "couldn’t hold it any longer.” The defendant denied using any tools, screwdriver or pliers to enter the store, and he denied intending to take anything from inside.

On cross-examination, he admitted the laundromat was closed and there were no other people inside. He also explained that his house was about one block from the laundromat and the nearest alley was about one-half block away directly behind the laundromat.

In rebuttal, the State introduced into evidence the defendant’s prior criminal convictions. The trial court .then found the defendant guilty of the crime of burglary.

Subsequently, the court denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial and proceeded to a hearing on the issue of sentencing. At the sentencing hearing, the State relied upon the defendant’s criminal history and the nature and circumstances of his conduct. The presentence report and criminal history report disclosed that the defendant had been convicted of a number of felonies:

(1) On May 8, 1978, the defendant was charged with armed robbery. He was subsequently convicted on this charge.

(2) Six months later, on October 13, 1978, the defendant was charged with attempted murder and was subsequently convicted. On February 1, 1979, the defendant pleaded guilty to both armed robbery and attempted murder and was sentenced to concurrent terms of seven years’ imprisonment.

(3) On April 22, 1985, he was charged with robbery. He was found guilty and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

(4) On March 29, 1990, the defendant was charged with possession of a controlled substance. He was found guilty and was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment.

(5) On October 10, 1990, the defendant was charged with attempted burglary. He was found guilty and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

In mitigation, defense counsel told the court that prior to his arrest, the defendant was the primary caretaker of his daughter. Counsel informed the court that the defendant received his general equivalency diploma (GED) in 1985. Counsel also asked for a short sentence because this was not a violent felony and "practically no damage was committed to the property.”

The trial court then sentenced the defendant to 15 years’ imprisonment. The defendant appeals his conviction and sentence.

Initially, the defendant contends that he was not proved guilty of burglary beyond a reasonable doubt. He argues that the State failed to prove the element of intent where the evidence showed that he did not possess any burglary tools or items that could be used as burglary tools, and the State did not show that the coin-operated laundromat contained anything capable of being stolen.

The elements of burglary that must be proved at trial are (1) that the defendant entered a building without authority and (2) that the defendant did so with an intent to commit a theft. (People v. Perruquet (1988), 173 Ill. App. 3d 1054, 1059-60, 527 N.E.2d 1334, 1338.) Circumstantial evidence may be used to prove the defendant’s intent to commit theft. People v. Boguszewski (1991), 220 Ill. App. 3d 85, 87-88, 580 N.E.2d 925, 926.

We believe that resolution of the issue that is presented by the defendant is controlled by the analysis employed in People v. Richardson (1984), 104 Ill. 2d 8, 470 N.E.2d 1024. In Richardson, a case very similar to the case before us, the only question before our supreme court was whether there was sufficient evidence to infer that the defendant had the requisite intent to sustain a conviction for burglary.

In Richardson, the police found the defendant in a supply closet in the Eagles Club at 3 a.m. A search of the premises revealed that nothing was missing from the club. The defendant was subsequently found guilty of burglary, but, on appeal, he argued that he could not have had the necessary intent to commit theft. The court rejected this argument. First, the court noted that intent may be inferred from the surrounding circumstances. After reviewing the evidence, the court concluded that the jury could reasonably infer that the defendant possessed the intent to commit theft, explaining, "In a burglary case, the relevant surrounding circumstances include the time, place and manner of entry into the premises, the defendant’s activity within the premises, and any alternative explanations offered for his presence.” Richardson, 104 Ill. 2d at 13, 470 N.E.2d at 1027.

We therefore apply the "surrounding circumstances” factors articulated in Richardson to the case at bar.

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People v. Ybarra
651 N.E.2d 668 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
651 N.E.2d 668, 272 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 209 Ill. Dec. 490, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ybarra-illappct-1995.