People v. Zarate

637 N.E.2d 1044, 202 Ill. Dec. 308, 264 Ill. App. 3d 667, 1994 Ill. App. LEXIS 840
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 31, 1994
Docket1-93-0997
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 637 N.E.2d 1044 (People v. Zarate) 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. Zarate, 637 N.E.2d 1044, 202 Ill. Dec. 308, 264 Ill. App. 3d 667, 1994 Ill. App. LEXIS 840 (Ill. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

JUSTICE SCARIANO

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Ramon Zarate was charged by information with two counts of home invasion (111. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 12 — 11(a)(1), (a)(2) (now 720 ILCS 5/12 — 11(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 1992))), one count of armed violence (111. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 33A — 2 (now 720 ILCS 5/33A — 2 (West 1992))), one count of residential burglary (111. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 19 — 3 (now 720 ILCS 5/19 — 3 (West 1992))), and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint (El. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 10 — 3.1(a) (now 720 ILCS 5/10 — 3.1(a) (West 1992))) in connection with an attack on Christin Ernst. He appeals from his home invasion and armed violence convictions.

At defendant’s bench trial, Ernst testified that on February 5, 1992, at about 6:35 a.m., she was assaulted by an intruder while she showered in her twenty-first-floor apartment in the Parkshore Apartments at 195 North Harbor Drive in the City of Chicago. Ernst was standing with her back to the shower head, washing her hair with her eyes closed, when she felt someone grab her right arm. The tub’s clear plastic shower curtain was partially open, and, when she opened her eyes, she was able to see a man standing outside the tub with a white plastic bag over his head holding a knife in his right hand. The man held what Ernst described as a diver’s knife with a blade approximately six inches in length. Ernst sought to grab the man’s right hand and struggled with him until she slipped and fell, hitting the tub nozzle in such a way as to cause the water to flow from that source rather than from the shower head. The man then reached over her and stabbed her in the leg; they continued struggling for another minute or two until he got up and ran out of the bathroom, leaving the plastic bag.

Ernst testified that during their approximately five-minute encounter, the man’s face was about 10 to 12 inches from hers and she could see the side of his head, his straight black hair, his eyes, and the upper part of his nose through the large eye-holes in the bag. He was wearing a Parkshore maintenance uniform, consisting of dark blue pants and a white short-sleeved shirt with patches on either side of the chest. He was somewhat overweight and his shirt fit snugly. Ernst recognized her assailant as defendant, a Parkshore maintenance man, whom she had seen approximately 30 times before in the building.

After her attacker left, Ernst closed the bathroom door and began screaming. She then turned off the water so she could listen for his movements in case he was still in her apartment. When she believed that he was gone, she wrapped a towel around herself and went out into the hall, banging on apartment doors until her neighbor in apartment 2101, Mark Glennon, opened his door and took her in. He called the police and periodically opened his door to check for their arrival. At one point when Glennon opened his door, Ernst looked out and saw defendant with a security guard in the hallway; she immediately screamed at defendant, "That’s him! That’s him! Keep him away from me!”

Within a few minutes, the police arrived, and Ernst was taken to Northwestern Hospital. She required eight stitches in her knee where she had been stabbed. She also suffered bruises and a bump on the back of her head as a result of the attack.

On cross-examination, Ernst stated that during the six months she resided in the building, maintenance men periodically had entered her apartment in her absence to make repairs; she insisted, however, that she saw and recognized her attacker. She further stated that defendant was pulled down when she fell, but that he was not pulled into the tub, which had "very little” water in it because it had been draining out as she showered. She conceded that there were two or three maintenance men who, like defendant, were Hispanic. On redirect examination, she contended that none of the other Hispanic maintenance men resembled defendant.

Glennon testified that when Ernst entered his apartment, she told him that she recognized her attacker, stating that "it was one of the maintenance guys.” He also corroborated Ernst’s testimony regarding her identification of defendant as he walked down the hall with the security guard.

Alejandro Negron, a Parkshore doorman and security guard, testified that at about 6:30 a.m. on February 5, 1992, he received a call from a tenant who had heard screaming which she believed came from the twenty-fourth floor. He radioed defendant, who was on-duty at the time, and" told him to investigate. About one minute later, he received a call from another tenant who had heard screaming that she thought came from the twenty-second floor. Negron again radioed defendant and told him to check the twenty-second floor. A few minutes later, defendant came to the lobby and reported that he had found nothing. Negron and defendant then went together to the twenty-fourth floor and checked that floor and each of three lower floors, descending on the staircase. "When they reached the twenty-first floor, Glennon called to them that the victim was in his apartment. Ernst looked out and identified defendant as her attacker.

Negron testified that monitors were positioned at his desk in the lobby of the building and that he had not noticed anyone unusual entering or exiting the building that morning. He also stated that defendant did not resemble the other two Hispanic maintenance men who worked at Parkshore.

On cross-examination, Negron recalled that when defendant came down to the lobby, he looked neat and had a calm demeanor. Defendant asked Negron to call his boss, Joe Cacic, after Ernst accused him of attacking her.

Officer Frank Bresnahan testified that he and his partner were called to the Parkshore at about 7 a.m. on February 5, 1992. He met with defendant and noticed that he had some small bloodstains on his shirt. At Bresnahan’s request, defendant changed shirts and gave Bresnahan his uniform shirt. Bresnahan noticed that defendant’s uniform shirt was tight on him. On cross-examination, Bresnahan recalled that defendant did not look wet and that a search of the area failed to uncover a weapon.

Detective William Mosher, who was assigned to investigate the assault on Ernst, testified that he and his partner interviewed defendant at about 11 a.m. after informing him of his Miranda rights. Mosher noticed scratches on defendant’s left cheek and when he inquired of defendant how he got them, he stated that he could not remember. Mosher also noticed an approximately two-inch cut extending from the top of defendant’s thumb down the back of the finger. The cut did not appear to be from a hangnail or nail biting.

Defendant related to Mosher that he arrived at work at about 6 a.m. that morning and that he was assigned to clean model apartments on the twenty-fifth floor. While there, he received the radio message from Negron regarding a woman screaming somewhere between the twenty-second and twenty-fourth floors. Defendant stated that he checked those three floors and, after finding nothing, went to the lobby.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
637 N.E.2d 1044, 202 Ill. Dec. 308, 264 Ill. App. 3d 667, 1994 Ill. App. LEXIS 840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-zarate-illappct-1994.