People v. Bennett

Decision Date25 April 2002
Docket NumberNo. 2-00-1391.,2-00-1391.
Citation769 N.E.2d 117,263 Ill.Dec. 915,329 Ill. App.3d 502
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Brian G. BENNETT, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

G. Joseph Weller, Deputy Defender, Darren E. Miller, (Court-Appointed), Office of the State Appellate Defender, Elgin, Elgin, for Brian G. Bennett.

Paul A. Logli, Winnebago County State's Attorney, Rockford, Martin P. Moltz, Deputy Director, Lawrence M. Bauer, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Elgin, Kristine A. Karlin, Mt. Prospect, for the People.

Justice KAPALA delivered the opinion of the court:

After a bench trial in the circuit court of Winnebago County, defendant, Brian G. Bennett, was convicted of the murder of Gerald Baertschi. The trial court sentenced defendant to 50 years' imprisonment. Defendant appeals, raising the following contentions: (1) that the State presented insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction of first-degree murder; (2) that he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to a jury trial; (3) that the trial court's findings were inconsistent; and (4) that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him to 50 years' imprisonment. We affirm.

I. FACTS

Defendant was charged by indictment with first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 1998)), reckless homicide (720 ILCS 5/9-3(a) (West 1998)), and failing to report an accident involving personal injury or death (625 ILCS 5/11-401(b) (West 1998)). The charges arose out of an incident in which defendant struck Gerald Baertschi, a pedestrian, with his automobile at Viking Lanes bowling alley in South Beloit.

Before trial, the State filed a motion in limine seeking, among other things, an order allowing the State to introduce testimony that defendant was very angry just prior to the action that caused the victim's death. The trial court ruled on the State's motion as follows:

"The court will allow the State to bring out evidence as listed in their Motion in Limine, except that with respect to number 5, the defendant's mental state, rather, they can testify to what they saw, what they saw and heard, but not what his mental state was."

Subsequently, defendant appeared in open court with his counsel and waived his right to trial by jury.

The evidence presented at trial, including large aerial photographs, indicated that Viking Lanes is a single-story brick building that faces east. The building has two entrances on its east side. The main entrance to the bowling alley is north of the second entrance into the bar. Directly in front of the building is a large parking lot with five rows of painted parking stalls. The parking lot has traffic lanes between the rows of parking stalls as well as lanes for traffic running in front of the building and at the back of the lot. There are two ways in and out of the parking lot, one away from the building in the northeast corner and one close to the front of the building in the northwest corner of the lot.

At trial, the State called Cheryl Nelson, who testified that she and her sister went to Viking Lanes on the night in question. Nelson said that as she and her sister were walking toward the main entrance to the bowling alley she heard car tires squeal. As Nelson and her sister were approaching the traffic lane between the parking places and the building, Nelson saw a car approaching. Nelson ran across the traffic lane to the building, but her sister backed up rather than following her across. As Nelson got to the other side of the traffic lane, she saw a large man being hit by a white car. Nelson indicated that when the car hit the man it spun him and he ended up on the windshield of the car. According to Nelson, when the man was on the hood and windshield of the car he covered about half the car.

On cross-examination, Nelson indicated that the white car came down the center aisle in the parking lot and turned right at the end of the row of cars. It was at that point that she saw the man spin around and land on the car. Nelson assumed the car hit him in the lower part of his legs. The actual point of impact was too low for Nelson to see. Nelson did not know what position the man's hands were in right before the car hit him. Nelson said that she did not see anyone right next to the man when he was hit but also said, "I am not saying anyone wasn't there either * * *."

The State's next witness was Nelson's sister, Nola Hathorn. Hathorn said that when she and Nelson got up to the front of the parking lot and approached the lane where cars drive past the building, Nelson said, "Get out of the way." Hathorn stepped back and Nelson ran across. Hathorn saw a car pull around and hit a man. Hathorn said, "It hit this gentleman-he was standing sideways-kind of from behind." Hathorn related that the car traveled for a distance with the man on the hood, the man fell off at her feet, and the car kept going. The man was on his back when he was on the car's hood and windshield and it looked like he took up the whole hood of the car. Hathorn said the car didn't seem to slow down at all; it just kept going. On cross-examination, Hathorn indicated that the car hit the man in the back of his legs, from behind. Hathorn said that the man did spin a little before landing on the car. Hathorn did not notice how the man's hands were when he was struck, but she did notice that there was a man standing very close to him when the car struck him.

The decedent's wife, Carol Baertschi, testified that on the night in question she was the janitor at Viking Lanes. Carol said that she and her husband Gerald Baertschi arrived at the bowling alley that night and she saw defendant fighting with "one of the [Van Fleet] twins." Carol yelled at them, and they quit. Carol explained that the Van Fleet twins were regulars at the bowling alley, and they knew she worked there. After exchanging some words with defendant, the twins went into the main entrance of the bowling alley. As Carol was standing in front of the main entrance, the twins came back outside and had more words with defendant. A lot of people came out of the bar, including Rich Anderson, the bartender, who was a friend of both Carol and the decedent. Carol said that defendant ran to his car and came back with a pipe or rod in his hand and was going to go after the twins with it. Some people whom Carol did not know told defendant to put the pipe down and to "knock it off." Carol testified that Anderson, her husband, and some people that were with defendant walked defendant to his car to get him to leave. Words were still being exchanged between defendant and the twins as defendant was being escorted to his car. Carol said her husband and Anderson walked back toward the building through the parked cars. Carol testified that a white car traveling really fast with its lights off hit her husband. Her husband rolled on the top of the car and fell off. The car took off. Anderson flagged someone down to follow the car while Carol ran out to her husband.

On cross-examination Carol indicated that the shirt of one of the twins had been ripped off. She did not see any blood on defendant. Carol said that her husband was at the end of the row of parked cars when he was hit, and Anderson was right next to him. Carol said that her husband was looking at her and about to cross the traffic lane between the rows of parked cars and the bowling alley when he was hit. Carol said that the car hit her husband on his left side.

Mary Garza testified that on the night in question a swerving car pulled out from Viking Lanes in front of her vehicle. A man ran out and said, "[F]ollow that car, he just hit somebody." The car headed east on Blackhawk Boulevard, stopped and let two people out, and then turned right, heading out of town. Garza followed the car and got the license plate number.

Beloit paramedic Michael Accardi testified that on the night in question he was off duty and was picking up his daughter at Viking Lanes. When he arrived, Accardi drove past the front door and noticed somebody with a long, brightly colored object in his hand. According to Accardi, the person holding the object "was quite irate, and he looked mad," while yelling at someone. Accardi parked in the rear of the lot waiting for his daughter and he heard tires screech and saw a man fall off the top of a car. Accardi did not see the man get hit by the car but believed the man was in the traffic lane right in front of the building when he was hit. Accardi went to the man and found him unconscious but breathing. Accardi believed the man to be seriously injured and directed someone to call an ambulance.

Sergeant Richard King of the South Beloit police department testified that on the night of the incident he was dispatched to an address in Rockton to locate a vehicle with a certain license number. At approximately 1:15 a.m., Sergeant King knocked on defendant's door, but no one answered. Sergeant King located a white, four-door Chevrolet Corsica. The Corsica was damaged, including a smashed windshield on the passenger side. Sergeant King had crime scene technicians dispatched to the scene, and the vehicle was towed to the garage at the South Beloit police department. Sergeant King also testified that defendant did not report an accident within an hour of the incident at Viking Lanes.

Other testimony presented by the State established that a search of the trunk of the Corsica revealed a club that appeared to be a jack handle. No latent fingerprints were found on the jack handle.

Jamie Rykowski testified that he was at the bar in Viking Lanes on the night in question. Rykowski went outside to the parking lot and saw a fight starting, but he did not see any blows exchanged. According to Rykowski, defendant went to his car and got a "night stick or something." Rykowski said defendant was threatening the Van Fleet twins with the object. According to Rykowski, def...

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