People v. Corrigan, 4-84-0208

• Decision Date: 07 January 1985
• Docket Number: No. 4-84-0208,4-84-0208
• Parties: , 84 Ill.Dec. 924 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James CORRIGAN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 140

473 N.E.2d 140 129 Ill.App.3d 787, 84 Ill.Dec. 924 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
James CORRIGAN, Defendant-Appellant. No. 4-84-0208. Appellate Court of Illinois,
Fourth District. Jan. 7, 1985.

[129 Ill.App.3d 788]

Page 141

[84 Ill.Dec. 925] Daniel D. Yuhas, Deputy State Appellate Defender, Jane Raley, Asst. State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for defendant-appellant.

Anthony B. Cameron, State's Atty., Quincy, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, David E. Mannchen, Staff Atty., State's Attys., Appellate Service Com'n, Springfield, for plaintiff-appellee.

McCULLOUGH, Justice:

After jury trial, defendant was convicted of the offenses of residential burglary and burglary (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, pars. 19-3, 19-1(a)) and was sentenced to concurrent terms of 10 years' and 7 years' imprisonment, respectively. Defendant appeals from the judgment of the circuit court of Adams County. We affirm.

Defendant raises two issues on appeal: (1) whether the police had probable cause to arrest him so the trial court properly denied a motion[129 Ill.App.3d 789] to quash his arrest and suppress evidence; and (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing and punished him for exercising his right to a jury trial by considering its belief that he committed perjury at trial.

We first consider the trial court's ruling on the motion to suppress, referring to the facts as necessary to the disposition. At about 7 p.m., on October 31, 1983, Paul Long parked his truck in the lot at the Travel Lodge Motel and walked toward its restaurant. He passed a 10-speed bike beside a tractor-trailer parked on the lot. On the other side of the trailer he saw a Buick Regal car with a broken window, a rock laying on the ground, and a man in the car going through the glove box. The man stood as he exited the car. Long called police, describing the man as a white male, 6 foot to 6 foot 2 inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds. When police arrived, the man and the 10-speed bike were gone. Quincy police officer Ronald Grant transmitted a description of the suspect as a white male, approximately 170 to 180 pounds, about 6 foot tall, riding a 10-speed bike. About 20 minutes later he received a call from Quincy auxiliary police officer Roberts and civil defense officer Frank at 10th and Maine.

At the hearing on the motion to suppress on December 27, 1983, officers Roberts and Frank testified they came into contact with defendant because of the car burglary suspect description. The officers said it was very cold that night, and defendant was the only person they saw riding a bicycle. They noted his intoxicated condition. Officer Roberts said that when he approached defendant, who was in a sitting position, he asked defendant to remove a screwdriver visible in his rear pocket and lay it on the planter next to him. Roberts said he did this for self-protection, as the screwdriver could be a weapon.

Officer Grant testified that when called to the scene by the officers, he talked to defendant for 10 minutes or less, and advised him he was extremely intoxicated and could be arrested for riding his bike in the street, referencing Illinois DUI law (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-501(a)(2)), or for walking in the street, referencing section 11-1010 of The Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1010). Grant said defendant had a strong odor of alcoholic beverages on his breath, his balance was poor, and his speech was slurred. Defendant thereafter rode his bicycle on the sidewalk to 11th Street, got off the bike and walked it across the intersection between 10th and 11th Streets, and got back on the bike on the other side of the

Page 142

[84 Ill.Dec. 926] intersection and again rode on the sidewalk. Grant said he was aware at the time that he could have arrested defendant for riding his bike on the sidewalk. Grant drove his squad [129 Ill.App.3d 790] car down the street, pulled into a drive about half a block in front of defendant, who had crossed 11th Street, and stopped. Defendant rode down the sidewalk and ran into the side of the squad car. Grant then arrested defendant for violation of section 11-1010 of the Code and searched him on the street. The search disclosed a knife, a screwdriver, and the proceeds of a burglary, and led to the instant charges.

The court found probable cause existed at the time of the arrest, stating that when an officer who has probable cause to arrest for an offense mistakenly arrests an individual for another offense, it does not invalidate the lawfulness of a search carried out. The court believed the officer had probable cause to arrest defendant for operating a bicycle while intoxicated under section 11-501(a)(2) of the Code (DUI). The judge said the fact that the officer did not choose to advise defendant he was being arrested for DUI, but for unlawful pedestrian use of a roadway, was not dispositive, as the officer's...