People v. Curtis

• Decision Date: 09 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 1-03-1542.,1-03-1542.
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James CURTIS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

820 N.E.2d 1116

354 Ill. App.3d 312

290 Ill.Dec. 49

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James CURTIS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-03-1542.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

December 9, 2004.

Rehearing Denied January 3, 2005.

Michael J. Pelletier, State Appellate Defender, David W. Gleicher, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for Appellant.

Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, Mary L. Boland and Stephanie A. Buck, Assistant State's Attorneys, Chicago, for Appellee.

Justice THEIS delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant James Curtis was convicted of aggravated stalking, telephone harassment, and violation of an order of protection. The trial court then sentenced him to extended prison terms of 10 years for aggravated stalking, 6 years for telephone harassment, and 6 years for violation of an order of protection, to run concurrently. On appeal, defendant contends that (1) he was not proven guilty of aggravated stalking beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the trial court erred in responding to a question posed by the jury and gave an incorrect response; (3) the trial court erred in admitting the victim's prior consistent statements, which improperly bolstered her credibility; (4) the trial court erroneously considered a factor inherent in the offense of aggravated stalking in sentencing him to 10 years' imprisonment for that offense; and (5) his conviction for violation of an order of protection should be vacated because it violates the one-act, one-crime doctrine and is a lesser-included offense of aggravated stalking. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and vacate in part.

At trial, Deborah Chester testified that she and defendant dated for over 3 years until she ended their relationship and he moved out of her home in March 2001. During their relationship, defendant worked for ADT Security and ADT had installed a home security system at Chester's house. Their daughter, Jasmine Curtis, was born in January 2000.

The parties stipulated that on February 28, 2002, defendant was found guilty of a violation of an order of protection, under case number XXXX-XXXXXXX. The parties further stipulated that on February 28, 2002, defendant was served in open court with an order of protection numbered XX-XXXXXX. The record reflects that this order of protection prohibited defendant from, inter alia, stalking Chester, contacting her by any means, and entering Chester's house.

Chester also testified that on March 1, 2002, at 1:46 a.m., defendant called her at home and told her that he had pled guilty and he was "out." He also stated that "the next time he go [sic] back to jail, it would be for something more serious." After she hung up the telephone, Chester called the police. When Chester returned home from work on April 28, 2002, she noticed that her furniture had been slashed. She subsequently noticed that a set of keys belonging to her children's live-in babysitter, Jeneen Edwards, was missing, along with three leather jackets, jewelry, and some of Chester's court paperwork. She changed her locks shortly thereafter.

Chester testified that on April 30, 2002, between 9:30 and 10 a.m., she was home alone when defendant called her and said that she had "24 hours to allow him to see his daughter, or he'll kill [Chester]." Chester testified that she was scared and immediately went to the police station to report the incident and stated that she "figured this man would come for me, and I was trying to figure out what can we do to help me." At approximately 3 p.m. that afternoon, defendant called Chester again and told her that if she allowed him to see Jasmine, he would return the three jackets he had stolen from her house. Chester agreed to meet with him, but did not designate a time and place for the meeting. She then called the police. With Detectives Jasica and Devries, Chester arranged a plan to allow defendant to designate the time and place for the meeting. Defendant called again that afternoon and told Chester to meet him at the intersection at 95th and Lafayette Streets in 15 minutes and she agreed to do so. Chester and the detectives drove to the designated area in separate cars. Shortly after Chester parked on Lafayette, she saw defendant exit a van on the 95th Street side of the street. Defendant crossed the street and started walking toward her. He waved at her and motioned for her to come to him. He carried a backpack, but did not have the jackets with him. Chester remained in her car until he came closer to her, and then placed her car in reverse, which was the sign to the detectives that defendant was approaching. Chester then drove away from the scene.

Jeneen Edwards testified that on March 1, 2002, defendant came to Chester's home at about 4 p.m. Edwards refused to open the door because of the order of protection. Defendant repeatedly asked where Chester was, but Edwards refused to give him that information and told defendant that she was going to call the police. After speaking to the police, she noticed that defendant had left and she then saw him walking northbound on Wentworth Avenue. When the police arrived at Chester's home shortly thereafter, Edwards described defendant and told them which way he went. Approximately five minutes later, the police returned with defendant.

Edwards further testified that on April 28, 2002, she set the security alarm after Chester left for work at approximately 5 a.m. and then went to sleep. Several hours later, she noticed that the living and dining room furniture had been slashed and called the police. Edwards subsequently realized that her keys and leather jacket were missing. On cross-examination, Edwards testified that she did not see defendant inside Chester's home on April 28, 2002.

Officer Joseph Kwiatkowski testified that on March 1, 2002, at about 4:15 p.m., he was dispatched to Chester's home. Edwards told him that defendant had come to the home in violation of an order of protection. Shortly thereafter, Kwiatkowski and his partners found defendant walking approximately five blocks from Chester's house. After verifying defendant's identity with Edwards, Kwiatkowski placed defendant under arrest.

Detective Jasica testified that at about 4 p.m. on April 30, 2002, he and his partners were dispatched to Chester's home to investigate ongoing domestic and telephone threats. After Chester informed them of what had transpired, they developed a plan whereby the police would intercept a meeting between defendant and Chester. Chester would park at the meeting area designated by defendant, wait for defendant to arrive, and, upon seeing him, put her car in reverse and drive away from the area. After defendant called again, Chester told Jasica that defendant wanted to meet her at Lafayette and 95th in 15 minutes. Once at the designated area, Jasica saw defendant exit the passenger side of a van at that intersection, look in Chester's direction and wave at her. Defendant then began to walk toward Chester and motioned for her to come over to him. Chester put her car in reverse and drove away from the area. Jasica then placed defendant under arrest.

On cross-examination, Jasica indicated that defendant had a backpack with him when he was arrested, but that he could not recall what items were contained therein. On redirect, Jasica testified that on April 30, 2002, Chester told him that defendant had threatened to kill her and told her he would return the items he stole from her home if she would meet with him.

Officer Dorinda Rodgers testified that on April 30, 2002, she was working at the front desk in the police station when Chester arrived. Rodgers testified that Chester was shaking, "very upset" and "hysterical" when she made a report.

The jury found defendant not guilty of residential burglary and criminal damage to property, but guilty of aggravated stalking, telephone harassment, and violation of an order of protection. After denying defendant's motion for a new trial, the trial court sentenced him to concurrent extended prison terms of 10 years for aggravated stalking, 6 years for telephone harassment, and 6 years for violation of an order of protection. After the court denied his motion to reconsider his sentence, defendant filed this timely appeal.

Defendant first argues that the State failed to prove him guilty of aggravated stalking beyond a reasonable doubt. He contends that the State did not prove that he placed Chester under "surveillance" on two occasions, as that term is defined in the statute.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, our inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. People v. Valentin, 347 Ill.App.3d 946, 951, 283 Ill.Dec. 768, 808 N.E.2d 1056, 1060 (2004). The trier of fact is responsible for determining the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given their testimony, and reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence presented. Valentin, 347 Ill.App.3d at 951, 283 Ill.Dec. 768, 808 N.E.2d at 1061-62. A person commits the offense of aggravated stalking when he, in conjunction with committing the offense of stalking, also "violates * * * an order of protection." 720 ILCS 5/12-7.4(a)(3) (West 2002). A person commits the crime of stalking when he:

"knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2 separate occasions follows another person or places the person under surveillance or any combination thereof and:

(1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm * * * and the threat is directed towards that person or a family member." 720 ILCS 5/12-7.3(a)(1) (West 2002).

That statute also provides:

"[a] defendant `places a person under surveillance' by remaining present outside the person's school, place of

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