People v. Gordon
| Decision Date | 04 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | NO. 5-16-0455,5-16-0455 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Richard L. GORDON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
James E. Chadd, Ellen J. Curry, and Elizabeth M. Crotty, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Mt. Vernon, for appellant.
Joshua Morrison, State's Attorney, of Vandalia (Patrick Delfino, Patrick D. Daly, and Valerie A. Ozment, of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.
¶ 1 The defendant, Richard L. Gordon, appeals his August 22, 2016, conviction, following a jury trial in the circuit court of Fayette County, of obstructing justice ( 720 ILCS 5/31-4(a) (West 2016)). He contends that the State was required to show that his conduct of furnishing false information resulted in a material impediment to the administration of justice but failed to do so. He further contends that his conviction should be reduced to obstructing identification (id. § 31-4.5), that his sentence was excessive, and that the public defender reimbursement fee should be vacated outright because the circuit court erred by imposing the fee, without first conducting a hearing in compliance with section 113-3.1(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 ( 725 ILCS 5/113-3.1(a) (West 2016)). For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and vacate the public defender reimbursement fee.
¶ 3 On June 22, 2016, the defendant was charged, by information, with, inter alia , obstructing justice ( 720 ILCS 5/31-4(a) (West 2016)).1 The information alleged that the defendant knowingly, with the intent to prevent his apprehension, provided false information to Deputy Bob Fritcher by telling him that his name was Brian Lynn Watson and that his birthdate was June 9, 1971. On July 28, 2016, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the offense should have been charged as obstructing identification (id. § 31-4.5)—a misdemeanor—and requesting the circuit court to dismiss the obstructing justice charge (id. § 31-4(a) )—a felony. On August 16, 2016, after a hearing, the circuit court denied the motion to dismiss. A jury trial was held on August 22, 2016. Our recitation of the evidence presented at trial is limited to that which is relevant to obstructing justice—the only charge at issue on appeal.
¶ 4 Bob Fritcher testified that he is employed as a deputy with the Fayette County sheriff's department and has been working in law enforcement for approximately eight years. Fritcher testified that he was on duty on June 21, 2016, conducting routine patrol, when he observed a white car with a license plate that was covered in dirt and, therefore, illegible. Fritcher testified that he conducted a traffic stop and it took approximately one half mile for the defendant—who was driving the vehicle—to pull over. When the defendant stopped, Fritcher exited his patrol car, approached the vehicle, and advised the defendant that he could not read the license plate because it was covered in dirt.
¶ 5 Fritcher testified that the traffic stop was videotaped by the body camera that he wears and activates with every traffic stop. After the traffic stop involving the defendant was concluded, Fritcher downloaded the video footage from the body camera onto a DVD, which the sheriff's department forwarded to the state's attorney. State's exhibit 1 was introduced, and Fritcher identified it as the DVD of the defendant's traffic stop. The DVD was played for the jury without objection. The video depicts, inter alia , the defendant stating multiple times that he had no identification and confirms the testimony presented at trial.
¶ 6 Fritcher testified that the defendant told him that his name was "Brian Lynn Watson" and that his birthdate was June 9, 1971. Fritcher entered this information into his computer, which yielded no record of any such person. Accordingly, to confirm the spelling, Fritcher again approached the defendant and instructed him to write down the information. After obtaining the written information from the defendant, Fritcher provided it to the dispatcher, who ran it through the database, which also returned no record of any such individual. Fritcher testified that he relayed the information to the dispatcher to ensure that he had not made a mistake or missed anything.
¶ 7 Fritcher explained that people usually lie about their names to avoid being arrested when they have outstanding warrants. When the dispatcher confirmed that there was no record of an individual named Brian Lynn Watson with a birthdate of June 9, 1971, Fritcher approached the defendant a third time and conducted a pat-down for weapons. During the pat-down, Fritcher detected what he recognized as a wallet and asked the defendant for permission to remove it. The defendant consented. Fritcher testified that he removed the wallet, opened it, and discovered an Illinois identification card bearing the name "Richard Gordon." After running the name Richard Gordon through the database, Fritcher discovered that the defendant had an outstanding Shelby County warrant and a revoked driver's license. Fritcher testified that the owner of the vehicle, Angela Hitsman, was occupying the front passenger's seat at the time of the traffic stop and Hitsman's minor child was a passenger in the back seat. Fritcher testified that, after the defendant was arrested, contraband was discovered in the back floorboard of the vehicle via a K-9 alert.
¶ 8 Ronnie Stevens testified that he is employed as a deputy and K-9 handler for the Fayette County sheriff's department and has been working in law enforcement for over 10 years. Stevens testified that he was on duty on the date in question and responded to the traffic stop involving the defendant. Stevens confirmed that Fritcher performed a traffic stop on the vehicle for a license plate violation. When Stevens arrived at the scene, he learned that the defendant had provided a name that returned no record. Accordingly, Stevens advised Fritcher to instruct the defendant to write the name down. Stevens testified that the defendant complied and the database again yielded no such person. Stevens indicated that when a name comes back with no record, the subject is lying to hide the fact that they are wanted or that they have no driver's license. Stevens testified that the defendant was arrested for "obstruction of identification" and that contraband was subsequently found in the vehicle via a K-9 alert.
¶ 9 After deliberations, the jury found the defendant guilty of obstructing justice ( 720 ILCS 5/31-4(a) (West 2016)). Defense counsel filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. The motion alleged, inter alia , that the defendant should have been charged with obstructing identification (id. § 31-4.5), because there was insufficient evidence to support the charge and conviction of obstructing justice (id. § 31-4(a) ). The circuit court denied the motion and sentenced the defendant to a 30-month prison term, with one year of mandatory supervised release. At the sentencing hearing, after imposing the sentence for the obstructing justice conviction (see id. ), the circuit court informed the defendant: "You'll be given credit for any time that you have served up to this point and be ordered to pay court costs as a result of this case." The circuit court subsequently asked: "State, do you have a cost sheet you are working on?" The State replied: "That's what I'm working on."
¶ 10 After admonishing the defendant regarding his rights to appeal, the circuit court inquired: "State, the cost sheet?" The State replied that it was calculating the defendant's dates in custody for which he would be credited. The circuit court informed the defendant: "In just a minute we'll have the cost sheet done to tell you your final fees and costs." The circuit court subsequently informed the defendant: The cost sheet itemized, inter alia , a $100 public defender reimbursement fee. The cost sheet was filed 12 days later and reflects total costs in the amount of $514.50. The defendant filed a timely notice of appeal.
¶ 12 The defendant raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether his conviction of obstructing justice should be reversed because his conduct of providing false information did not materially impede his apprehension, (2) whether his conviction of obstructing justice should be reduced to obstructing identification, (3) whether his 30-month prison sentence is excessive, and (4) whether the fee imposed by the circuit court to reimburse the public defender should be vacated for lack of a hearing, pursuant to section 113-3.1(a) ( 725 ILCS 5/113-3.1(a) (West 2016)).
¶ 14 The first issue on appeal is whether the defendant's conviction for obstructing justice should be reversed because his giving the false name and date of birth did not materially impede his apprehension. The defendant contends that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he obstructed justice because the officer discovered within minutes that the information was false, then searched the defendant, discovered his wallet—which contained his identification card bearing his correct information—and placed him under arrest within 10 minutes thereafter. "Where a criminal conviction is challenged based on insufficient evidence, a reviewing court, considering all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, must...
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