People v. Holland
| Decision Date | 09 May 2023 |
| Docket Number | 4-22-0384 |
| Citation | 2023 IL App (4th) 220384 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANDREW HOLLAND, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Winnebago County No. 20CF2041. Honorable Debra D. Schafer, Judge Presiding.
Attorneys for Appellant: James E. Chadd, Catherine K. Hart and Maria A. Harrigan, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Springfield, for appellant
Attorneys for Appellee: J. Hanley, State's Attorney, of Rockford (Patrick Delfino, David J. Robinson, and Connor Goetten, of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.
OPINION
¶ 1 Following a bench trial, the trial court found defendant, Andrew Holland, guilty of criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(2) (West 2018)) and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He appeals, arguing the court (1) departed from its function and "crossed the line into advocacy" by questioning three of the four witnesses who testified at his trial and (2) improperly relied on evidence outside the record at his sentencing. We affirm.
¶ 3 In October 2020, defendant was indicted on one count of criminal sexual assault (id.). The charge was based on allegations that defendant committed an act of sexual penetration with the victim, A.M.G., while knowing A.M.G "was unable to understand the nature of the act or was unable to give knowing consent." During pretrial proceedings, defendant waived his right to a jury trial and elected to proceed in the matter pro se. In August 2021, his bench trial was conducted.
¶ 4 At trial, the State presented testimony from three witnesses-A.M.G., Mia Guerrero, and defendant's daughter, Emily Chambers. Its evidence showed that the three witnesses spent the evening of May 29, 2020, into the early morning of May 30, 2020, together. At some point in the evening, the witnesses, along with two other individuals, visited defendant's studio apartment in Rockford, Illinois. A.M.G testified that after an hour or two at the apartment, defendant drove everyone to a liquor store to "get drinks." The group then returned to defendant's apartment, where they watched a movie and drank alcohol. A.M.G. stated that while at the apartment, she drank Mike's Hard Lemonade.
¶ 5 According to A.M.G., Chambers eventually decided that she wanted to visit a friend in Belvidere, Illinois. Defendant then drove the group to Belvidere, where they visited the home of an individual named Ariana. A.M.G. testified that the group continued to drink on the trip, and she recalled that by the time they visited Ariana's house, she had consumed a full can of Mike's Hard Lemonade and "a little bit of a Four Loko."
¶ 6 Ultimately, the group, along with Ariana, decided to return to defendant's apartment. A.M.G. recalled "getting sick" on the trip and stated she "threw up" in a field near Ariana's house. She did not have any memory of the ride back to defendant's apartment and stated the next thing she remembered was "being placed on the bed." A.M.G. then remembered "waking up for a second" and seeing defendant "grabbing onto [her] ankles and his penis *** going in and out of [her] vagina." She asserted she "blacked out again" and woke up on "the couch bed" in defendant's apartment the next morning. A.M.G. denied that she wanted to have sex with defendant or that she gave him permission to have sex with her.
¶ 7 The record reflects Guerrero and Chambers provided substantially similar testimony to that provided by A.M.G. Guerrero testified that before May 29, 2020, she had never met defendant. On that date, the group was both "drinking" and "smoking" at defendant's apartment. She recalled that the group left the apartment once to go to Belvidere to pick up Chambers's friend, Ariana. During the trip, both Chambers and defendant drove. When they arrived at Ariana's house, A.M.G. vomited multiple times and Guerrero observed "foam *** coming out of the side of [A.M.G.'s] mouth." When the group arrived back at defendant's apartment, A.M.G. was unconscious and defendant carried her "upstairs," where A.M.G. "laid down on the bed." Guerrero testified everyone remained in the apartment "until the early morning." At that point, everyone left the apartment except for A.M.G. and defendant. Guerrero stated that when she left to go home, A.M.G. "was still unconscious."
¶ 8 On cross-examination, defendant elicited testimony from Guerrero that she spent time with defendant and Chambers on another occasion when defendant took them swimming. However, she denied that she spent "the whole month" at defendant's residence and asserted that she thought the swimming trip took place after the incident involving A.M.G.
¶ 9 Following defendant's cross-examination, the trial court posed several additional questions to Guerrero regarding whether Chambers drove separately to Belvidere, whether everyone that was at defendant's apartment went to Belvidere, and how defendant was acting toward A.M.G. during the course of the evening. In response to the court's questions, Guerrero clarified that Chambers rode in the same vehicle as everyone else on the trip to Belvidere. She stated that defendant drove, but Chambers "switched" places with him "when [defendant] was drinking." Guerrero also testified that everyone who was at defendant's apartment went on the trip. Further, she described defendant as acting "flirty" with A.M.G. by complimenting her and appearing like he wanted to "be around her."
¶ 10 On further cross-examination by defendant, Guerrero indicated defendant acted flirtatiously with A.M.G. both at his apartment and while driving. She denied observing A.M.G. take a blue Ecstasy pill during the evening, stated she did not remember what defendant was drinking, and asserted that defendant was also smoking "weed." Additionally, Guerrero testified that she remembered going to the lake with defendant and Chambers but, again, she denied that she spent "a whole month at [his] house."
¶ 11 After defendant's questioning, the trial court asked Guerrero if she had ever spent "a month with [defendant] somewhere." She denied having done so. The court also asked Guerrero to explain "the thing about the lake." Guerrero responded that she went with defendant and Chambers to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, but she asserted the trip was not a month long and she was not at defendant's apartment. In response to questions from the court regarding how long the trip to the lake was and when it occurred, Guerrero testified the trip was only for the day and that it occurred in "June or May." In response to further questions from both defendant and the State, Guerrero testified she never spent the night at defendant's apartment.
¶ 12 Chambers testified that at the end of May 2020, she had been staying with defendant at his apartment. She recalled "hanging out" at the apartment with A.M.G., Guerrero, and two other individuals on the night in question. At some point, defendant drove the group to a gas station to buy alcohol, after which they returned to the apartment and "were drinking and stuff." Chambers testified that both A.M.G. and defendant were drinking. Later in the evening, defendant drove the group to Belvidere to pick up Chambers's friend, Ariana. Chambers testified people were drinking during the drive, including A.M.G. On the way back to defendant's apartment, A.M.G. vomited, and Chambers observed something that "looked like foam." When the group arrived at the apartment, A.M.G. was "out of it" and unable to walk on her own. Defendant and an individual named Victor helped A.M.G. into the apartment and defendant "laid her on the futon." Chambers testified that both defendant and A.M.G were sleeping, so everyone else left the apartment. They tried to wake A.M.G. before they left, but she did not wake up. A month or two later, Chambers learned that A.M.G. was "saying [defendant] had raped her" and she questioned defendant about it. According to Chambers, defendant initially stated "he didn't *** do anything with her." He then stated that A.M.G. told him she was 18 and that" 'she wanted to.' "
¶ 13 On cross-examination by defendant, Chambers reiterated that defendant drove the group to Belvidere. She also recalled a time when Guerrero spent the week with them "at [defendant's] house." Further, Chambers recalled that, on the evening in question, defendant asked A.M.G. how old she was and A.M.G. responded that she was 18. She also stated that A.M.G. and defendant were touching one another and that A.M.G. stated it was her birthday and "she wanted to party."
¶ 14 Following defendant's cross-examination, the trial court questioned Chambers regarding Guerrero's previous visits to defendant's residence; the interactions between defendant and A.M.G. on May 29 and 30, 2020; A.M.G.'s drinking; how A.M.G. appeared after she had been drinking; where A.M.G. and defendant were located when Chambers left the apartment; and who drove the group to Belvidere. In response, Chambers testified that the week Guerrero spent with her and defendant at defendant's apartment occurred after the incident involving A.M.G. Additionally, she stated that on the night in question, A.M.G. acted flirtatiously toward defendant. She noted A.M.G. wanted to sit up front with defendant while he was driving and that defendant and A.M.G. were whispering in each other's ears. Chambers recalled seeing A.M.G. "rest her arm on" defendant but denied seeing "them kiss or doing anything more than [being] flirty."
¶ 15 Chambers further testified that...
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