People v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 04 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 4-04-0460.,4-04-0460. |
| Citation | 307 Ill.Dec. 290,859 N.E.2d 290 |
| Parties | The People of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Bobby L. JOHNSON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
In March 2004, a jury convicted defendant, Bobby L. Johnson, of (1) two counts of attempt (first degree murder), in that defendant committed attempted murder of Lyle and Janice Knapp (720 ILCS 5/8-4, 9-1(a)(1) (West 2002)) and (2) home invasion (720 ILCS 5/12-11(a)(5) (West 2002)). In April 2004, the trial court sentenced defendant to two concurrent 60-year terms in prison for attempt (first degree murder) and 85 years in prison for home invasion, which included a 25-year sentence enhancement imposed under section 12-11(c) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/12-11(c) (West 2002)). The court also ordered that defendant's 85-year prison sentence be served consecutively to the concurrent 60-year prison terms, as mandated by statute.
Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) the trial court erred by admitting other-crimes evidence; (2) the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the offense of attempt (first degree murder) involving Janice; (3) he cannot stand convicted of both home invasion and attempt (first degree murder) of Lyle because to do so violates the one-act, one-crime rule; (4) his 85-year prison sentence for home invasion violates the proportionate-penalties clause; (5) his 145-year aggregate prison sentence is void; and (6) the court erred by ordering that his 85-year prison sentence be served consecutively to his 60-year concurrent prison terms. We disagree and affirm.
In November 2002, the State charged defendant with (1) two counts of attempt (first degree murder) involving Janice (720 ILCS 5/8-4, 9-1(a)(1) (West 2002)), (2) two counts of attempt (first degree murder) involving Lyle (720 ILCS 5/8-4, 9-1(a)(1) (West 2002)), and (3) two counts of home invasion (720 ILCS 5/12-11(a)(5) (West 2002)).
In November 2003, the State filed amended motions in limine seeking to introduce evidence of (1) other shootings that occurred on the same day the Knapps were shot and were allegedly additional acts that defendant committed in retaliation for the death of Antonio Perry (who is referred to in the record as both defendant's cousin and his friend) and (2) the gang affiliation of defendant, Antonio, and others. Defendant later filed a motion in limine requesting that the trial court bar evidence of his gang affiliation and prior bad acts. Following a January 2004 hearing, the court granted the State's motions and denied defendant's, upon determining that the other-crimes evidence was "inextricably connected to the issues" of the case.
At defendant's March 2004 trial, Janice testified that in November 2002, she and her husband, Lyle, lived in an apartment located at 339 Riley Drive in Bloomington. Around 8:30 p.m. on November 11, 2002, she was standing in the kitchen, while Lyle was in the bathroom. She heard her door loudly bang open, and a few seconds later, a black man with a gun appeared from around the corner and stood staring at her in surprise. He pointed the gun at Janice, and she curled into a fetal position against the kitchen wall. She was unsure whether the man had fired any shots toward her at this point. Lyle came out of the bathroom, the man pointed the gun at him, and Janice covered her eyes. Janice then heard two shots being fired. After a short pause, she heard two or three more shots and then heard the apartment door close. Janice stood up and tried to put pressure on her left ankle, but "it wouldn't work." She identified the State's exhibit No. 6 as being a photograph of her ankle wounds. Janice described the wounds as one "large open wound" on the outside of her ankle and a smaller cut on her ankle bone.
Janice also testified that immediately following the incident, she told the police that the assailant looked like Ty Johnson, who lived in the apartment located directly above the Knapps' apartment. She told the police that the assailant looked like Ty Johnson because both Ty Johnson and the assailant were black males who had corn-row braids in their hair. However, Janice denied that Ty Johnson was the man who fired the shots in their apartment. Janice acknowledged that she initially believed that the assailant was about the same height as Lyle (5 feet 10 inches tall). (Defendant was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall.)
Lyle testified that around 8:30 p.m. on November 11, 2002, he was in the bathroom of their apartment when he heard a loud crash. He came out of the bathroom and saw a black man crouched over Janice, with a silver pistol pointed toward her. Lyle was not certain whether a shot had yet been fired. The man then turned to face Lyle and pointed the gun at him. Lyle ran toward the man and tried to hit him. Before Lyle could reach him, the man shot Lyle in the forearm and Lyle fell to the floor. As he was lying on the floor, the man shot him three more times (in his chest, abdomen, and armpit). The man then left the apartment, and Lyle told Janice to call 9-1-1.
Both Janice and Lyle testified that two days later, on November 13, 2002, Bloomington police detective Matt Dick came to the hospital and separately showed each of them a photographic array of possible suspects. They both identified the photograph of defendant as the man who broke into their apartment and fired shots. Janice and Lyle also identified defendant in court as that same man. Lyle testified that he had "no doubt whatsoever" that defendant was the man who burst into their apartment and fired shots.
Corey Cottrell testified that in November 2002, he lived in the same apartment building as the Knapps and on the same floor. Around 8:30 p.m. on November 11, 2002, he heard loud banging, and shortly thereafter, someone knocked on his apartment door. When he opened the door, a man approached him and asked where the building's exit was located. Cottrell gave the man directions, and as the man walked away, Cottrell noticed that he was holding a chrome pistol. On November 16, 2002, police showed Cottrell a photographic array of possible suspects, and he identified defendant as the man he saw on the night of the incident. Cottrell also identified defendant in court as that same man.
Dick, who was the lead detective investigating the incident, testified that Janice, Lyle, and Cottrell all identified defendant from a photographic array as the man involved. On cross-examination, Dick testified that it was his theory that the shootings of Janice and Lyle involved gang retaliation and the intended target was Ty Johnson, the Knapps' upstairs neighbor. According to Dick, Ty Johnson was targeted because he allegedly was involved in Antonio's murder.
Bloomington police detective Tommy Walters testified and identified the State's exhibit Nos. 35 and 36 as photographs depicting two handguns recovered during a November 14, 2002, search of the apartment of Kaywanda Childs, defendant's then-girlfriend. Exhibit No. 36 was a photograph depicting a .357 Magnum revolver, which was found in a paper bag that was stuffed between the cushions of a couch in Kaywanda's apartment. Walters also identified the State's exhibit No. 13 as the .357 magnum revolver. He further identified the State's exhibit No. 11 as a bullet that he found underneath the carpet in the Knapps' apartment and exhibit No. 12 as a bullet fragment recovered from Lyle during surgery. (The parties stipulated that an Illinois State Police forensic scientist had determined that the .357 magnum fired both the bullet fragment recovered from Lyle and the bullet recovered from the Knapps' apartment.)
Defendant presented a defense based on an alibi — namely, that on the night of November 11, 2002, he was at the North Lee Street residence of Denise Perry, Antonio's mother — and mistaken identity.
Steven Roberts testified that on October 31, 2002, he, along with a male friend and two women, drove to a grocery store in Bloomington. After they parked, Roberts heard gunshots. He eventually got out of the car and saw Phil Harris, who was injured. Roberts tried to help Phil, who was his friend. While an ambulance took Phil to the hospital, Roberts stood outside the grocery store with Jackie Caldwell, Makwonda Johnson, and a man Roberts knew only as Ivan. Roberts learned that Antonio had been killed inside the grocery store. Roberts also saw defendant standing in the parking lot. Around 9 p.m. on November 11, 2002, someone fired gunshots into Roberts' residence. Roberts acknowledged that he did not see the person who fired the shots.
Aaron Harris, who lived on West Mulberry in Bloomington with his mother and brothers, Phil and Edward Harris, testified that Ty Johnson was his cousin. Around 5:45 p.m. on November 11, 2002, he heard gunshots in his mother's room. When he ran to her room, he saw shattered glass and bullet holes in the bathroom door.
Amy Orris testified that she lived on Partner Place in Bloomington and Caldwell lived next door. Around 6:30 p.m. on November 11, 2002, Orris heard a "couple of pops." She looked out the front window and saw a black man standing in Caldwell's driveway shooting a gun.
Bloomington police detective Timothy McCoy testified that around 6:40 p.m. on November 11, 2002, he responded to a reported shooting. When he arrived at the scene, he found ...
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