People v. Kuykendall

• Decision Date: 16 August 1982
• Docket Number: No. 482-0069,482-0069
• Parties: , 64 Ill.Dec. 270 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Allen R. KUYKENDALL, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 521

439 N.E.2d 521

108 Ill.App.3d 708, 64 Ill.Dec. 270

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Allen R. KUYKENDALL, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 482-0069.

Appellate Court of Illinois Fourth District.

Aug. 16, 1982.

Daniel D. Yuhas, Deputy State Appellate Defender, David Bergschneider, Asst. State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for defendant-appellant.

Ronald C. Dozier, State's Atty., Bloomington, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, David E. Mannchen, Staff Atty., State's Attys. Appellate Service Commission, Springfield, for plaintiff-appellee.

WEBBER, Justice:

Defendant was charged by indictment in the circuit court of McLean County with the offenses of home invasion and unlawful restraint in violation of sections 12-11 and 10-3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill.Rev.Stat.1979, ch. 38, pars. 12-11 and 10-3). A jury trial was held and at the conclusion of the State's evidence the trial court directed a verdict of not guilty on the home invasion charge. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on unlawful restraint and after denying a post-trial motion, the court sentenced defendant to an extended term of 6 years' imprisonment.

The factual basis is relatively uncomplicated. The victim, Darryl Casper, was at home in his apartment on September 15, 1981, with two other persons. At about 11:45 p.m., a group of persons, including the defendant, appeared at the apartment door and asked Casper to come outside; instead, he asked them to come into the apartment. After some further remarks emanating from the group outside, Casper apparently changed his mind and attempted to close the door. One of the group from outside then seized Casper and several of them entered the apartment. Casper fell over a table onto a couch. Two of the persons held onto him by his hair and his arms while a third person struck him with fists and with a chain. Upon their later arrival, police officers observed marks on Casper's legs, arms, wrist and head. The melee lasted about two minutes and the persons from the group outside left. Defendant was identified as the person doing the striking of Casper.

At the close of the State's evidence, the trial court, after first indicating his disagreement and disapproval of our opinion in People v. Pettus (1980), 84 Ill.App.3d 390, 39 Ill.Dec. 736, 405 N.E.2d 489, directed a verdict for the defendant on home invasion for failure by the State to allege "without authority" in the indictment.

On appeal defendant contends that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of unlawful restraint and that the imposition of an extended term was improper because the trial court considered a factor in aggravation which was not established by the evidence. By reason of our disposition of the first issue, we need not consider the sentencing matter.

By indicting for both home invasion, a Class X felony, and unlawful restraint, a Class 4 felony, both growing out of a series of closely related acts, it may be inferred that the State was treating unlawful restraint as an included offense and as a fall-back position in the event of the collapse of the home invasion charge in order to obtain a felony conviction. Defendant admits in his brief that he was guilty of battery, a Class A misdemeanor. We believe that the theory arises from too liberal a reading of our opinion in People v. Satterthwaite (1979), 72 Ill.App.3d 483, 29 Ill.Dec. 3, 391 N.E.2d 162.

In Satterthwaite we indicated that the gist of unlawful restraint was the detention of a person by some conduct which prevents him...