People v. Magnafichi
| Decision Date | 25 September 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 33836,33836 |
| Citation | 137 N.E.2d 256,9 Ill.2d 169 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. Lee MAGNAFICHI, Plaintiff in Error. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Charles A. Bellows, Chicago, for plaintiff in error.
Latham Castle, Atty. Gen., and August B. Black, State's Atty., Morris (Fred G. Leach, Decatur and Edwin A. Strugala, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.
After a jury trial in the circuit court of Grundy Countythe defendant, Lee Magnafichi, was found guilty of burglary and sentenced to a term of not less than 15 nor more than 30 years in the penitentiary.
On this writ of error, he contends that the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and that the trial court made erroneous rulings.
The defendant was charged with burglarizing the Veterans of Foreign Wars club rooms in Morris on May 23, 1953.The prosecution rests upon the testimony of four people who were at the club while the alleged burglary was committed (Bernard Wardinski, Kenneth Johnson, Mrs. Kenneth Johnson, and Calvin Westphal) and three others who testified to circumstances said to be related to the crime (Frank Hanson, Arthur Olson, and Austin Gaylord).
Bernard Wardinski said he opened the club on May 23, 1953, at around 12:10 p. m., and shortly after 12:30 p. m. was there with Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Johnson.At that time a stranger walked in, pulled a revolver, told the three to 'freeze,' cautioned Mrs. Johnson to sit still and ordered Johnson to 'hit the floor.'Afterward, he began directing them to the men's wash room, and as he was doing so two other strangers entered, one through the front door and the other from the rear.As one of the men opened the wash room door to check on the parties, Wardinski, saw another of them going through the cash register.And while he was confined in the wash room he heard a noise outside that sounded like the tail gate on a big truck being dropped or the dragging of chains.Calvin Westphal, another member of the V.F.W. club, arrived while the burglars were still there, and he too was put in the wash room.One of the men asked Wardinski to open the safe, and after the latter said he did not know the combination, he was locked in the boiler room.He remained there until after the burglars had gone.He discovered that about $150 had been taken from the cash register.
Wardinski testified at a preliminary hearing before a justice of the peace, at which the defendant was also present.But he was unable to identify the defendant as one of the men involved in the burglary.
Kenneth Johnson's testimony was substantially the same as that of Wardinski, and he was also unable to identify the defendant as one of the burglars.
Mrs. Johnson corroborated the other two witnesses, and she too was unable to identify the defendant as one of the three.
Calvin Westphal arrived at the V.F.W. while the burglars were still there, after parking his car with the keys in it in front of the club.One of the men asked him for the keys to his car and Westphal said they were in it.Then he was ordered to the wash room with the others.A short time later Westphal heard the front door slam and he immediately ran to the front.He saw that his own car was gone and noticed a blue Oldsmobile parked across the street.He also observed a dark scrape mark on the sidewalk next to the building.This witness likewise was unable to identify the defendant as one of the burglars.
These four were the only eyewitnesses to the burglary, and none of them connected the defendant with the crime.
The State also called Frank Hanson who said that he did see the defendant at around 1:00 p. m. on the day in question, standing on the sidewalk about one-half block from the club rooms.As he watched, a blue Oldsmobile drove up and the defendant got in.
Arthur Olson, the chief of police, testified that he went to the club rooms at about 1:00 p. m. and interviewed Wardinski, Westphal, and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.He checked on the blue Oldsmobile parked across the street and found that the universal joint at the end of the drive shaft was broken and the shaft was hanging to the ground.He also found fresh scrape marks in the alley adjacent to the club.He had the car toward to the police station, and that same night the defendant came with a tow truck to pick it up.When asked about the car, the defendant said it belonged to his sister, that he had borrowed it, and that it had broken bown in Morris.The police found a zipper bag in the car which contained several pairs of pliers, screwdrivers, a hammer, and a crescent wrench.Over the objections of defendant, these items were introduced in evidence.
In an attempt to link the defendant with the crime, the State called Austin Gaylord, who was the proprietor of a hardware store across from the club.At some time detween 12:30 and 1:00 p. m. on the day of the burglary, he saw a blue Oldsmobile drive up to the alley adjacent to the club and saw two men get out of the car, go toward the club building, and 'apparently enter.'He then saw another man get out of the car, after which he heard a scraping noise and a 'little...
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...conclusion and producing a reasonable and moral certainty that the accused and no one else committed the crime. (People v. Magnafichi, 9 Ill.2d 169, 137 N.E.2d 256; People v. Grizzel, 382 Ill. 11, 46 N.E.2d 78.) The jury need not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to each link in the......
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...v. Branion (1970), 47 Ill.2d 70, 265 N.E.2d 1, cert. denied (1971), 403 U.S. 907, 91 S.Ct. 2213, 29 L.Ed.2d 683; People v. Magnafichi (1956), 9 Ill.2d 169, 137 N.E.2d 256; People v. Howard (1979), 74 Ill.App.3d 870, 30 Ill.Dec. 737, 393 N.E.2d 1084.) If under the evidence two equally reason......
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