People v. McIntyre

• Decision Date: 06 September 1991
• Docket Number: No. 4-91-0146,4-91-0146
• Citation: 578 N.E.2d 314,218 Ill.App.3d 479
• Parties: , 161 Ill.Dec. 187 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Bruce Lee McINTYRE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 314

578 N.E.2d 314

218 Ill.App.3d 479, 161 Ill.Dec. 187

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Bruce Lee McINTYRE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-91-0146.

Appellate Court of Illinois,

Fourth District.

Sept. 6, 1991.

Daniel D. Yuhas, Deputy Defender, Office of State Appellate Defender, Charles L. Jones, Asst. Defender, Springfield, for defendant-appellant.

Lawrence R. Fichter, State's Atty., Decatur, Kenneth R. Boyle, Director State's Attys. Appellate Prosecutor, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, Beth McGann, Staff Atty., Springfield, for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice KNECHT delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Bruce McIntyre was convicted of residential burglary (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 38, par. 19-3) after a bench trial in the circuit court of Macon County. He was sentenced to a six-year term of imprisonment and now appeals, alleging he was not proved guilty of residential burglary beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree and affirm.

Betty Houser of 3930 Bayview Drive, Decatur, was on vacation. While away, she asked her daughter, Jana Chisenall, and Jana's husband, Gary, to check on her house. On the evening of May 8, 1990, the Chisenalls checked the house and noticed nothing unusual. After leaving the house, they decided to drive around the block and go by the house again. On doing so they observed a white Dodge station wagon parked adjacent to the Houser property.

As they approached, they observed two men running from the backyard of the Houser property toward the white car. Gary observed two men get into the wagon but, as he and Jana pulled up in their car and looked inside, they saw only one person, whom they identified as defendant.

Jana asked the defendant if he needed help, but he only stared at them and sped off. They recorded the license-plate number. They then discovered a large gas grill in the middle of the Houser backyard about 10 feet away from where they had seen the men running. The gas grill was always kept on the screened-in porch attached to the Houser residence. They called the police, who discovered the screen near the porch door had been torn, and the porch door had been unlocked and was open.

At trial, defendant testified he made two trips to the Houser residence on the evening of May 8, because he was in the company of Michael Houser, who was checking his parents' residence while they vacationed. Michael Houser was also charged with residential burglary as a result of the incident. Defendant knew Michael socially, and had a vehicle for sale which Michael came to his residence to see. Because Michael had no vehicle, as a favor defendant drove him to his parents' home to check on the house. After arriving there, Michael remembered he had forgotten the house keys and defendant then drove Michael back to Michael's apartment to get them. They returned to the Houser residence, and Michael approached the house while defendant waited in his vehicle.

Shortly thereafter, the Chisenalls' van pulled up and Michael returned from the house and entered defendant's vehicle. Michael told defendant the woman in the van was his sister and to just drive away. Defendant did so without responding to the woman.

Defendant denied knowing Michael Houser intended to steal anything and denied seeing a gas grill. He also testified a prior serious injury and spinal operation prevented him from running or carrying heavy objects. Defendant's two prior felony convictions were admitted into evidence for impeachment purposes.

The trial judge rejected defendant's version of the incident, and stated he did not believe his testimony. The finding of guilty was based primarily on the Chisenalls' testimony regarding two men running in the Houser backyard, their proximity to the gas grill that had been removed from the porch, and the identification of defendant as the driver of the vehicle that sped away.

Defendant raises two issues on appeal. First, he contends the State failed to prove a residential burglary because any entry that did occur was only to a screened porch attached to a house. Defendant argues the supreme court's decision in People v. Thomas (1990), 137 Ill.2d 500, 148 Ill.Dec. 751, 561 N.E.2d 57, cert. denied (1991), 498 U.S. 1127, 111 S.Ct. 1092, 112 L.Ed.2d 1196, and the definition of dwelling in section 2-6(b) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Code) (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 38, par. 2-6(b)) require us to conclude a screened porch attached to a house is not part of a dwelling. We disagree.

Thomas held, for our purposes here, that an attached garage is not necessarily a dwelling within the meaning of the residential burglary statute. Our supreme court also stated it would wait until some future date to decide whether the unlawful entry of the porch of a house may constitute the unlawful entry of a residence. We need not decide whether every porch is part of a dwelling. We are satisfied this porch was a part of the Housers' living quarters.

The enclosed porch in this case is a wood frame structure with a wooden floor and dimensions of 8 by 10 or 12 feet. The porch includes both solid walls to a height of three feet and screen from that height to a roof. The floor, walls, and roof are all attached to the house. The porch has a metal door with glass inset and a lock to provide access to the backyard. A wooden...