People v. Moon, 1-16-1573
| Decision Date | 30 April 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-16-1573,1-16-1573 |
| Citation | 2019 IL App (1st) 161573,138 N.E.3d 208,435 Ill.Dec. 20 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Omega MOON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
James E. Chadd, Patricia Mysza, and Eric E. Castaneda, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Chicago, for appellant.
Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Matthew Connors, and Noah Montague, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
¶ 1 After a bench trial, the judge convicted Omega Moon of aggravated battery and sentenced her to 18 months' probation. On appeal, Moon argues that the trial court (i) improperly considered a fact not in evidence, (ii) failed to accurately recall evidence, (iii) assumed the role of prosecutor by sua sponte objecting to testimony, and (iv) allowed the State to elicit repetitive answers from Moon on cross-examination. While Moon acknowledges that she failed to raise these issues both at trial and in a written posttrial motion, she asserts that we can consider them under the plain error doctrine. We find that none of the alleged errors amount to reversible error and affirm.
¶ 3 Moon was charged by information with three counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(a)(1) (West 2014) ) and one count of aggravated battery on a public way ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(c) (West 2014) ). Before trial, the State nol-prossed the count alleging permanent disability. Moon asserted the affirmative defense of self-defense.
¶ 4 At trial, Michelle Johnson testified that on November 12, 2014, at about 6 p.m., she went with her friend Tara Sahara to pick up Sahara's children's report cards from Barton School, 7600 South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago. Sahara parked and entered the school, while Johnson remained in the car. Moon, who is Sahara's sister-in-law, drove by Johnson and asked where Sahara was. Johnson told Moon that Sahara went into the school, and Moon drove away. Johnson noticed a male passenger in Moon's car.
¶ 5 When Sahara returned to the car, Moon jogged toward her and chased her around the car. Johnson got out, told Sahara to stop, and tried "to talk some sense into" Moon. Then Moon took Johnson's purse from the car; Johnson grabbed the purse's handle with one hand. Moon hit Johnson's right eye with her closed fist three or four times with "[a] lot of force" until Johnson felt blood on her cheek. Johnson did not see a weapon in Moon's hand when Moon hit her. Moon drove away, and Johnson called the police. After attempting to follow Moon, Johnson and Sahara encountered police officers, and Johnson was taken to a hospital. Johnson agreed with the prosecutor that Moon struck her "[i]n the middle" of Wolcott Avenue, "right in front *** or right in the area of" Barton.
¶ 6 The State entered into evidence a photograph of Johnson's right eye that was taken on the way to the hospital. According to Johnson, her right upper eyelid was "split open all the way to the eyeball." Due to the severity of the cut, Johnson had to see a plastic surgeon at a second hospital. Johnson stated that she also had cuts on the side of her nose and under her eyelid, and that she developed scars in the same areas. She acknowledged that, in 2012, she was convicted of identity theft and unlawful possession of credit or debit cards.
¶ 7 On cross-examination, Johnson testified that report card pickup ended at 6 p.m. There were no other people on South Wolcott Avenue picking up report cards, and Sahara was the only person leaving the school. When Moon approached Sahara, the man Johnson saw in Moon's car stood "on the corner" of Wolcott. The following colloquy then occurred:
Johnson added that, after Moon struck her, she hit Moon in self-defense and was grabbed by the man who was with Moon.
¶ 8 Sahara testified that Moon's brother was the father of her child. She agreed that, on the date of the altercation, her relationship with Moon was "not good" due to a dispute over custody. At around 5:30 p.m., she picked up her children's report cards from Barton while Johnson remained in the car. When Sahara left the school, she saw Moon running up to her "three cars away from [Sahara's] vehicle" with a sharp, silver object in her fist and her boyfriend trailing behind her. Sahara ran around her car, and Johnson left the car to "defuse the situation." Moon took Johnson's purse from Sahara's car and walked away. Johnson grabbed the purse, and Moon hit her in the forehead near the eye with her fist, causing Johnson to bleed. Moon drove away, and Sahara and Johnson drove after her and called the police. Then, an ambulance took Johnson to the hospital.
¶ 9 On cross-examination, Sahara testified that Moon had guardianship of the child for 7½ years, which ended around the date of the altercation. She parked her car "[a]cross the street from the school" and saw teachers and other parents picking up report cards inside the building, but no one else left the building while Moon and her boyfriend chased her around the car. Sahara confirmed that Moon ran at her "with something sharp in her hand," which she thought was a weapon. She acknowledged that her car was unlocked when Moon chased her around it about 10 times, but she did not try to get into the car.
¶ 10 The State entered a stipulation between the parties that, if called, Dr. Kimberly Clawson, a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital, would testify that Johnson was treated for periorbital swelling and multiple lacerations in the area of her right eye. The State rested, and the court denied Moon's motion for directed finding.
¶ 11 The defense called Jalen Carter, who testified that on November 12, he and Moon, his girlfriend, drove to the house of Moon's cousin, Kisha Gladney, on 75th Street and Wolcott. When they got out and approached Gladney's house, a car pulled up, and Sahara and another woman jumped out, calling Moon derogatory names from 10 feet away. The other woman removed her shoes and "took the first swing" at Moon, who "defended" herself. Sahara attempted to join in, and Carter tried to separate the women. He stated that the confrontation occurred "right in front" of Gladney's house, and denied that Moon had a weapon. Carter and Moon then went to the police station, where Moon reported that two women attacked her. Afterwards, they picked up Moon's son from Saint Sabina Academy. On cross-examination, Carter testified that he did not see any blood drawn and that no one at the police station asked him what he observed. On November 19, 2014, he met with Detective Jesus Gonzalez and denied being present at the altercation. Carter acknowledged that he was convicted of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2012.
¶ 12 Lakisha Gladney, Moon's cousin, testified that Moon was supposed to pick her up around 6 p.m. to go to karaoke (Lakisha Gladney and Kisha Gladney are the same person.) Ten minutes before 6 p.m., Gladney received two calls from Moon and then heard a "commotion" outside her house. She opened her door and heard Moon sounding upset, but could not see what was happening. Barton is located near her house, and she knew it was report card day because she sat on the school council. Her neighbor was the only other person outside her house. On cross-examination, Gladney stated that her vision is impaired, and she could not see what happened when Moon was outside her house.
¶ 13 Moon testified that she drove with her boyfriend, Carter, to pick up Gladney at her home, which was "down the street" from Barton. Moon thought she was being followed. When she got out of the car at Gladney's house and saw Sahara and Johnson walking toward her, Sahara called Moon names and told Johnson to hit Moon. Johnson removed her boots and hit Moon's left cheek with her right hand. As Moon struck back in defense, Sahara approached her from behind, and with Johnson, pulled Moon's hair, scratched her, and hit her with their fists. Carter pulled Moon away, and she ran to Gladney's house and spoke with Gladney. Then, she drove to the police station and filed a report. Moon testified that she suffered "[a] great deal of loss of hair in several spots in [her] head," as well as "scratches and bruises" on her face, thighs, and hands. Moon was shown six photographs taken when she got out of jail one week after the altercation and stated they depicted bald spots on her scalp, a bruise on her face, and scratches and bruises on her leg.
¶ 14 On cross-examination, Moon denied that Johnson's eye was split open after the altercation. At the police station, she told a police officer named Barnes that she was picking up her son from Saint Sabina, that she was also picking up her cousin, and that two women attacked her. She denied telling Barnes that she was attacked at Saint Sabina.
¶ 15 The State then showed Moon each photograph depicting her injuries and asked whether she showed each injury to Barnes. During this line of questioning, this colloquy occurred:
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