People v. Wallace
| Decision Date | 27 March 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-17-2388,1-17-2388 |
| Citation | 2020 IL App (1st) 172388,148 N.E.3d 883,439 Ill.Dec. 830 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Raymont WALLACE, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
James E. Chadd, Patricia Mysza, and Christofer R. Bendik, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.
Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg and Brian A. Levitsky, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel, and Victoria Bell, law student), for the People.
¶ 1 Following a jury trial, defendant Raymont Wallace was found guilty of domestic battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(1) (West 2016)) and sentenced to 2½ years' imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends that he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because the State failed to present sufficient evidence that he was in a "dating relationship" with the victim. He also argues that the court abused its discretion by not providing the jury with a nonpattern instruction in response to a jury note asking "what the law says a relationship is." We affirm.
¶ 3 The trial court sentenced defendant on September 14, 2017. He filed his notice of appeal on September 14, 2017. Accordingly, this court has jurisdiction pursuant to article VI, section 6, of the Illinois Constitution ( Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, § 6 ) and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 603 (eff. Feb. 6, 2013) and Rule 606 (eff. July 1, 2017), governing appeals from a final judgment of conviction in a criminal case entered below.
¶ 5 Defendant was charged by information with two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of domestic battery, stemming from a June 11, 2016, incident involving Teryl Busch.
¶ 6 Busch testified that she knew defendant for approximately five years prior to June 11, 2016, and, on June 11, 2016, was in a dating relationship with defendant. She had been dating defendant for approximately six to eight months. She also had been "with him" three years prior to the date in question. She explained that they saw each other every night, had a sexual relationship, and communicated during each day. When Busch would receive her welfare check, the pair would go shopping. Defendant kept items at Busch's apartment, including a shirt and toothbrush.
¶ 7 On June 11, 2016, Busch was at her apartment on West Hollywood Avenue. Defendant came over and demanded $40. After Busch refused to give him the money, he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her toward the window where a chair was located. Busch stated that she could not breathe and was able to slide off the chair and out of his grip. She fell to the floor, and defendant started hitting her on the head and face, causing her ear to bleed, knocking out her teeth, and breaking her jaw. Defendant then grabbed his bike and left the residence. Busch called 911 and told them her boyfriend had hit her. She was transported by ambulance to Swedish Hospital for treatment. Busch identified People's Exhibit Nos. 1 through 3 as accurate photos of her appearance on June 11, 2016, and these photos were published for the jury.
¶ 8 On cross-examination, Busch testified that she initially only knew defendant as "Cas," which was short for Cassanova. She considered defendant her boyfriend because of the time he spent at her house. She stated that she "groomed him" and that he kept her company. She explained that he helped her once in a while and "was loving." On June 11, Busch called defendant and told him she was headed home before he came over. She acknowledged that she told a detective and assistant state's attorney on June 12, 2016, that her relationship with defendant was strictly "bed partners." She denied telling the detective and assistant state's attorney that she and defendant did drugs. She clarified that defendant's visits were more for company than anything sexual.
¶ 9 Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Gary Creager testified that on June 11, 2016, about 6:30 p.m., he responded to a battery call on West Hollywood Avenue. There, Creager observed a female victim crying hysterically and saying her boyfriend tried to kill her. She was bleeding "pretty heavily" from her right eye and mouth and holding a tooth in her hand. Creager identified photos of Busch depicting the injuries he observed.
¶ 10 On June 11, 2016, Chicago police officer Dinkha responded to a call and observed Busch, who had cuts, bruises, and a lost tooth.1 Busch was crying, in pain, and very furious. Dinkha obtained a description of Busch's perpetrator from her at the hospital, and an evidence technician was called to take photographs of her. Dinkha relayed the description on her police radio. Chicago police officer Ricardo Fernandez, who was on duty near Clark Street and Ridge Avenue, saw a man matching the description provided by Dinkha. Fernandez placed defendant into custody. On cross-examination, Fernandez stated he did not observe any injuries to defendant's hands and defendant did not tell Fernandez about any injuries.
¶ 11 The State rested. Defendant made a motion for a finding of acquittal based on insufficient evidence of the injuries and of a domestic or dating relationship between him and Busch. The court denied the motion, finding that whether there was a dating relationship was something for the jury to determine.
¶ 12 Dr. Anne Newbold examined Busch at Swedish Covenant Hospital at 7:47 p.m. on June 11, 2016. She testified that Busch admitted to alcohol use that day. Busch had a laceration by her right eye, pain and a bruise to her right shoulder, one of her teeth had fallen out, and had a small facial fracture near the missing tooth. On cross-examination, Newbold stated Busch's blood alcohol level was 0.03, which is a "low level," and there were no tests administered to determine if Busch was under any other medication or substances.
¶ 13 Defendant testified that he and Busch were "bed buddies." He explained this meant they were two people who just have sex, and, in this case, they used drugs together. Defendant provided marijuana, and Busch provided crack cocaine. Busch often wanted defendant to bring drugs to her house, and he would comply. He denied ever going shopping or going to grocery stores or movies with her. Defendant stated that their relationship started in 2012. In 2014 or 2015, defendant broke up with Busch because she would drink and accuse him of "things." In 2016, they got back together. On June 10, 2016, Busch called defendant, and he visited her. She gave him money to purchase drugs. They consumed drugs and had sex.
¶ 14 On June 11, 2016, Busch called defendant and asked him to come over. He did so after she called several more times. When defendant entered her apartment, he left his bike in her hallway entrance and observed that she was angry about something. Defendant ate while Busch changed clothes and used crack cocaine. He also smoked marijuana. Busch then asked him to get her "some crack rock" from Howard Street. Defendant refused because they are "gangbanging up there." She told him she would not have sex with him if he did not get the drugs. As he went to leave the apartment, Busch punched him in the mouth. He explained that Busch had a knife in her hands and "was swinging wild[ly]" at him. Defendant, who received several cuts, grabbed her, threw her on the bed, and ran to the door. Before he reached the front door, Busch caught up to him, and he hit her in the eye. He testified that he hit her in self-defense, as he raised his arms to block her from stabbing him. Busch slipped, and defendant grabbed his bike and attempted to leave. He also fell, and the bike fell on top of him. Busch got up and ran toward him but slipped again and hit her mouth and jaw on the bike. Busch got up, and defendant grabbed his bike and fled into the hallway. Busch chased after him with the knife.
¶ 15 When defendant reached the downstairs lobby, he called police, who told him to wait there. Defendant left because there were a "lot of gangbangers" in the area. He went to his sister's home, who helped treat his hand. After defendant received a call from dispatch, he approached the police.
¶ 16 On cross-examination, defendant identified photographs of his hands and face taken on June 11, 2016. Defendant said that the photographs of his hands showed cuts.
¶ 17 Tiffany Gue, defendant's sister, testified that defendant came to her home on June 11, 2016, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. with cuts on his hand. He stayed at her house for approximately an hour before leaving.
¶ 18 The defense published a 30-second video of Busch's interview with an assistant state's attorney and a Chicago police officer. In the video, Busch described her relationship with defendant as, "just strictly bed partners." She explained that "bed partners" meant that they "only have sex, and he comes over to my house and we smoke blunts and he goes to bed with me, wakes up, leaves." She was asked if she had a "physical relationship" with defendant, and she answered,
¶ 19 In rebuttal, the State admitted the photographs of defendant's hands and face used during their cross-examination of defendant.
¶ 20 Prior to deliberations, the jury was instructed that to find defendant guilty of domestic battery they had to find "[t]hat Teryl Busch was a family or household member to the defendant" and that "[t]he phrase ‘family or household member’ means persons who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship." See Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, Nos. 11.12, 11.11A (4th ed. 2000).
¶ 21 During deliberations, the jury sent a note to the court asking, "[w]ill you please give us more clarification on what the law says a relationship is." Defense counsel, relying on People v. Gray...
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People v. Allison
...a question regarding his credibility, and it was the jury's responsibility to resolve any credibility issues. See, e.g., People v. Wallace, 2020 IL App (1st) 172388, ¶ 30, 148 N.E.3d 883 ("Impeachment is a challenge to the credibility of the witness, and ultimately, it falls to the trier of......