People v. Williams

• Decision Date: 27 February 1989
• Docket Number: No. 86-3017,86-3017
• Citation: 129 Ill.Dec. 228,535 N.E.2d 993,180 Ill.App.3d 294
• Parties: , 129 Ill.Dec. 228 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Eric WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 993

535 N.E.2d 993

180 Ill.App.3d 294, 129 Ill.Dec. 228

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Eric WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 86-3017.

Appellate Court of Illinois First District, First Division.

Feb. 27, 1989.

Randolph Stone, Public Defender of Cook County, Chicago (Janet Stewart, of counsel), for defendant-appellant.

Richard M. Daley, State's Atty. of Cook County, Chicago (Inge Fryklund, Joseph G. Howard, Jerry D. Bischoff, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice QUINLAN delivered the opinion of the court:

On March 23, 1984, the defendant, Eric Williams, was charged with robbery, home invasion, aggravated battery, and unlawful restraint. Prior to trial, the charge of unlawful restraint was entered as nolle prosequi. The defendant was tried before a jury in the circuit court of Cook County, and on June 11, 1986, the jury found him guilty of the charges of robbery, home invasion, and aggravated battery. Judgment was entered on the jury verdict, and the aggravated battery and robbery convictions were merged into the home invasion conviction. The trial judge then sentenced the defendant to eleven years incarceration for home invasion. The defendant appeals his convictions and his sentence.

The facts of the case, presented at trial, are as follows. On the evening of February 21, 1984, the victim, James Smith, a retiree who was approximately 70 years old, testified that he went to a tavern, had a shot and a beer, socialized with some other retirees, and then returned home to his apartment at 4659 South Drexel in Chicago, Illinois. When he arrived at his apartment, he unlocked the gates in front of his door, and closed the gates, but apparently forgot to re-lock the gates. At approximately 10 p.m., Smith was watching television in the living room of his apartment, when the front door to his apartment was kicked open. Smith testified that two men burst into his apartment, and that he recognized the two men as men who had recently moved into his apartment building. He stated that he had seen both men every day for approximately two months prior to that date. In court, he identified one of the men as the defendant, Eric Williams, and explained that the defendant lived in an apartment on his floor with a woman, Beatrice Topps. He said that the other man, later identified as Selby, also lived in his building, but on a different floor.

Smith testified that after the two men broke in, he reached for a knife on his table, but the defendant kicked it away. At that point, the defendant and Selby threw him to the floor, and attempted to cover his face. The two then stripped Smith and tied him up with a telephone cord. The defendant was, he stated, physically more aggressive towards him than Selby. Smith said that the defendant then went through his pockets, took his wallet, $90 in cash, and his credit cards. Both men, he stated, had guns which they held to his head, and the defendant told Smith that he would blow his head off if he screamed. Both men searched the apartment for about fifteen minutes, and then left while Smith remained tied up on the floor.

Approximately fifteen minutes after the defendant and Selby left Smith's apartment, they returned. Upon their return, they carried Smith to his bedroom, tied him to his bed, and gagged him. Again they threatened to blow his head off if he made any commotion. They searched the apartment a second time for about fifteen minutes, and then left the apartment, leaving Smith tied to the bed and gagged. Sometime later, Smith stated, they returned a third time and, at that time, he believed they stole his television. The men again left, and Smith remained tied to the bed and gagged. Smith was subsequently discovered at approximately 11 a.m. the next day when a neighbor heard Smith, who had, by this time, gotten the gag out of his mouth, yelling for help. The police were called and Smith was released.

While the police were preparing to take Smith to the hospital, Smith received a phone call from an employee of a Carson Pirie Scott store who asked Smith if he had given anyone authority to use his credit cards. Smith told the caller that the cards were stolen and told the police who had called. The police then took Smith to the hospital.

In addition to Smith's testimony, the State also presented the testimony of a Carson Pirie Scott employee, Ms. Gwendolyn Tiller, who worked in the store's Evergreen Park location. Ms. Tiller stated that on February 22, 1984, she was notified that the defendant was trying to use a stolen Visa credit card in the name of James Smith. She said that when she questioned the defendant, he told her that he was James Smith and that he lived at 4851 South Champlain. The man also agreed to accompany her to the store office. She then confiscated Smith's Visa card, and although the man had said he would go with her to the office, he gave his keys to the woman who was with him, and ran out of the store. Tiller and another security guard chased after him as he ran out of the store and down the street. An Evergreen Park police officer, John Eisenbis, who was on the street, saw the chase and ultimately apprehended the defendant. After Officer Eisenbis took the defendant into custody, Tiller returned to the store and found the woman, Beatrice Topps, who had been with the defendant.

Officer Eisenbis testified that, following the arrest of the defendant, he took the defendant to the Evergreen Park police station. He stated that when he arrested the defendant, he found Smith's health insurance card and Smith's calling card in defendant's possession.

Thereafter, Officer Rubin Garza of the Chicago police department, who had been at the Smith robbery scene, arrived at the Evergreen Park station, and transported the defendant to a Chicago police station for processing. A Chicago police department detective, John Garrity, testified that the defendant told him that he, along with Glen Selby, and Selby's girl friend, had broken into Smith's apartment, tied Smith up, searched Smith's apartment for money, and taken Smith's credit cards.

After the presentation of this evidence, the defendant took the stand and testified that he lived with Beatrice Topps and their two children, on the same floor as Smith in the apartment building at 4659 South Drexel in Chicago. He also testified that he saw Smith on February 21, 1984, sometime before noon, but that he never went into Smith's apartment. He testified further that between the hours of 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on that same day, February 21, 1984, he was inside his apartment at 4659 South Drexel. He said that he had Smith's credit cards when he was arrested because he had bought the credit cards from Selby, an acquaintance, in exchange for $10 and Selby's agreement to forgive a $45 debt which the defendant owed Selby. The defendant admitted that he knew the cards were stolen, but he denied any involvement in the Smith robbery. He further denied that he told Detective Garrity or an assistant State's Attorney, Gloria Coco, that he had participated in the offense. Finally, he claimed that he had not given an incorrect address to either Ms. Tiller or Officer Garza.

The State presented the rebuttal testimony of Officer Garza and Ms. Tiller, both of whom stated that the defendant had given them an incorrect address of 4851 South Champlain. The State also called assistant State's Attorney Gloria Coco in rebuttal, and she testified that when she spoke to the defendant on February 22, 1984, he told her that he had gone into Smith's apartment because the door was left open, but asserted that he had done no harm inside. Finally, the State called Detective Carl Silvestrini of the Chicago police department in rebuttal. Detective Silvestrini stated that he and Detective Garrity talked to the defendant in the Chicago police station on the evening of February 22, 1984, and that the defendant had told him that he and certain other people had gone into Smith's apartment while Smith was asleep, that Smith woke up, and that they tied him up and took his credit cards.

Defense counsel sought to have the defendant testify in surrebuttal, but the court refused to allow his testimony. At the close of all the evidence, the jury, as stated above, found the defendant guilty of robbery, home invasion, and aggravated battery, and the court then entered judgment on the verdict. The defendant's counsel, thereafter, orally moved for a new trial, claiming that the evidence concerning the identification of the defendant was insufficient. The State objected to the motion and the oral presentation. The trial court denied the oral motion and asked counsel to file a written motion. However, defense counsel never filed a written motion for a new trial, despite the trial court's request. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial judge, as stated earlier, imposed a sentence of 11 years imprisonment.

Defendant raises six issues on appeal: (1) whether the defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel because of defense counsel's improper actions; (2) whether the trial court erred when it allowed the State's jury instruction that referred to the defendant's involvement in the separate offense concerning the use of Smith's stolen credit cards; (3) whether the trial court denied the defendant the right to present a defense when it limited his cross-examination and refused to allow the defendant to present surrebuttal testimony; (4) whether the defendant's 11 year sentence was excessive under the circumstances here; (5) whether the defendant's 11 year sentence was grossly disparate in comparison to Selby's six year sentence; and (6) whether the trial court erred in ordering the defendant to pay restitution without first determining his ability to pay.

The first argument of the defendant on appeal is that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The defendant contends that he received ineffective assistance...