Village of Kildeer v. Munyer

• Decision Date: 01 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2-07-0316.,2-07-0316.
• Parties: The VILLAGE OF KILDEER, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Terry R. MUNYER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

891 N.E.2d 1005

The VILLAGE OF KILDEER, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Terry R. MUNYER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 2-07-0316.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

July 1, 2008.

Thomas E. Gribben, Lanzillotti, Gribben & Marchuk, Berwyn, for Terry R. Munyer.

John H. Kelly, Ericka J. Thomas, Ottosen, Britz, Kelly, Cooper & Gilbert, Ltd., Naperville, for Village of Kildeer.

Presiding Justice GILLERAN JOHNSONdelivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Terry R. Munyer, was charged in three separate cases with reckless driving (625 ILCS 5/11-503 (West 2004)). The defendant agreed to be tried on all three charges at a single bench trial. After the Village of Kildeer presented its evidence, the defendant moved for a directed finding. The trial court granted the defendant's motion with respect to two of the cases but sua sponte ruled that it was going to consider the evidence presented on those charges as evidence of the defendant's motive and intent on the remaining charge. Following the presentation of the defendant's evidence, the trial court found the defendant guilty of reckless driving and sentenced him to one year of conditional discharge, plus fines and costs. On appeal, the defendant argues that (1) it was error for the trial court to admit the other-crimes evidence sua sponte; (2) the admission of the other-crimes evidence was improper; and (3) he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of reckless driving. For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

I. Background

The defendant was charged with reckless driving (625 ILCS 5/11-503 (West 2004)) in three separate cases. In case No. 06-TR-168184, the defendant was charged with reckless driving against Ellen Filley and Amy McAuley on September 18, 2006 (the September 18 case). In case No. 06-TR-168182, the defendant was charged with reckless driving against Todd Williams on October 7, 2006 (the October 7 case). In case No. 06-TR-168180, the defendant was charged with reckless driving against Kaitlin Williams on October 9, 2006 (the October 9 case).¹ The parties agreed that, although the three incidents occurred on different days and involved different witnesses, the court would hear all three cases together.

A bench trial took place on December 20, 2006. According to the bystander's report, the following facts were adduced at trial. Todd Williams testified that on October 7, 2006, at approximately 3:15 p.m., he was driving his vehicle on Oak Ridge Lane when the defendant, who was driving a red truck, approached his vehicle from the opposite direction. The defendant swerved his truck toward Williams' vehicle, forcing Williams to leave the road to avoid being struck by the defendant's truck. Williams did not call the police. There had been bad feelings between himself and the defendant for some time, and he believed that there were problems between the defendant and other people in the neighborhood.

Kaitlin Williams, Todd Williams' daughter, testified that she was 16 years old. On October 9, 2006, at approximately 10 a.m., she was driving the family car east on Pheasant Hill Road, which is a neighborhood road with no center line, when she saw the defendant approaching her from the west in a Cadillac Escalade. The defendant's son was in his vehicle. The defendant's vehicle was partially on Kaitlin's side of the road, causing her to steer off the road to avoid being struck by the defendant. Two of her vehicle's wheels left the road. There was no contact between the two vehicles.

Ellen Filley and Amy McAuley testified to an incident that allegedly occurred on September 18, 2006, at approximately 11:30 a.m. Both testified that they live in the same neighborhood as the defendant and the Williamses. On September 18, Filley and McAuley were driving their vans toward each other near the intersection of Oak Ridge Lane and Pheasant Hill Road, and they stopped at the intersection to talk. While stopped at the intersection, with the open driver-side windows of their vehicles next to each other, they saw the defendant drive his vehicle in their direction. They did not move. They thought the defendant was going to strike their vehicles, but he pulled his vehicle away at the last minute to avoid striking them. The defendant's vehicle left the road to avoid striking them.

Thereafter, the prosecution rested. The defendant moved for a directed finding in each case, arguing that the evidence was insufficient and that the complaints were inadequate for failing to give factual descriptions of the alleged acts sufficient to support the charges. On the latter ground, the court granted the defendant's motion with respect to the October 7 case and the October 9 case. Nevertheless, the court stated that it would consider the testimony in those cases in determining whether the defendant was guilty in the September 18 case. Defense counsel asked the court on what legal basis it was doing so. The court stated that it would consider the evidence in regard to the defendant's motive and intent.

The defendant testified that he was a self-employed contractor and that he lived in the same neighborhood as the prosecution witnesses. The defendant denied committing any of the alleged acts. With respect to the September 18 case, the defendant testified that on September 18, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., he was repairing shelves at the Toma-Rosa restaurant in Arlington Heights. The defendant submitted a work order in support of his testimony. Prior to leaving the restaurant, the defendant ordered a sandwich to take with him. The defendant submitted a receipt for payment showing a time stamp of 12:16 p.m. The restaurant is approximately 10 miles from his neighborhood, and it is about a 20-minute drive away. The defendant testified that he was not at the intersection of Oak Ridge Lane and Pheasant Hill Road at 11:30 a.m.

With respect to the October 7 case, the defendant testified that on October 7, 2006, he was working at the home of John Nerlinger in Arlington Heights between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m. When he finished the job, he drove home, arriving at approximately 5 p.m. He was not on Oak Ridge Lane at 3:15 p.m., and he did not commit any of the acts alleged by Todd Williams.

With respect to the October 9 case, the defendant testified that on October 9, 2006, he left his house at 9 a.m. with his son, and they went to breakfast at Alemar's Restaurant in Arlington Heights. The defendant was driving a red truck. They finished breakfast shortly before 10 a.m., and they proceeded to the Arlington Coin and Card Shop, where the defendant purchased two coins. The defendant submitted a receipt from the Arlington Coin and Card Shop. The defendant and his son left the store at approximately 11 a.m. The defendant was not in the area of the alleged incident at 10 a.m., and he never forced Kaitlin Williams' vehicle off the road.

Tommy Munyer, the defendant's son, testified that he was 10 years old. He was with the defendant on October 9, 2006, because it was a school holiday. They went to breakfast and then to a coin store, where the defendant purchased two coins. They rode in the defendant's red truck, and they returned home around 11 a.m. He never saw the defendant force anyone off the road.

Rose McCarthy testified that she owned the Toma-Rosa Restaurant. On September 18, 2006, the defendant worked at the restaurant from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Before leaving, the defendant ordered a hamburger to take with him. The work order and the food receipt submitted by the defendant were true and accurate copies of the bill for the work performed and the receipt for the food ordered on September 18, 2006.

Frank Starkey testified that he owned the Arlington Coin and Card Shop. He was present on October 9, 2006, when the defendant and his son came into the store. He knew the defendant and his son from previous visits to the store. They arrived at approximately 10 a.m. and stayed for about half an hour. While there, the defendant purchased coins. The receipt submitted by the defendant was a true and accurate copy of the receipt Starkey wrote for the coins. When the defendant and his son left the store, Starkey saw them enter a red pickup truck.

John Nerlinger testified that he hired the defendant to do some repairs at his home. On October 7, 2006, the defendant arrived at his house at approximately 1 p.m. and stayed until 4:30 p.m. The defendant was at his house at 3:15 p.m. that day.

The trial court found the defendant guilty of reckless driving, and it sentenced the defendant to one year of conditional discharge with driving school, plus fines and costs. The defendant moved for a new trial, arguing that the court erred in considering the evidence presented on the October 7 and October 9 cases. The defendant also argued that the evidence was insufficient to find him guilty. In support of this argument, the defendant attached photos of the street where the alleged incident occurred. The defendant argued, based on the photos and the fact that Filley and McAuley were blocking the entire road with their vehicles, that the defendant had to leave the road to avoid a collision. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, the defendant timely appealed.

II. Discussion

A. Admission of Other-Crimes Evidence

We first address the defendant's contention that the admission of the other-crimes evidence was improper. Evidence of other crimes is admissible if its probative value outweighs the risk of unfair prejudice to the defendant. People v. Gwinn, 366 Ill.App.3d 501, 515, 303 Ill.Dec. 715, 851 N.E.2d 902 (2006). Other-crimes evidence is admissible to prove any material fact relevant to the case (People v. Donoho, 204 Ill.2d 159, 170, 273 Ill.Dec. 116, 788 N.E.2d 707 (2003)), but it is inadmissible if it is relevant only to demonstrate a defendant's propensity to engage in criminal activity (People v. Hendricks, 137 Ill.2d 31, 52, 148 Ill.Dec. 213, 560 N.E.2d 611 (1990...