People v. Barnes

2017 IL App (1st) 143902

90 N.E.3d 1117

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Mitchell BARNES, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 1–14–3902

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

Order filed November 30, 2017

Michael J. Pelletier, Patricia Mysza, and Lauren A. Bauser, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Christine Cook, and Gavin P. Quinn, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

PRESIDING JUSTICE BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Following a jury trial, defendant Mitchell Barnes was found guilty of home invasion and robbery, then sentenced by the trial court to consecutive terms of imprisonment of 18 years and 5 years, respectively. On appeal, defendant contends that (1) he was denied the right to a fair trial where the court prohibited him from presenting evidence of the victim's prior convictions to support his claim of self-defense, (2) the court displayed "antagonism and bias" toward defense counsel in the jury's presence, and (3) the court increased his mandatory minimum sentence by finding that he caused great bodily harm to the victim, even though that issue was not presented to the jury for a finding beyond a reasonable doubt. Defendant also contends that his sentence is excessive in light of his youth, lack of criminal background, and rehabilitative potential. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 A. State Witnesses

¶ 4 William Mallette testified that on August 12, 2011, he was staying in room 251 at the Homestead Suites hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois. That night, he left the hotel at 9 p.m. for dinner, returned to the hotel to change his clothes, and then left the hotel again to go to a bar. He returned to the hotel that night and smoked a cigarette in the hotel's designated smoking area. Three males, two black and one white, were also in the smoking area. They were discussing drugs, but Mallette told them that he was too old for that. He went back into the hotel, taking his money clip out of his pocket to retrieve his hotel keycard, and then returned to his room where he fell asleep.

¶ 5 He was awakened later that night by "very aggressive" knocking on his hotel room door. The person knocking told him through the door that the hotel was on fire. Mallette opened the door to his room where he saw a tall, black male, who punched him in the head. Mallette was not sure if the black male was one of the people he had seen earlier that night while he was smoking outside. The black male rushed the door, and a white male entered the room behind him. The two males attacked Mallette with a "barrage of punches." Mallette testified that he was being hit so hard and fast that he went to the ground to try to protect himself. The fight started in the kitchen area of Mallette's hotel room, but the two males dragged him into the living area where they continued to punch and kick him.

¶ 6 The black male punched him in the ribs, face, and kidneys, and Mallette asked them what they wanted. The black male told him that they were there to "rob and kill [him]." The white male pinned Mallette on his stomach while the black male kicked him in the ribs and stomped on the side of his face. The black male then got onto the bed and then jumped off the bed onto Mallette's lower back. Mallette lost track of the white male, and the black male threw Mallette onto the bed face down. The black male got on top of Mallette and put his arms around his neck and tried to twist it. Mallette testified that he felt like the black male was trying to "rip [his] neck off [his] body." The black male told Mallette that, if he stopped fighting, he would snap his neck, and it would be over.

¶ 7 Mallette tried to bite the black male's arm, which startled him, and Mallette was able to break free from the chokehold. Mallette punched the black male in the face and in the groin. However, the black male was able to put Mallette back into a chokehold and continued trying to break his neck. Mallette lifted the black male up onto his back and tried to run through the nearby window, but he did not make it out. The black male continued punching Mallette and then threw him facedown onto the bed. The black male stood on top of the back of Mallette's head and neck and pushed off the ceiling, forcing Mallette's face down into the mattress with his foot. Mallette lost consciousness.

¶ 8 When he regained consciousness, there was no one else in the room. He called the front desk of the hotel and the police and stated that he was in excruciating pain, could barely move, and believed his lung was punctured. The police and paramedics transported him to the hospital, where he stayed for one week. He discovered that his wallet, credit cards, driver's license, and cash were missing from his room. He testified that he has constant back pain as a result of the injuries he suffered that night.

¶ 9 On cross-examination, Mallette stated that he did not have any drugs in his system on the night of the incident but acknowledged that he drank several beers at dinner and at the bar that night. He denied offering defendant money for oral sex and denied touching any of the three males he saw outside while he was smoking a cigarette before the incident. He further stated that he had complained to the hotel management several times about the three males because they would smoke marijuana and drink beer in the hotel.

¶ 10 Joseph Stein testified that there were charges pending against him in relation to the incident with Mallette and that, in exchange for his testimony, he was agreeing to plead guilty to a charge of robbery and all other charges against him would be dismissed and the State would recommend a sentence of six years with boot camp. He testified that in August 2011 he was homeless and was friends with Joseph Pinsel, who lived at the Homestead Suites in Schaumburg. He testified that he would visit Pinsel at the Homestead Suites, where they would hang out with Gerard Golston and defendant, who were both students at Harper College. On August 12, 2011, he and Golston went to the Homestead Suites around 6 p.m. to visit Pinsel. They were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in Pinsel's room and then went outside to smoke cigarettes. Golston and Stein testified that while they were in the hotel's designed smoking area, Mallette approached them.

¶ 11 Stein testified that Mallette made "racial remarks" toward Golston and then put his arms around Stein and hold him that he was cute. Golston could not hear what Mallette said about him, but saw him touching Stein. Stein told Mallette to leave him alone and that he was a homophobe. Mallette asked Pinsel if he knew where he could get any cocaine and then showed the group some cash in a money clip. Mallette went back into the hotel, and Stein, Pinsel, and Golston returned to Pinsel's room. Defendant joined them in Pinsel's room, and Pinsel told him about the money clip and said that he wanted to try to steal it. Golston testified, however, that it was defendant's idea to steal the money clip and that defendant was the first person to suggest robbing Mallette. Defendant started to formulate a plan to steal the money clip whereby defendant would knock on Mallette's hotel room door and tackle or hit him when he opened the door. Then, Golston would go into the room and take the money clip while Stein waited outside in case defendant needed help with Mallette. Pinsel was supposed to stay in the hallway and be a lookout.

¶ 12 Defendant and Stein left the room, but Golston testified that he and Pinsel stayed in the room because Golston did not want to take part in the plan. Once Golston saw defendant knock on Mallette's door, Golston ran out of the hotel and went to the convenience store across the street. Stein testified that he was behind a wall when defendant knocked on the door, but after Mallette opened the door, Stein testified that he heard a "boom," as if defendant had tackled Mallette. Stein entered the room and saw defendant and Mallette fighting. Defendant was punching Mallette in the face and ribs and then started choking him. Stein grabbed the money clip from the kitchen counter and told defendant to leave with him. Defendant did not stop choking Mallette, however, and told Mallette that he was going to kill him. Stein ran outside to the parking lot, and defendant came out 45 minutes later wearing different clothes and shoes. Defendant told Stein that he changed clothes because he had blood on the clothes he had been wearing. He also told Stein that he was not sure if he killed Mallette or if he just hurt him badly. Stein observed that defendant had swollen knuckles and a bite mark on his arm.

¶ 13 Stein and defendant drove to a gas station and tried to use a credit card from Mallette's money clip to buy gas, but the card did not work. They then went to Denny's and used a debit card from the money clip to pay for their meal. When they returned to the Homestead Suites, they saw a police vehicle or ambulance in the parking lot, so they parked in the parking lot across the street from the hotel. They returned to the Homestead Suites after the emergency vehicle left, and Stein returned to Pinsel's room while defendant went back to his own room. Golston testified that later that night police officers knocked on Pinsel's hotel room door and they spoke to the officers. Golston further testified that the next day he saw defendant with Mallette's money clip. On cross-examination, Stein testified that after they saw Mallette outside in the smoking area, Stein went to his room to apologize for telling him that he was a homophobe. Stein stated that this was Pinsel's idea because Pinsel wanted to see if he could see the money clip inside the room so that they could steal it.

¶ 14 Schaumburg police officer Jim Hackett testified that on...