People v. Foster

2022 IL App (2d) 200098

198 N.E.3d 358

459 Ill.Dec. 568

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

v.Kennrith L. FOSTER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 2-20-0098

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

Filed January 18, 2022

James E. Chadd, Douglas R. Hoff, Jean Park, and Miriam Sierig, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Jamie L. Mosser, State's Attorney, of St. Charles (Patrick Delfino, Edward R. Psenicka, and Victoria E. Jozef, of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.

JUSTICE ZENOFF delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Following a bench trial, defendant, Kennrith L. Foster, was found guilty of attempted first degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/8-4(a), 9-1(a)(1) (West 2016)), three counts of armed robbery ( 720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(2)-(4) (West 2016)), three counts of armed violence ( 720 ILCS 5/33A-2(a) - (c) (West 2016)), aggravated battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(e)(1) (West 2016)), aggravated domestic battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.3(a-5) (West 2016)), and unlawful use or possession of a weapon by a felon ( 720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a) (West 2016)). The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate 80 years’ incarceration in the Department of Corrections. Defendant appeals, and we affirm.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 In February 2018, defendant was charged with the offenses referenced above arising out of the beating, strangling, and shooting of Angela Edmonds¹ on December 17, 2017.

¶ 4 At defendant's arraignment, the trial court explained that defendant had the right to plead not guilty and that his trial "either could be a bench trial or jury trial." Defendant pleaded not guilty. Subsequently, before defendant's bench trial, defense counsel explained to the court that defendant "executed and informed me that he wishes to waive Jury but go Bench." Defendant raised no objection. The following colloquy then occurred:

"THE COURT: All right. Let's go through the Waiver, first. Mr. Foster, I have before my [sic ] a Waiver of Trial by Jury, did you sign this?

THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir, I did.

THE COURT: You understand if you ask for a trial by the Bench, most likely myself on Monday, and you waive a Jury Trial, you waive it forever, you cannot come back and ask for a Jury Trial?

THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Has anyone forced you to sign this?

THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Has anyone promised you anything other than the fact you would not have a jury, to sign this?

THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Has anyone threatened you in any way to sign this?

THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.

THE COURT: You're doing this of your own free will?

THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Okay, I'll accept the Waiver and in that case, we'll set it up for trial on Monday."

¶ 5 On October 21, 2019, a bench trial was held. Edmonds testified that she and defendant met in about 2011 and began a dating relationship that eventually led to their marriage in 2015. Within days of their marriage, however, their relationship began to deteriorate, and in the summer of 2017, Edmonds obtained a divorce from defendant. Thereafter, she began dating a man named Lamongo Snow. On December 10, 2017, after learning of Edmonds's relationship with Snow, defendant began repeatedly calling Edmonds's cell phone. Over several days, defendant called Edmonds "hundreds" of times, begging her to end her relationship with Snow, threatening to harm himself, and threatening to harm her. As a result, Edmonds changed her phone number. On December 15, 2017, Edmonds and Snow married.

¶ 6 Edmonds testified that, in the early-morning hours of December 17, 2017, she was working an overnight shift alone at the Shell gas station and convenience store in Sugar Grove. She described the layout of the convenience store, noting that a long sales counter was situated to the left of the doors as customers enter. Beyond the counter was a short hallway that housed restrooms, as well as an office next to the men's restroom. The office included a sink, a desk, a computer to clock in, and cleaning supplies. A sign on the door to the office read, "Employees Only," and the door was propped completely open by a kickstand.

¶ 7 During Edmonds's shift, defendant called the store phone four times. Because defendant's information appeared on the phone's caller identification, Edmonds ignored the first several calls. Eventually, however, Edmonds answered, and defendant told her that he forgave her "for getting married," but that she needed to leave Snow. Edmonds told defendant to "move on," then hung up.

¶ 8 Edmonds testified that, minutes later, at about 3 a.m., defendant entered the store and approached her while she stood behind the sales counter. Defendant pointed a gun at Edmonds and told her "Don't run" or he would shoot her. Edmonds ran to the office in the hallway and attempted to close the door, but she was unable to do so because it was propped open by the kickstand. As defendant approached her, she panicked and fell to the ground facedown.

¶ 9 Defendant sat on Edmonds's back and began to hit her in the back of her head with his fist for approximately two minutes. During the struggle, defendant "snatched" Edmonds's wedding rings from her fingers. Right then, Snow attempted to call Edmonds on her cell phone, which was on the floor in front of her, and Edmonds and defendant both reached for the phone. Edmonds grabbed the phone first, but defendant began squeezing her hand and banging it on the ground. Defendant told Edmonds, "You are going to die, B***," and "If I can't have you, nobody can."

¶ 10 Edmonds testified that, while she begged defendant to stop, defendant, who was still armed with the gun, pulled the trigger. Edmonds testified that she "felt the breeze" from the gun and felt her head hit the floor. Edmonds acknowledged that she did not remember telling police officers that defendant shot her "before he started beating [her]," but she agreed that she would have been clearer as to the sequence of events closer to December 17, 2017. Edmonds explained that, after defendant shot her, he began punching her in the back of the head and strangling her by placing her in a chokehold for two to three minutes. Edmonds struggled to breathe, and she eventually blacked out.

¶ 11 Approximately 15 minutes after defendant left the Shell station, Andrew Rooker entered the store. Rooker testified that he used the restroom, then grabbed a soda and went to the register. No one was there to wait on him, and he did not see anyone else in the store. After some time, Rooker heard a phone ringing, so he looked toward the back office and "saw a foot through the door." Rooker went to the office and discovered Edmonds on the floor. Rooker checked to see if Edmonds was breathing, then he called 911.

¶ 12 When the police and paramedics arrived at the scene, Edmonds was "groggy." Even so, Edmonds told the first responders that "it was Ken" who hurt her. Sugar Grove police officer Roy Hamold testified that he photographed the scene and observed blood on the floor, but he found no shell casings or jewelry. Kane County Sheriff's Detective Amy Johnson was assigned to assist the Sugar Grove Police Department with evidence recovery. She testified that she did not find any rings, cell phones, shell casings, or projectiles. Johnson learned that a surveillance video existed, and she viewed it.

¶ 13 Edmonds was taken to the emergency room at Presence-Mercy Hospital in Aurora. Upon Edmonds's arrival, Dr. Marlaina Norris inspected her injuries. Dr. Norris testified that Edmonds had a facial hematoma, or enlarged bruising, on the left side of her forehead. Dr. Norris ordered a CAT scan, and she reviewed the images. Dr. Norris observed "a metallic foreign body" on the right side of Edmonds's head, behind her ear. Because there were no head trauma specialists at Presence-Mercy Hospital, Dr. Norris initiated the process to have Edmonds transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

¶ 14 Before Edmonds's transfer, Dr. John Tauscher, a radiologist, also reviewed Edmonds's CAT scan images. Dr. Tauscher testified that he observed hematomas in the subcutaneous tissue in the frontal area above the eye, a bullet-shaped metal object in the subcutaneous tissue of the right side of the skull, and a hemorrhage in the subarachnoid space in the right parietal lobe consistent with trauma from the metal object observed.

¶ 15 After arriving at Good Samaritan Hospital, Edmonds was treated by Dr. Leah Tatebe, a trauma surgeon. Dr. Tatebe testified that she observed several bruises on Edmonds's face and a metal fragment that appeared to be a bullet inside a one-to-two centimeter wound on the back right of her scalp. Dr. Tatebe removed the bullet "pretty eas[ily]" during an exploratory procedure. Dr. Tatebe explained that the bullet did not penetrate Edmonds's skull but that it caused a traumatic brain injury nonetheless. Dr. Tatebe noticed that, while Edmonds underwent physical therapy, Edmonds was unsteady on her feet, needed assistance walking, and suffered from constant nausea.

¶ 16 Lieutenant Richard Robertson of the Aurora Police Department testified as a firearms and firearms ammunition expert. Robertson testified that he reviewed the surveillance video from the store. He noted that he observed a "gaseous discharge" emanate from the gun while defendant held it to the right side of Edmonds's head, which, in Robertson's opinion, established that defendant shot at Edmonds's head at nearly point-blank range. Robertson acknowledged that Edmonds did not suffer the injuries one would expect from being shot under such circumstances. Robertson believed that this was because "environmental factors" caused the ammunition in defendant's gun to malfunction. Robertson explained that, when ammunition is particularly old or exposed to moisture, gunpowder can degrade, such that it does not burn properly. When that occurs, there is insufficient pressure to push out a...