People v. Taylor

2022 IL App (4th) 210507

216 N.E.3d 338

465 Ill.Dec. 1087

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

v.Kylie TAYLOR, Defendant-Appellant.

NO. 4-21-0507

Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District.

Filed September 9, 2022

James E. Chadd, Catherine K. Hart, and Joshua Scanlon, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Springfield, for appellant.

Jacqueline M. Lacy, State's Attorney, of Danville (Patrick Delfino, David J. Robinson, and James C. Majors, 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 jury trial, defendant, Kylie Taylor, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(d)(4)(i) (West 2020)). The trial court sentenced defendant to 24 months’ probation. Defendant appeals, arguing that the State presented insufficient evidence to convict her of either count of aggravated battery. Defendant also argues that the trial court conducted an inadequate inquiry of potential jurors pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 431(b) (eff. July 1, 2012). We affirm in part and reverse in part.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 In April 2020, defendant was charged with two counts of aggravated battery against a peace officer ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(d)(4)(i) (West 2020)) (counts I and II), one count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer ( 720 ILCS 5/31-1(a) (West 2020)) (count III), and two counts of domestic battery ( 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(1), (2) (West 2020)) (counts IV and V). The charges arose out of events occurring on April 26, 2020, in which defendant ran from police officers who were responding to a domestic dispute and deliberately coughed at them to infect them with COVID-19 while they arrested her. Ultimately, the State proceeded only on counts I and II, which alleged aggravated battery against Officers Tyler Starkey and Jacob Troglia, respectively.

¶ 4 Defendant's jury trial commenced on July 7, 2021. During jury selection, the court asked the prospective jurors (1) "can you accept that the defendant's presumed innocent of the charge[s]," (2) "can you accept the proposition that before a defendant can be convicted, the State must prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," (3) "can you accept the proposition that the defendant is not required to offer any evidence on her own behalf," and (4) "should the defendant choose not to testify ***, can you accept the proposition that that cannot be held against her?" Every prospective juror answered "Yes" to each question.

¶ 5 Following jury selection, Starkey testified to the following. Starkey was a patrol officer for the Danville Police Department. On April 26, 2020, he was on duty and wearing a police uniform. That day, he, Troglia, and Officer Ryan Elmore received a domestic disturbance call at an apartment at 2320 North Vermilion Street in Danville. Once the officers arrived, they encountered defendant; defendant's girlfriend, Alyssa Rahm; and defendant's mother, Danielle Taylor (Taylor). The apartment was "full of yelling," so Starkey spoke with Rahm in the hallway outside the apartment. According to Starkey, Rahm told him that Taylor threatened to kill or shoot her. As a result, the officers arrested Taylor. While the officers did so, defendant was angry and hostile. Starkey testified that defendant was "cussing" and "asking, ‘Do you have a warrant?’ and all of that kind of jazz." Defendant then told Rahm, "I'm going to kill you." Starkey testified that one of the officers asked defendant "if she really said that," and defendant responded that she was " ‘just joking.’ "

¶ 6 Starkey explained that he and Troglia approached defendant to arrest her. As they did so, defendant ran to a bedroom in the back of the apartment, and Starkey and Troglia followed. Defendant shut the bedroom door, but Starkey pushed it open. Starkey and Troglia grabbed defendant and handcuffed her. Starkey explained that, at that point, he was standing on one side of defendant while Troglia stood on the other side. Rahm entered the bedroom and tried to calm defendant down, but defendant spit in her face.

¶ 7 Starkey testified that defendant then turned her head "to her left and to her right" and started coughing at him and Troglia, respectively. Starkey testified that he "felt a moisture on [his] arm" when defendant did so. The prosecutor asked Starkey if the moisture he felt was "spittle, so to speak," and Starkey responded, "Yes, in a sense." Starkey explained that defendant had not coughed prior to that point. According to Starkey, defendant could have avoided coughing on them, and it "wasn't like a cough that you were trying to clear a throat" but was "more of like trying to cough on somebody." Starkey testified that defendant then stated that she was under quarantine for COVID-19 and said, "I hope you f*** get it too." Starkey noted that he was frightened after defendant coughed at him because he feared he would contract COVID-19. He explained that this "was around the time COVID first was happening," and "[n]obody knew anything about it." Starkey testified that, after defendant coughed on him and Troglia, they walked defendant to a squad car, placed her in the back seat, and drove to the police station. During the ride, defendant was screaming and spit on the back of the clear cage in the squad car.

¶ 8 Starkey acknowledged that he did not mention in his report either that he felt "mist" on his arm or that defendant was screaming and spitting in the back seat of the squad car. Starkey explained that at the time of the incident, it was only his third month at the police department. He stated that he did not mention "mist or the spittle" in his report because he was trying to provide a synopsis of what transpired, and he "didn't think that specific detail was supposed to be in the report." He noted that Troglia's report did mention that defendant had spit in the squad car.

¶ 9 The State then called Troglia, who testified to the following. Troglia was a patrol officer with the Danville Police Department and was one of the officers who responded to 2320 North Vermilion Street on April 26, 2020. Troglia was on duty and in uniform. Troglia explained that when he, Starkey, and Elmore arrived, there was "a lot of arguing *** over property," and they determined that probable cause existed to arrest "the mother." While Elmore arrested the mother, Troglia was waiting for Rahm to get her property and leave when defendant stated, "If she stays here tonight, I'm going to kill her." Troglia testified that, after one of the officers asked defendant if she, in fact, made that threat, defendant responded that she " ‘was kidding.’ " Troglia then told her that "she was going to be arrested for disorderly conduct." Defendant ran to a bedroom. As Troglia and Starkey followed her, defendant "slammed" the door. Troglia and Starkey entered the bedroom and attempted to handcuff defendant, but defendant resisted. Troglia explained that he and Starkey were on opposite sides of defendant as they tried to restrain her.

¶ 10 According to Troglia, after placing defendant in handcuffs, defendant stated that she was under quarantine for COVID-19 and started coughing in both Starkey's and Troglia's directions. Defendant then stated, "I hope you f*** get it too." Troglia testified that defendant's cough was a deep and voluntary one, and he "could feel the heat of her breath on [his] face." Troglia explained that defendant had not coughed or showed any difficulty breathing prior to that point. Thereafter, Troglia and Starkey escorted defendant to their squad car and transported her to jail. Troglia explained that, when they arrived, he got defendant out of the squad car and saw "spit all over" the cage, floorboard, and seat. Defendant then stated, "I hope all of you officers get COVID after cleaning up the spit." Troglia testified that he was "very concerned because we knew nothing about COVID at that time other than it was contagious and people were going to the hospitals for it." Troglia acknowledged that he did not include anything in his report about feeling warm breath from defendant when she coughed toward him. However, he included in his report that defendant coughed on him and Starkey.

¶ 11 Defendant presented no evidence, and following closing arguments, the jury found defendant guilty of both counts of aggravated battery. The trial court sentenced defendant to 24 months’ probation on both counts, running concurrently. This appeal followed.

¶ 12 II. ANALYSIS

¶ 13 A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 14 Defendant first argues that her aggravated battery convictions must be reversed because the State presented insufficient evidence to convict her of those offenses. Defendant does not dispute that she was aware that Starkey and Troglia were police officers performing their official duties when the offenses occurred or that her actions were insulting or provoking. Instead, defendant asserts that the State failed to prove that she knowingly made physical contact with either Starkey or Troglia.

¶ 15 When a defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. People v. Murray , 2019 IL 123289, ¶ 19, 440 Ill.Dec. 642, 155 N.E.3d 412 (opinion of Neville, J., joined by Burke, J.). It is the responsibility of the trier of fact to fairly resolve conflicts in the testimony, weigh the evidence, and draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. Murray , 2019 IL 123289, ¶ 19, 440 Ill.Dec. 642, 155 N.E.3d 412. Accordingly, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the trier of fact on issues involving the weight of the evidence or the credibility of the witnesses. Murray , 2019 IL 123289, ¶ 19, 440 Ill.Dec. 642, 155 N.E.3d 412. Even so, the determinations of the trier of fact are...