People v. Tazelaar

1

2024 IL App (4th) 230245-U

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THOMAS J. TAZELAAR, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-23-0245

Court of Appeals of Illinois, Fourth District

March 5, 2024

This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Woodford County No. 22CF124 Honorable Charles M. Feeney III, Judge Presiding.

DeARMOND, JUSTICE delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Zenoff and Lannerd concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

DeARMOND, JUSTICE

¶ 1 Held: The appellate court affirmed, finding (1) defendant received the effective assistance of counsel, (2) the offenses were not committed as part of a single course of conduct, and (3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a 32-year sentence.

¶ 2 Following a September 2022 bench trial, defendant, Thomas J. Tazelaar, was found guilty of four counts of burglary (720 ILCS 5/19-1(a) (West 2022)). The trial court later sentenced defendant to 40 years' imprisonment.

¶ 3 In December 2022, defendant filed a motion for reconsideration of the sentence, alleging the trial court abused its discretion and imposed an excessive sentence. In March 2023, the court held a hearing on defendant's motion and reduced the sentence to 32 years' imprisonment.

¶ 4 Defendant appeals, arguing (1) trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to move for a directed verdict on the grounds the State did not prove he committed the offense of burglary on June 20, 2022, beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) his aggregate 32-year sentence violates section 5-8-4(f)(2) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Unified Code) (730 ILCS 5/5-8-4(f)(2) (West 2022)); and (3) the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. We affirm.

¶ 5 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 6 A. The Charges and Bench Trial

¶ 7 In July 2022, a grand jury indicted defendant on four counts of burglary (720 ILCS 5/19-1(a) (West 2022)). The indictments alleged defendant, on June 20, 2022 (count 1) June 21, 2022 (count II), June 23, 2022 (count III), and June 24, 2022 (count IV), "knowingly and without authority entered a building located at 302 Ash Lane, East Peoria Illinois, with the intent to commit therein a theft."

¶ 8 In September 2022, defendant's bench trial commenced at which the following evidence was adduced.

¶ 9 1. Donald Besler

¶ 10 Donald Besler testified he owned Millpoint Mobile Home Park and Campground (Park), located approximately three miles south of Spring Bay, Illinois. The Park provided campsites and mobile home lots for rent, and Besler testified he collected rent and checked in campers at a two-bedroom house located at 302 Ash Lane in East Peoria, Illinois, which functioned as the Park's office.

¶ 11 Besler testified he hired defendant approximately one year before the offenses occurred, and defendant began living at the Park after a mobile home was "kind of given to him." Besler usually employed two or three people at a time to perform general maintenance and landscaping. Besler's employees were also responsible for showing campers to their camping areas. If Besler was unavailable, his employees typically took campers to their area, and Besler would "come back later and check them in." Park employees were generally not allowed in the office. Besler testified that, other than one longtime employee and the cleaning lady, employees were not given keys to the office unless special circumstances required it. According to Besler, no Park employees were allowed in the office at night.

¶ 12 Prior to the offenses in June 2022, Besler testified he left anywhere between "a couple hundred" to "several thousand dollars in the office." However, Besler changed the office's locks and purchased a cellular "deer hunting camera" when he noticed money "disappearing" from the office's cash drawer, as well as $100 he set aside for the cleaning lady. He installed the camera "in the office on top of a grandfather clock that was pointing towards *** the front door" and ensured the camera was working properly. Besler also began leaving just $8 in the cash drawer at night, and he observed pry marks on the office's door and doorjamb when he put up the camera. The pry marks subsequently "got worse."

¶ 13 Besler testified the camera took photographs, which were automatically uploaded to a memory card and sent to his phone. The State then introduced four photographs labeled as People's exhibit Nos. 1 through 4, which, Besler testified, accurately represented the Park's office as it was on June 20, 2022, through June 24, 2022. In the first photograph of interest, timestamped at 10:02 p.m. on June 20, 2022 (People's exhibit No. 1), an individual can be seen exiting the Park's office wearing a backwards-facing baseball cap. The next photograph (People's exhibit No. 2) shows defendant entering the office at 8:10 p.m. on June 21, 2022. People's exhibit No. 3 depicts defendant entering the office at 12:02 a.m. on June 23, 2022, holding a tool in his right hand, which, Besler testified, resembled a screwdriver. Finally, People's exhibit No. 4 shows defendant inside the office at 1:20 a.m. on June 24, 2022. Besler testified defendant did not have permission to be in the office at any of those times on any of those dates. The $8 Besler left "in the drawer every night" was missing the following day. Based on that, Besler estimated defendant stole at least $32.

¶ 14 Besler testified he decided to confront defendant after defendant "broke the camera." According to Besler, the confrontation occurred on "the same day that [he] called the police" and Besler told defendant he "didn't want [defendant] around any more." Besler found the camera's batteries, memory card, and antenna while "tearing down" defendant's mobile home. And although Besler never recovered the camera's "phone card," he testified no additional money had gone missing from the office's cash drawer since reporting the incidents to police.

¶ 15 2. Michael Mattern

¶ 16 Michael Mattern, a deputy with the Woodford County Sheriff's Office, testified he met with Besler at the Park's office at approximately 5:40 p.m. on June 24, 2022. Besler "wanted to file a theft report" and stated he "had camera evidence." Mattern then identified People's exhibit Nos. 1 through 4 as the photographs Besler showed him. Besler suspected defendant of the theft and told Mattern he had recovered the camera's memory card and batteries from defendant's mobile home. Mattern did not inspect the camera or its components. When Mattern attempted to speak with defendant at his trailer, Mattern was informed by a neighbor "that [he] wasn't there."

¶ 17 As part of his investigation, Mattern took pictures of the damage to the Park office's door and doorjamb, which he identified as People's exhibit Nos. 8 and 9, respectively. Mattern testified the damage "looked as if it was newer." With respect to the damage done to the office's door, Mattern "pointed out where the wood appear[ed] fresh as if it's a lighter color and *** not the color of the paint." Mattern testified the same was true of the office's doorjamb, noting "the wood has been disturbed and pressed in, and the paint is pushed and discolored."

¶ 18 3. Defendant

¶ 19 Defendant testified he began working at the Park in May 2021 and had resided in a trailer on the property since April 2022. While employed, defendant performed odd jobs around the Park, such as setting up or demolishing mobile homes, maintenance, and landscaping. He generally worked until "Besler wanted to call it a day."

¶ 20 Defendant testified he was asked to work in the office one week prior to June 24, 2022, because Besler "was intoxicated." Defendant claimed Besler gave him an office key, but he did not return it because he began working in the office more frequently. Defendant testified he worked in the office on June 20, 2022, for "like, 15 minutes," long enough "to have the person come in and put them on the lot and then go home." He testified he worked in the office again the following day but stated his hours "varied." Defendant also admitted being in the office at 12:02 a.m. on June 23, 2022, but insisted the tool in his hand was not a screwdriver based on how he held it. However, defendant acknowledged whatever tool he was photographed holding could easily fit between the office's door and doorjamb. Finally, defendant denied being in the Park's office at 1:20 a.m. on June 24, 2022, and claimed "it was a lot earlier than that. Like, midnight again." When asked why he was in the office during those early hours of the morning, defendant stated a camper came in needing "a spot for the night, and they were only *** going to stay one day." When asked, "What about the other day," defendant answered, "We always had campers come in."

¶ 21 After hearing closing arguments, the trial court found defendant guilty of all four counts of burglary. In doing so, the court found Besler's testimony honest and "very credible," noting, "[Besler] was very clear on those particular days he put $8 in there and every morning $8 was gone. And that was bait, *** and he caught a fish, and the fish is in the pictures."

¶ 22 B. Defendant's Sentence and Motion for Reconsideration

¶ 23 In November 2022, the trial court conducted defendant's sentencing hearing. The presentence investigation report (PSI) indicated defendant was 31 years old, had no children, and maintained close relationships with his parents and siblings. Defendant denied having ever been diagnosed with a mental disorder or condition. He further denied receiving any form of mental health counseling in the past. Defendant possessed a high school diploma and attended college courses while...