People v. Muadinov ( 2019 )


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  •                                       
    2019 IL App (1st) 161564-U
    No. 1-16-1564
    Third Division
    December 11, 2019
    NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as
    precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
    ______________________________________________________________________________
    IN THE
    APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
    FIRST DISTRICT
    ______________________________________________________________________________
    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,                               )   Appeal from the
    )   Circuit Court of
    Plaintiff-Appellee,                                     )   Cook County.
    )
    v.                                                            )   No. 15 CR 7241
    )
    MUSTADIN MUADINOV,                                                 )   Honorable
    )   James Karahalios,
    Defendant-Appellant.                                    )   Judge, presiding.
    JUSTICE COBBS delivered the judgment of the court.
    Justices McBride and Howse concurred in the judgment.
    ORDER
    ¶1         Held: Defendant’s conviction for aggravated battery is affirmed where there was
    sufficient evidence that he knowingly caused bodily harm to the victim. This court
    lacks jurisdiction to consider defendant’s arguments on a merged, unsentenced
    count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
    ¶2         Following a jury trial, defendant Mustadin Muadinov 1 was found guilty on two counts of
    aggravated battery and one count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer. The trial court merged
    1
    At trial, defendant spelled his first name as “Musatdin.” However, we adopt the spelling used in
    the indictment, the proceedings in the trial court, and defendant’s notice of appeal.
    No. 1-16-1564
    the counts into a single count of aggravated battery based on bodily harm and sentenced defendant
    to four years in prison. Defendant appeals, arguing that the State failed to prove him guilty of
    aggravated battery beyond a reasonable doubt. He also contends that, if this court were to reverse
    his conviction for aggravated battery, we should also reverse his conviction for resisting or
    obstructing a peace officer for various reasons. We affirm defendant’s aggravated battery
    conviction, and find that we lack jurisdiction to consider his arguments regarding his resisting or
    obstructing conviction.
    ¶3                                       I. BACKGROUND
    ¶4        Defendant was charged by indictment with two counts of aggravated battery (720 ILCS
    5/12-3.05(d)(4)(i) (West 2014)) against Norridge police corporal Vaughn Watts, and one count of
    resisting or obstructing Watts in the course of his official duties. (720 ILCS 5/31-1(a-7) (West
    2014)).
    ¶5        At trial, Watts testified that he was on patrol in a marked vehicle and full police uniform
    on April 7, 2015. At approximately 11:30 p.m., he noticed a group of 10 to 15 men standing outside
    of a hookah lounge in a “mini-mall” located in the 5000 block of Cumberland Avenue in Norridge,
    Illinois. There were approximately eight “no loitering” signs posted throughout the mini-mall’s
    parking lot.
    ¶6        Watts drove towards the group, rolled down his window, and told them that they needed to
    leave. Most of the men began walking toward their respective vehicles, but defendant asked Watts
    why they were required to leave. Watts explained that they were loitering in violation of the posted
    signs. Defendant continued to insist that he “didn’t do anything wrong and there was no reason for
    him to leave” until one of the other men in the group pulled him away.
    -2-
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶7     Watts then drove to a Dunkin’ Donuts located in the same mini-mall to purchase a cup of
    coffee. He stopped his vehicle by the sidewalk out front to speak to two men, later identified as
    Ahmad Fahoum and Maen Fahoum, whom he knew as regulars at the Dunkin’ Donuts. As Watts
    spoke to Ahmad and Maen through his passenger’s side window, defendant approached the
    driver’s side window on foot and stated that Watts “needed to learn how to talk to people.” Watts
    ordered defendant to step away from his vehicle, but defendant did not comply. Watts could not
    recall whether it was Ahmad or Maen who came around to the driver’s side and walked defendant
    to the sidewalk in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts. Watts exited his vehicle and approached defendant
    to further explain why he needed to vacate the parking lot. Defendant “continued to argue [that]
    he didn’t do anything wrong,” so Watts asked defendant for his identification in order to write him
    a citation for loitering. Defendant stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and did not produce his
    identification. Watts ordered defendant to show his hands, which defendant did for “[t]wo
    seconds” before returning them to his pockets. Watts told defendant that he would have to
    determine his identity through fingerprinting at the police station if he could not provide his
    identification. Defendant replied, “F*** jail.”
    ¶8     Watts radioed for backup, grabbed defendant’s forearms, and told him to put his hands
    behind his back. Defendant removed his hands from his pockets and grabbed Watts’ vest in a “very
    aggressive manner.” The two pushed and pulled on each other until defendant fell to the ground.
    Watts ordered defendant to stay down, but defendant stood up and regained hold of Watts’ vest.
    As they continued to wrestle on the sidewalk, defendant eventually knocked Watts off balance,
    causing Watts to fall to the ground and into a wall. Watts rose to his feet, drew his taser, and told
    defendant that he would tase him if he did not get on the ground. Defendant did not comply and
    -3-
    No. 1-16-1564
    Watts fired the taser at him. However, it was unsuccessful because the barbs got stuck in
    defendant’s jacket. Watts “reengaged with [defendant] physically,” striking him in the left ear with
    the handle of the taser. Watts and defendant continued to struggle while defendant ignored repeated
    orders to get on the ground. Officer Zeljka Ljubicic arrived at the scene and also ordered defendant
    to go to the ground. When defendant did not comply, the officers forcibly tackled him. Watts
    secured defendant’s head on the ground while Ljubicic ordered him to place his hands behind his
    back multiple times. Defendant instead hid his hands underneath his body, but the officers were
    eventually able to force him into handcuffs.
    ¶9     After securing defendant in the lockup at the police station, Watts requested medical
    attention for pain he felt in his left shoulder. Paramedics drove Watts to the hospital, where tests
    revealed a shoulder sprain. Watts testified that the injury occurred when defendant pushed him
    onto the ground and into the wall during the struggle.
    ¶ 10   On cross-examination, Watts testified that defendant struck him once in the head during
    the struggle, though he could not recall when or whether it was with an open or closed fist. Watts
    did not tell Ljubicic that defendant struck him, but he did tell another officer, Charles Tortorello.
    Watts did not remember telling the paramedics that his shoulder was injured because he “fell”
    while trying to make an arrest.
    ¶ 11   Ljubicic testified that she arrived at the scene around 11:45 p.m. and saw Watts holding
    defendant against a wall. Ljubicic tried to grab defendant’s arms and repeatedly ordered him to get
    on the ground, but he continued to fight her and Watts. Ljubicic then drew her taser and told
    defendant that she would tase him if he did not get on the ground. Defendant went down to his
    knees but resisted the officers’ attempts to handcuff him by keeping his arms underneath his body.
    -4-
    No. 1-16-1564
    Defendant eventually placed his hands behind his back after being ordered to do so “multiple
    times.” He was handcuffed and transported to the police station.
    ¶ 12   The State also published two videos of the incident, one captured with a cell phone by one
    of the men who attended the hookah lounge with defendant, and the other by a security camera
    outside the Dunkin’ Donuts. The cell phone video shows Watts and defendant wrestling on the
    sidewalk in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts in the presence of several bystanders. Watts and defendant
    each have a two-handed grip on the other’s torso and are pushing and pulling each other around
    the sidewalk. Approximately five seconds into the video, they continue to struggle while
    defendant’s back is to the front window of the Dunkin’ Donuts. Although their upper bodies are
    obscured by one of the bystanders standing in front of the camera, the video depicts Watts leave
    his feet and crash into the window as defendant steps to the side without releasing his grip on
    Watts. Watts and defendant retain their respective grips on each other while Watts attempts to
    stand up. When Watts rises to his feet, he draws his taser and tells defendant to “back up or you
    will be tased.” Watts fires his taser into defendant’s jacket, but it does not seem to affect him.
    Watts then lunges toward defendant, striking him in the left ear with the taser. Defendant appears
    to swing his hand towards Watts’s head, but it is not clear whether he makes contact. They begin
    to grapple again, and Watts pins defendant’s back against the front window of the business next to
    the Dunkin’ Donuts. Ljubicic arrives and the officers repeatedly order defendant to “get down on
    the ground.” Defendant steps away from the wall and briefly struggles with both Watts and
    Ljubicic. Watts pushes defendant against the wall again, and Ljubicic tells defendant that she will
    tase him if he does not get down on the ground. Defendant goes to his knees and Watts secures his
    head against the ground. Ljubicic forces defendant’s hands out from beneath his body and puts
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    No. 1-16-1564
    him in handcuffs. As the officers pull defendant upright, Watts tells him, “All this for nothing.
    Because you’re too f*** proud.” Watts later states, “All I did was ask you to go. You don’t tell me
    what I’m doing.”
    ¶ 13   The Dunkin’ Donuts security footage, which does not have audio and is of poorer quality
    than the cell phone video, shows Watts arrive at the Dunkin’ Donuts and speak to Ahmad and
    Maen through his passenger’s side window. One of the men walks around to the driver’s side of
    Watts’ vehicle and immediately returns to the sidewalk with defendant. Watts exits his vehicle and
    follows them to an area of the sidewalk that is blocked from the camera by a stone pillar. After
    approximately three minutes, defendant and Watts emerge from behind the pillar, wrestling with
    each other as depicted in the cell phone video. Approximately 20 seconds later, Watts tumbles to
    the ground and into the front window of the Dunkin’ Donuts, though it is difficult to make out
    many details in the blurry video. Watts stands up, and the rest of the struggle occurs off-camera.
    ¶ 14   The State rested, and the defense moved for a directed verdict on all counts, which the
    court denied.
    ¶ 15   The defense then entered a stipulation that Tortorello would testify that he interviewed
    Watts following the incident, and that Watts told him he did not recall whether defendant threw
    any punches at him. Watts did not mention being struck in the head during the struggle.
    ¶ 16   Paramedics Martin Lupo and Frederick Ford both testified that they drove Watts to the
    hospital following the incident. Lupo took Watts’s vitals while Ford questioned him about his
    injuries. Ford testified that Watts told him that he injured his shoulder during an arrest, but neither
    Lupo nor Ford recalled Watts stating that he “fell” while trying to make an arrest.
    -6-
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶ 17   Shakir Muratov, who described himself as defendant’s “distant cousin,” testified that he
    attended the hookah lounge with defendant and several others on the night of the incident. When
    the lounge closed around midnight, the group exited and began warming up their cars in the
    parking lot. Approximately two or three minutes later, a police officer arrived and told them that
    they needed to leave. Defendant stated, “We’re just warming up [our cars], we’re going to leave,
    *** and we’re not doing anything wrong.” The officer then drove away to a nearby Dunkin’
    Donuts without saying anything else. Defendant also walked toward the Dunkin’ Donuts to greet
    Ahmad and Maen, whom he saw on the sidewalk out front. Muratov followed defendant shortly
    thereafter, and arrived as Watts was outside of his vehicle, asking defendant for his identification.
    Defendant stated that he did not have any identification and that he “didn’t do anything.” The
    officer ordered defendant to turn around so that he could handcuff him, but defendant reiterated
    that he had done nothing wrong. The officer grabbed defendant by the forearms and “launch[ed]”
    him toward the front window of the Dunkin’ Donuts, causing the officer to slip and fall in the
    process. Muratov testified that defendant’s hands were at his sides at this time and that defendant
    did not push the officer.
    ¶ 18   The officer stood up, drew his taser, and ordered defendant to get on the ground. Defendant
    did not obey. The officer struck defendant in the left ear with his taser, causing it to bleed. A female
    officer then arrived, and the two officers forced defendant to the ground and into handcuffs.
    Muratov denied seeing defendant strike either officer during the struggle.
    ¶ 19   On cross-examination, Muratov testified that he never saw defendant lay his hands on the
    officers. Muratov also denied that defendant was “struggl[ing]” or “wrestling” with the officers,
    but acknowledged that defendant resisted their attempts to push him to the ground.
    -7-
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶ 20   Ahmad testified that he and Maen went to the Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee on the night of
    the incident. At around midnight, they stepped outside for Maen to smoke a cigarette. Watts, whom
    Ahmad knew from the Dunkin’ Donuts, arrived in a police vehicle. Ahmad and Maen spoke to
    Watts through Watts’s passenger side window until defendant, whom Ahmad also knew,
    approached the driver’s side window. Ahmad did not recall whether defendant said anything to
    Watts, but remembered that Watts asked defendant for his identification. Defendant explained that
    he did not have any identification, and Watts told him, “[I]f I find it on you, *** you’re going to
    jail.” Watts then exited his vehicle and ordered defendant to place his hands behind his back.
    Defendant refused, stating, “Why should I put my hand[s] behind my back if I didn’t do anything
    wrong?” Watts grabbed defendant by the shoulders and “wrestl[ed] around” with him while
    repeatedly ordering him to get on the ground. Defendant did not strike Watts during the struggle,
    but Watts pushed, kicked, and tried unsuccessfully to hit defendant’s head into a wall. After several
    minutes of struggling, Watts fired his taser at defendant, but “it didn’t work.” The officer
    approached defendant again and struck him with the taser. Defendant and Watts went “back and
    forth” some more until a female officer arrived. Defendant then went to the ground voluntarily.
    ¶ 21   On cross-examination, Ahmad acknowledged that he initially agreed to go to the police
    station for an interview, but did not show up at the scheduled time. When a detective called to
    reschedule, Ahmad refused to speak to him.
    ¶ 22   On redirect examination, Ahmad explained that he did not speak to police because he did
    not want to miss work or come between Watts, his friend, and defendant, whom he considered to
    be “a brother.” Ahmad only testified under subpoena.
    -8-
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶ 23   Defendant testified through a Russian interpreter that he arrived at the hookah lounge with
    Muratov and other friends at around 9 p.m. on the day of the incident. They left shortly before
    midnight and waited in the parking lot while their cars warmed up. Watts arrived approximately
    10 minutes later and told them that they needed to leave. Defendant replied that they would leave
    once their cars were warm and they said their goodbyes. Watts again stated that defendant and his
    friends needed to “get the f*** out of here right now.” Defendant told Watts that they would leave,
    but that he should not use profanity or that “tone of voice.” Watts responded, “Don’t f*** teach
    me how I [am] supposed to talk with people.” Defendant stated, “I’m human, you cannot talk to
    me like that.” Watts told defendant to “stop using that s***,” apparently under the mistaken belief
    that defendant had been using drugs. Watts then drove to the Dunkin’ Donuts, which was
    approximately 160 feet away.
    ¶ 24   Defendant noticed Ahmad and Maen in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts and decided that he
    “couldn’t leave without saying good-bye to them as always.” Defendant walked to the Dunkin’
    Donuts, where Watts was sitting in his vehicle with the windows rolled down. Defendant
    approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and asked Watts why he had spoken to him “like that”
    by the hookah lounge. Watts replied, “Don’t teach me how to do my job,” and, “[G]et away from
    my car.” Defendant then joined Ahmad and Maen on the sidewalk by the passenger’s side. Watts
    exited his squad car and asked defendant for identification. After checking his pockets, defendant
    informed Watts that he did not have any. Watts responded that he would have to take defendant to
    the police station, and defendant asked why. Watts ordered defendant to place his hands behind
    his back and “attempted to arrest” him. Defendant stated that he “was not going to give [his] hands”
    because he believed being fingerprinted at the police station would impair his ability to find work.
    -9-
    No. 1-16-1564
    Watts grabbed defendant’s arms and pushed him headfirst into the window of the Dunkin’ Donuts.
    Watts attempted to take defendant to the ground, but defendant remained on his feet because he
    “thought that police officers should not be that brute.” Defendant separated himself from Watts,
    and Watts fired his taser at him. The taser did not work. Watts then struck defendant with the taser,
    causing his ear to bleed. A female officer arrived, and defendant got on the ground. He was
    handcuffed after voluntarily giving the officers his hands.
    ¶ 25   On cross-examination, defendant denied stating, “F*** jail” or ignoring Watts’s order to
    remove his hands from his pockets before the struggle. However, defendant acknowledged that he
    did not put his hands behind his back or get on the ground when ordered to do so because he
    believed that Watts had no reason to take him to the police station. Defendant decided to “no longer
    resist” once the female officer arrived. He got on the ground, but initially did not place his hands
    behind his back because “under such stress [he] couldn’t immediately follow orders.”
    ¶ 26   After arguments, the jury found defendant guilty of resisting or obstructing a peace officer
    and both counts of aggravated battery. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged all
    three findings of guilt into a single count of aggravated battery and imposed a term of four years’
    imprisonment for aggravated battery.
    ¶ 27   II. ANALYSIS
    ¶ 28                   A. Sufficiency of the Evidence for Aggravated Battery
    ¶ 29   On appeal, defendant argues that the State did not prove he committed the “actus reus” for
    aggravated battery beyond a reasonable doubt. In particular, defendant contends that the video
    evidence shows that Watts injured his shoulder by falling into the wall on his own, and not as a
    result of defendant’s conduct.
    - 10 -
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶ 30   Where, as here, a defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, a reviewing court
    must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational
    trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. People v.
    Newton, 
    2018 IL 122958
    , ¶ 24. The trier of fact remains responsible for resolving conflicts in the
    testimony, weighing the evidence, and drawing reasonable inferences from the facts. People v.
    Gray, 
    2017 IL 120958
    , ¶ 35. Thus, a reviewing court must not retry the defendant or substitute its
    own judgment for the trier of fact’s on issues involving the weight of the evidence or witness
    credibility. People v. Bradford, 
    2016 IL 118674
    , ¶ 12. Instead, a reviewing court will draw all
    reasonable inferences in the State’s favor, and will reverse a conviction only where the evidence
    is “so unreasonable, improbable, or unsatisfactory” that a reasonable doubt of the defendant’s guilt
    remains. Newton, 
    2018 IL 122958
    , ¶ 24.
    ¶ 31   To convict defendant of aggravated battery as charged here, the State was required to prove
    that, without lawful justification, defendant knowingly caused bodily harm to Watts while aware
    that Watts was a police officer performing his official duties. 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(d)(4)(i) (West
    2014). Defendant does not dispute that he knew Watts was a police officer, that he struggled with
    Watts, or that Watts suffered bodily harm to his left shoulder by making contact with a wall during
    the struggle. Instead, defendant argues that there was insufficient evidence that his conduct was
    what caused Watts to hit the wall.
    ¶ 32   However, a rational trier of fact could have found defendant responsible for Watts’s injury.
    Notably, Watts testified that he injured his shoulder because defendant knocked him off balance
    and into the wall while wrestling with him. The positive testimony of a single credible witness is
    sufficient to sustain a conviction, even where such testimony is contradicted by the defendant.
    - 11 -
    No. 1-16-
    1564 Gray, 2017
     IL 120958, ¶ 36. We also note that both videos introduced into evidence generally
    corroborate Watts’s account of the struggle. Even so, defendant argues that the video evidence
    shows that Watts fell into the wall on his own accord, thus belying Watts’s testimony that
    defendant pushed him. In support of his argument, defendant identifies several still images from
    the cell phone video that he contends demonstrate that Watts slipped on his own while pushing
    defendant towards the wall. However, played in its full context, the video shows that Watts and
    defendant were engaged in a violent struggle with each man pushing and pulling on the other.
    Defendant maintained a two-handed grip on Watts’s vest before, during, and immediately after
    Watts crashes into the wall. While the precise moment Watts loses his footing is somewhat
    obscured by a bystander in front of the camera, the video does not definitively rebut Watts’s
    testimony as defendant claims, even when viewed frame-by-frame. Similarly, although the
    security footage is of lesser quality, it also depicts defendant and Watts wrestling with each other
    immediately before Watts tumbles into the wall. Thus, contrary to defendant’s assertions, the video
    evidence did not prevent a rational jury from crediting Watts’s testimony.
    ¶ 33   Defendant next argues that the State failed to prove that he knowingly caused Watts bodily
    harm beyond a reasonable doubt. More specifically, defendant contends that Watts was the
    “aggressor” of the physical struggle, and that any contact he made with Watts was merely
    “incidental as he attempted to escape Watts’ grasp.”
    ¶ 34   As noted, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable that defendant acted
    “knowingly” as an element of aggravated battery. 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(d)(4)(i) (West 2014);
    People v. Phillips, 
    392 Ill. App. 3d 243
    , 258 (2009). A person acts “knowingly” when he acts
    willfully or while “consciously aware” that a particular result is “practically certain to be caused
    - 12 -
    No. 1-16-1564
    by his conduct.” 720 ILCS 5/4-5(b) (West 2014). The State need not prove that a defendant
    intended a particular injury to satisfy the knowing conduct requirement. Lattimore, 
    2011 IL App (1st) 092328
    , ¶ 44. Rather, it is sufficient for the State to demonstrate that the injury caused was a
    “‘natural and probable consequence’” of the defendant’s intentionally unlawful conduct. 
    Id.
    (quoting People v. Isunza, 
    396 Ill. App. 3d 127
    , 132 (2009)). Because direct evidence of a
    defendant’s mental state is rarely available, a defendant’ s intent is usually proven through
    circumstantial evidence. People v. Murphy, 
    2017 IL App (1st) 142092
    , ¶ 10. A defendant’s intent
    may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the incident, the severity of the victim’s
    injuries, and the defendant’s conduct itself. People v. Coleman, 
    311 Ill. App. 3d 467
    , 473 (2000).
    ¶ 35   Here, there was ample circumstantial evidence to support an inference that defendant acted
    knowingly. The evidence established that defendant argued with Watts by the hookah lounge
    before walking across the parking lot to reengage with him outside the Dunkin’ Donuts. Defendant
    ignored Watts’s instructions to remove his hands from his pockets and stated, “F*** jail” when
    Watts told him that he would have to go to the police station. When Watts attempted to remove
    defendant’s hands from his pockets, defendant grabbed Watts’s vests with both hands in a “very
    aggressive manner.” Defendant then wrestled with Watts and maintained his grip on Watt’s vest
    even after Watts crashed into the wall. We also note that defendant continued to fight Watts after
    Watts rose to his feet, threatened to tase defendant, and repeatedly ordered defendant to get on the
    ground. Watts’s account of the prolonged struggle with defendant was corroborated by two
    separate videos. Although defendant maintains that he only touched Watts to free himself from
    Watts’ grasp, a reasonable jury could have easily inferred that defendant acted knowingly under
    these circumstances. See Lattimore, 
    2011 IL App (1st) 092328
    , ¶ 45 (the defendant repeatedly
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    No. 1-16-1564
    struggled with store personnel while attempting to escape after being stopped for shoplifting);
    Phillips, 
    392 Ill. App. 3d at 259
     (the defendant, an inmate, struck a deputy sheriff after angrily
    yelling about his bond, refusing to enter his cell, and swinging his arms around).
    ¶ 36   In sum, we cannot say that it was irrational for the jury to find that defendant knowingly
    caused Watts bodily harm by pushing him into the wall. Consequently, defendant’s conviction for
    aggravated battery is affirmed.
    ¶ 37      B. Resisting or Obstructing a Peace Officer
    ¶ 38   As a final matter, we note that, in his initial brief on appeal, defendant also challenged his
    conviction for resisting or obstructing a peace officer in several respects. In particular, defendant
    contended that (1) there was insufficient evidence that he materially impeded Watts in an
    authorized act, (2) the State failed to prove that he acted knowingly, (3) his conduct was not the
    proximate cause of Watts’s injury, (4) the indictment was fatally vague, (5) the trial court abused
    its discretion in refusing to give certain jury instructions, and (6) the State made improper
    comments about what Watts was authorized to do during its closing argument.
    ¶ 39   In response, the State argued that this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain these arguments
    because, as defendant was not sentenced on the resisting or obstructing count, there is no final
    judgment for us to review. In his reply brief, defendant acknowledges that this court generally
    lacks the jurisdiction to review merged, unsentenced findings of guilt, but argues that judicial
    economy would be best served by addressing his claims if his aggravated battery conviction was
    vacated. Thus, defendant reiterates the substantive arguments in his initial brief on appeal, but with
    the important caveat that we should address them only if we grant him relief from his aggravated
    battery conviction.
    - 14 -
    No. 1-16-1564
    ¶ 40   It is well-established that, aside from certain exceptions not relevant here, this court’s
    jurisdiction in criminal cases extends only to final judgments of the trial court, and that there is no
    final judgment on a count unless a sentence is imposed. People v. Relerford, 
    2017 IL 121094
    , ¶
    71. Here, the trial court did not impose a sentence for resisting or obstructing a peace officer, but
    rather merged that count into defendant’s aggravated battery conviction. We therefore agree with
    the State that we lack jurisdiction to consider defendant’s arguments pertaining to the resisting or
    obstructing charge. See People v. Goodwin, 
    2018 IL App (1st) 152045
    , ¶¶ 58-63 (declining to
    review the defendant’s challenges to a finding of guilt on a merged, unsentenced count).
    ¶ 41   Additionally, as noted above, defendant does not contest that the absence of a sentence for
    resisting or obstructing a peace officer creates a jurisdictional bar to an appeal of that count.
    Instead, he maintains that we would not be precluded from entertaining the merits of his arguments
    if his aggravated battery conviction was vacated. However, as we have affirmed defendant’s
    aggravated battery conviction, we need not address his argument pertaining to his merged
    conviction for resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
    ¶ 42                           III. CONCLUSION
    ¶ 43   For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County.
    ¶ 44   Affirmed.
    - 15 -
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 1-16-1564

Filed Date: 12/11/2019

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 5/17/2024