People v. Stewart

              Sixth Division
November 2, 2007
No. 1-05-3868
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ORLANDO STEWART,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from
the Circuit Court
of Cook County
04 CR 654
Honorable
Thomas R. Sumner,
Judge Presiding.
PRESIDING JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a bench trial, defendant, Orlando Stewart, was found guilty of residential
burglary and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the
State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the trial court erred in allowing
evidence of his other crimes; and (3) his sentence is excessive.
At defendant’s trial, James and Leslie Sykes testified that they live in apartment 603 at 344
West 28th Place in Chicago. James left the apartment on the afternoon of November 15, 2002,
and Leslie left the apartment a couple of hours later. At that time, the apartment was in good
condition and Leslie did not give anyone permission to enter it while she was gone. When Leslie
returned home later that night, the TV and VCR were missing and the bed was in disarray. Both
James and Leslie testified that they did not see defendant in their apartment nor did they see him
remove anything from it. Leslie acknowledged that she did not remember locking the door when
she left the apartment.
Sergeant Riga testified that on December 22, 2003, he received a flash message that a
burglary had occurred and that the offender was a black male who was 6 feet tall and weighed