People v. Laskowski
Case Date: 04/04/1997
Court: 4th District Appellate
Docket No: 4-96-0677
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IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Logan County JESSE EARL LASKOWSKI, ) No. 95CF213 Defendant-Appellant. ) ) Honorable ) Wayne C. Townley, Jr., ) Judge Presiding. _________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court: Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Logan County, defendant Jesse Earl Laskowski was found guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI), which the trial court found to be enhanced to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(A) (West 1994). Defendant was sentenced to 30 months' probation and 60 consecutive Sundays of periodic imprisonment. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus $295 court costs, and refrain from the use of drugs or alcohol during probation, undergo alcohol counseling, and follow the counselor's recommendations. On appeal, defendant argues his sentence should be reversed because the State failed to prove by competent evidence the prior convictions used to enhance his sentence in this case. We affirm. DUI is enhanced to aggravated DUI when the defendant commits DUI, or violates a substantially similar provision, for the third or subsequent time. 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(A) (West 1994). The statute does not provide a time limit for the use of prior commissions. The information in this case charged defendant with "the offense of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, a Class 4 Felony in Violation of Section 5/11-501(d)(1), Chapter 625, Illinois Compiled Statutes, in that the said defendant drove a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, said defendant having previously committed violations of 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a) in McLean County in 1968, in Tazewell County in 1969, and in McLean County in 1971." It placed defendant on notice of the State's intention to seek an enhanced sentence. Aggravated DUI is a Class 4 felony. 625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(2) (West 1994). Generally, DUI is a Class A misdemean- or. 625 ILCS 5/11-501(c) (West 1994). Section 11-501(d)(1) of the Illinois Vehicle Code involves the increase in the classification of an offense to seek an enhanced sentence, thus requiring compliance with section 111- 3(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/111-3(c) (West 1994)). People v. Sheehan, 168 Ill. 2d 298, 303- 04, 659 N.E.2d 1339, 1341-42 (1995). Under section 111-3(c) of the Code, evidence of the prior commission of two or more DUIs need not be proved by the State as an element of the offense of aggravated DUI. 725 ILCS 5/111-3(c) (West 1994). See People v. Bowman, 221 Ill. App. 3d 663, 666, 583 N.E.2d 114, 116 (1991). At the sentencing hearing in this case, the trial court considered the presentence investigation report, which referred to the following prior convictions for driving while intoxicated (DWI) under predecessor statutes: Case No. Date of Offense Date of Disposition Disposition McLean County case No. 68-5768 8/13/68 Unavailable $100 fine, plus costs McLean County case No. 68-8207 10/31/68 Unavailable 7 days in jail, plus costs Tazewell County case No. 69-TR- 4681 6/20/69 7/18/69 7 days in jail, "amended" July 31, 1969 to 12 days in jail McLean County case No. 71-0406 1/18/71 Unavailable 31 days in jail, $250 fine, plus costs At the time of these prior convictions, DWI was a misdemeanor. See, e.g., Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 95 |