Opinion ID: 2015103
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence: Robbery of Wristwatch

Text: Defendant also claims that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the offense of robbery of the victim's wristwatch. Of course, the State carries the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the offense and the defendant's guilt. People v. Ware, 23 Ill.2d 59, 62, 177 N.E.2d 362 (1961). Where a criminal conviction is challenged based on insufficient evidence, a reviewing court, considering all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, must determine whether any rational fact finder could have found beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of the crime. A criminal conviction will not be set aside unless the evidence is so improbable or unsatisfactory as to create a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. People v. Eyler, 133 Ill.2d 173, 191, 139 Ill.Dec. 756, 549 N.E.2d 268 (1989). This standard of review applies in all criminal cases, whether the evidence is direct or circumstantial. People v. Pintos, 133 Ill.2d 286, 291, 139 Ill.Dec. 832, 549 N.E.2d 344 (1989). A person commits robbery when he or she takes property from the person or presence of another by the use of force or by threatening the imminent use of force. 720 ILCS 5/18-1(a) (West 1992). Defendant contends that there is no evidence that he took the victim's wristwatch. Defendant notes that the only evidence that a watch was taken was a watch crystal found near the victim's body. Defendant argues that the watch could have dislodged while the victim was beaten to death, or dragged into the wooded area. Indeed, defendant argues that crows could have carried away the watch. It is the function of the jury to assess the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given their testimony, and the inferences to be drawn from the evidence. People v. Peeples, 155 Ill.2d 422, 487, 186 Ill.Dec. 341, 616 N.E.2d 294 (1993). The jury in this case was not required to accept any possible explanation compatible with defendant's innocence and elevate it to the status of reasonable doubt. See People v. Herrett, 137 Ill.2d 195, 206, 148 Ill.Dec. 695, 561 N.E.2d 1 (1990). The jury may have rationally concluded that defendant took the victim's watch, just as he took her car, her aquamarine ring, and her money. Although defendant asks why he would take a watch without a crystal, the jury may have rationally concluded that defendant broke the watch in the process of taking it. After reviewing the entire record in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we cannot say that the evidence was so improbable or unsatisfactory that no rational factfinder could have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the robbery of the victim's wristwatch.