Opinion ID: 1450094
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: aggravated burglary of butler's apartment

Text: The trial court instructed the jury that in order to convict Grissom of the aggravated burglary of Butler's apartment, the State had to prove the following: 1. That the defendant knowingly entered into or remained in a building, to-wit: the apartment residence of Joan Marie Butler; 2. That the defendant did so without authority; 3. That the defendant did so with the intent to commit a theft therein; 4. That at the time there was a human being in the apartment; and 5. That this act occurred on or about the 18th day of June, 1989, in Johnson County, Kansas. Grissom claims the evidence does not support that he entered Butler's apartment, that Butler was there at the time of the alleged entry, and that he possessed the intent to commit a theft at the time of the alleged entry. Although a key to Butler's apartment was found in Grissom's car, he contends there was no evidence he actually entered the apartment because there was no sign of a forced entry. Common sense would tell a jury that if Grissom possessed a key to Butler's apartment, there would be no need for a forced entry. Grissom also points to the fact that no physical evidence, such as fingerprints or hair, directly linked him to Butler's apartment. Contrary to Grissom's assertions, a rational factfinder could conclude that Grissom had entered the apartment based upon the gold rope necklace found on the floor in Butler's apartment. The same weekend Butler disappeared, another apartment within the complex was burglarized. The occupant of that apartment, Carla Dippel, reported that a gold rope necklace and a peso pendant were missing. Dippel identified the necklace found in Butler's apartment as the one she had bought in Italy. Dippel also identified the peso pendant that Grissom had given his girlfriend as the pendant stolen from her apartment. Grissom attempts to discredit this evidence because a police officer had not noticed the necklace on Butler's floor when he entered the apartment a couple of days after Butler's disappearance. Grissom places great emphasis on the fact that several people had been in the apartment before the apartment was processed and the necklace found on June 28, 1989, and that he did not give the peso pendant to his girlfriend until June 24, 1989. The evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution. For example, the officer who entered the apartment on June 20, 1989, testified that he entered the apartment because a missing person report had been filed. The officer said he was trying to make sure that Miss Butler was not, in fact, in her apartment, that something was not wrong with her. It was his intention to make sure there wasn't any obvious signs of foul play at that particular point in time. He was not looking for any small items laying on the floor. He added that if he had noticed the necklace, he might have assumed that Butler had dropped it on the floor. Grissom contends there is no evidence Butler was in her apartment at the time of his alleged entry. He suggests the significance of finding in her bedroom the clothes she had been wearing when she was last known to have been seen alive is that she returned to her apartment, not that she remained in her apartment after changing. Grissom's suggestion does not take into account the testimony of Celeste Becker, who is the last person known to have seen Butler alive. Becker said that when Butler left Becker's apartment at 4 a.m. on June 18, 1989, Butler told her that she was going to go home and go to bed because she was tired. Between 4 and 5 a.m., the woman who lived in the apartment below Butler's apartment testified that a loud thump-type noise woke her out of a sound sleep and scared her. She said the noise sounded like it came from above her. Grissom also claims the lack of any signs of a struggle in Butler's apartment suggests Butler may not have been present. If the jury believed Katf's assailant was Grissom, it would have reason to believe Grissom threatened Butler with a weapon, which would explain why there were no signs of a struggle. Grissom's last claim is that there is no evidence he entered Butler's apartment, if he entered at all, with the intent to commit a theft. Around the time each woman disappeared, significant sums of money were withdrawn from each woman's bank account. Over a three-day period, starting within two hours of when Butler left Becker's apartment on June 18, 1989, three $300 cash withdrawals were made, leaving no money in Butler's checking account. That, coupled with the fact that Grissom was found in possession of Butler's rental car, that three rings belonging to Rusch as well as credit cards in the names of both Rusch and Brown were found in his car, and that he had given a stolen necklace to his girlfriend, support the theory that Grissom entered Butler's apartment with the intent to commit a theft. The State's evidence established a pattern. Based upon the evidence presented at trial, a rational factfinder could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Grissom had committed the aggravated burglary of Butler's apartment.