People v. McCann
2016 IL App (1st) 142136
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- On August 29–30, 2011, Alexander Matos discovered his 36-foot enclosed racing/storage trailer parked at 401 N. Damen had been broken into and thousands of dollars of tools and racing equipment were stolen.
- Matos saw defendant Eric McCann and codefendant Eugene Harris near the trailer early the morning after it was locked; surveillance video showed the men bringing Matos’s property to a recycling facility.
- Defendant was apprehended later that morning trying to sell stolen items; police recovered a telescopic mirror from his pocket.
- Defendant gave varying statements: initially that items were found in a dumpster, later admitting he and Harris broke the lock, entered the trailer, and removed items.
- Following a joint bench trial the court found defendant guilty of burglary; he was sentenced as a Class X offender to seven years’ imprisonment.
- On appeal defendant’s sole challenge was legal: he argued the storage trailer was not a “building” under the burglary statute, so the State failed to prove an essential element.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the storage trailer McCann entered is a “building” under the burglary statute | The trailer was immobile, not attached to a vehicle, and was used to store/shelter property, so it fits the statutory term “building.” | A “building” requires permanence and attachment to land; a mobile storage trailer is not a building. | The trailer qualified as a “building” because it was being used and designed to shelter property and was immobile when entered. |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Blair, 52 Ill. 2d 371 (1972) (construed the amended burglary statute and defined building as a structure designed to shelter property)
- People v. Netznik, 66 Ill. App. 3d 72 (1978) (tent held a building when erected and used to shelter property)
- People v. Ruiz, 133 Ill. App. 3d 1065 (1985) (semitrailer used to store scrap metal qualified as a building)
- People v. Denton, 312 Ill. App. 3d 1137 (2000) (parked trailers detached from trucks that sheltered property were buildings)
- People v. Embry, 12 Ill. App. 3d 332 (1973) (telephone booth can constitute a building under the statute)
- People v. Beauchamp, 241 Ill. 2d 1 (2011) (purpose of burglary statute is to protect security of specified enclosures)
- Bruen v. People, 206 Ill. 417 (1903) (earlier definition of building emphasized permanence; court explains later statutory amendments and interpretations)