2022 IL App (1st) 191968-U FIFTH DIVISION June 24, 2022 No. 1-19-1968 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 17 CR 7945 ) BULMARO MEJIA-MAYA, ) Honorable ) Steven J. Goebel, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Delort and Justice Connors concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: Where the evidence at trial was sufficient to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of home invasion and residential burglary—the felonies underlying two of his three felony murder convictions—the defendant received a fair sentencing hearing. Because there was only one victim, two of the defendant’s convictions for felony murder are vacated. ¶2 Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, the defendant Bulmaro Mejia- Maya was found guilty of three counts of felony murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(3) (West 2016)) and sentenced to concurrent terms of natural life in prison. On appeal, the defendant contends that the State failed to prove he committed two of the three felonies underlying his convictions and, No. 1-19-1968 therefore, he did not receive a fair sentencing hearing. In the alternative, he contends that where there was only one victim, his multiple murder convictions violate the one-act, one-crime doctrine. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the defendant’s conviction and sentence for felony murder predicated upon aggravated criminal sexual assault (count IV); vacate the sentences imposed on the guilty findings for felony murder predicated upon home invasion (count III) and felony murder predicated upon residential burglary (count VI); and order that the mittimus be corrected accordingly. BACKGROUND ¶3 The defendant’s conviction arose from the April 2017 death of T.T. in Schaumburg, Illinois. 1 The State charged the defendant with 22 counts but subsequently nol prossed 14 counts. The case proceeded to a bench trial on eight charges: intentional murder (count I), strong probability murder (count II), felony murder predicated upon home invasion (count III), felony murder predicated upon aggravated criminal sexual assault (count IV), felony murder predicated upon residential burglary (count VI), aggravated criminal sexual assault alleging strangulation (count VIII), home invasion (count XIII), and residential burglary (count XXII). The following evidence was presented. ¶4 At trial, T.T.’s friend, Cheryl Gleason, testified that on the morning of April 16, 2017, she became concerned when T.T. did not show up at their church for choir rehearsal prior to Easter mass. After her calls and texts to T.T. went unanswered, Ms. Gleason went to T.T.’s apartment to 1 We refer to victims of sex offenses by initials so as to protect their identity and/or privacy. People v. Munoz-Salgado, 2016 IL App (2d) 140325, ¶ 17 n.1. -2- No. 1-19-1968 check on her. T.T.’s car was outside but she …
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