2022 IL App (2d) 220082-U No. 2-22-0082 Order filed December 27, 2022 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23(b) and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court OF ILLINOIS, ) of Kane County. ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 18-CF-2096 ) REGULO R. RIVERA, ) Honorable ) Keith A. Johnson, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE McLAREN delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Hutchinson and Jorgensen concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed domestic battery by punching his sister-in-law in the head. Defendant and the victim presented starkly conflicting accounts of the incident, and we defer to the court’s finding that the victim was more credible. ¶2 After a bench trial, defendant, Regulo R. Rivera, was found guilty of domestic battery based on bodily harm (count I) (720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(1) (West 2018)) and domestic battery based on physical contact (count II) (id. § 12-3.2(a)(2)). The trial court merged count II into count I and entered a conviction on count I. The court then sentenced defendant to one year of conditional 2022 IL App (2d) 220082-U discharge. On appeal, defendant contends that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 The State charged defendant by criminal complaint. Count I of the complaint alleged that he committed domestic battery in that he knowingly caused bodily harm to Dafne Gomez-Saldana (Dafne), his sister-in-law, by throwing water at her, then punching her in the head with a closed fist. Count II alleged that he knowingly made physical contact of an insulting nature by punching her in the head with a closed fist. We summarize the trial evidence. ¶5 Mark Ramos, a Carpentersville police officer, testified on direct examination that, on August 9, 2018, he was dispatched to defendant’s home. Defendant was there. Ramos spoke briefly to Dafne, the sister of defendant’s wife, Jhoany Gomez-Saldana (Jhoany). Dafne appeared upset; her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her shirt was wet. Dafne was pointing to her left temple. Ramos did not know enough Spanish to understand most of what Dafne told him, but he testified that she said something about having been hit. ¶6 Ramos testified on cross-examination that, when he arrived at the house, defendant met him at the door and allowed him to enter. Defendant did not appear to be upset. Later, defendant allowed Ramos to enter the basement. Ramos did not attempt to speak to Dafne until they went outside, and then he realized he would need to call another officer to talk with her. Dafne pointed to her temple. “[B]ecause [of] her hair and the lighting,” Ramos did not see any injury. Ramos did not take photographs, and Dafne did not request medical attention. ¶7 Ramos testified on redirect that defendant told …
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