People v. Haley

── People v. Haley ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 242289 FIFTH DIVISION May 15, 2026 No. 1-24-2289 ____________________________________________________________________________ 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. 2023 CR 6006401 ) CHRISTOPHER HALEY, ) Honorable ) Ursula Walowski, Petitioner-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE WILSON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Mitchell and Justice Mikva concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION ¶1 Following a jury trial, defendant Christopher Haley was convicted of home invasion while armed with a dangerous weapon other than a firearm (720 ILCS 5/19-6(a)(1) (West 2022)) and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment. On appeal, he argues that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was armed with a dangerous weapon other than a firearm and that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to propose an appropriate response to the No. 1-24-2289 jury’s questions. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court. ¶2 I. BACKGROUND ¶3 Christopher Haley was charged by indictment with two counts of home invasion, one count of residential burglary, two counts of unlawful restraint, and two counts of aggravated unlawful restraint after he unlawfully entered the home of Martha Lakes with a firearm. The State proceeded to trial on the two counts of home invasion. Count I alleged that he was armed with a firearm, and count II alleged that he was armed with a bludgeon. The indictment also indicated that the State would seek an extended term sentence because Lakes was a person over the age of 60 years old. ¶4 Lakes testified at trial that she was 73 years old at the time of the incident and lived at 4941 West Van Buren in Chicago with her daughter; her two sons, Patrick Lakes and Jeremy Ward; and her five grandchildren, Gabrielle, Xzaariah, Princess, Taelor, and London. When Taelor got home from school on November 4, 2022, she was upset and was talking to Lakes in the basement. At that time, the front door to the residence was locked and not damaged in any way. After Lakes and Taelor finished their conversation, Haley kicked in the front door of the residence and went down to the basement. The door was damaged, and the glass was broken. She testified that he had a black gun in his hands; said, “I am tired of you messing with my kids”; and threatened to shoot and kill Lakes and her family. Haley had both hands on the gun and was pointing it from Lakes to each of her sons. After Haley left, Lakes walked out behind him because she heard yelling and screaming outside. Lakes saw three women and two children outside. Lakes recognized one of the women from a meeting she had at Taelor’s school in the fall of 2022. Lakes went to Taelor’s school due to a “dispute” between Taelor and another girl