People v. Frey

Defendant, Treacil Frey, was found guilty of burglary and theft after a bench trial in the circuit court of Williamson County. The sole question raised on defendant’s appeal is whether the Illinois burglary statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1(a)) applies to his unauthorized act of knowingly entering the open bed of a pickup truck with the intent to steal therefrom a sledgehammer.

In this case of first impression, the facts are simple and undisputed. Lowell Hartwell’s pickup truck was parked unattended in the public parking lot in Marion. Robert McCoskey, an off-duty Marion…