People v. Kwok

Desli L. and Elliot Kwok (defendant) were friends who saw each other a few times per month. Kwok devised a plan to lay in wait for Desli while she was out of the house, and then attack and rape her. After offering to perform repairs on Desli’s house, Kwok secretly entered her home to remove a lock from the door between her kitchen and garage so that he could obtain a key for it, and then reinstalled the lock. Kwok also surreptitiously programmed a garage door opener he owned to enable it to open her garage door. Some days later Kwok entered the house when he knew she was working late, dressed in dark clothing and a ski mask, and brought with him cameras, wire, a bottle of alcohol, a condom, and a tape recording of dialogue from a movie that said “Shut up. I’m going to kill you.” Once inside the house he retrieved a large knife, a bridle-like piece of equestrian equipment, duct tape, panty hose, and a pair of Desli’s underwear, and then fell asleep in a room while waiting for her to return. When Kwok woke up, he entered Desli’s bedroom as she slept, put his hands around her neck, and played the tape recording. Desli awoke and violently struggled with Kwok, smashed him in the face with her clock radio, and fled to a neighbor’s house for help. Kwok was apprehended and charged with attempted murder and two counts of first-degree burglary. Kwok was found not guilty of attempted murder, but guilty of the lesser included offense of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, and guilty of both counts of first-degree burglary. Kwok appealed the conviction for the first burglary that occurred when he entered Desli’s house to take the lock, alleging that the evidence did not support the charge because he did not intend to commit a felony on that day.