People v. Fonza

Following a jury trial, defendant Eugene Fonza was found guilty of murder and attempted armed robbery.

On appeal, defendant contends that his convictions should be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial on the grounds that the trial court: (1) excluded certified copies of a State witness’ three prior felony convictions indicating not guilty pleas rather than the guilty pleas to which the witness testified; (2) allowed the testimony of an undisclosed rebuttal witness; (3) admitted improper hearsay testimony; and (4) denied the defense the opportunity to provide evidence of a pending…