People v. Laramore

A jury convicted defendant James Laramore of the July 13, 1983, murder and attempted armed robbery of A. D. Smith after trial in the circuit court of Cook County. The trial court sentenced him to an extended term of 50 years for the murder and 15 years for the armed robbery, the sentences to be served concurrently.

At trial, the only occurrence witness to testify for the State, Lela White, testified to the following: A. D. Smith was 73 years old in July 1983; she met him in 1944 and eventually became his common law wife; she and Smith had operated a candy store at 3515 South Wells in Chicago,…