People v. Spearman

An indictment filed in the circuit court of Kankakee County charged the defendant, Fletcher Spearman, with the offense of retail theft. He stood accused of taking three steaks, worth $14.13, from a Kankakee food store. Ordinarily, such conduct would have constituted a Class A misdemeanor (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 16A — 10(1)), but because the defendant was convicted of misdemeanor retail theft in November, 1980, the offense became a Class 4 felony (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 16A — 10(2)). The defendant originally pleaded not guilty, but he later withdrew that plea and…