People v. Hernandez

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Jose M. Hernandez, was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a) (West 1998)), armed robbery (720 ILCS 5/18 — 2(a) (West 1998)), concealment of a homicidal death (720 ILCS 5/9 — 3.1(a) (West 1998)), and unlawful use of a weapon (720 ILCS 5/24 — l(a)(10) (West 1998)). He was sentenced to 30, 15, 5, and 3 years of imprisonment, respectively, to be served concurrently. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred (1) by limiting the defense’s impeachment of a State’s witness to the mere fact that the witness had a prior felony…