People v. Woods

After a bench trial, defendant was convicted of the offense of armed robbery (111. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 38, par. 18 — 2) and sentenced to serve 6 to 18 years. On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred when it: (1) failed to exclude prejudicial evidence; (2) improperly allowed evidence of defendant’s prior convictions at trial.

The robbery occurred on June 15,1973, at 9:40 a.m. The victim, Edwin S. Rhodes, had driven his car to 1130 E. 41st Street in Chicago where he was to work that day. As the victim was locking the door of his automobile, he was accosted by three young men,…