People v. Echols

Following a jury trial, defendant Mack Echols was found guilty of residential burglary and was sentenced to a term of seven years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends: (1) his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the search of his home; (2) the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of theft; (3) he was denied a fair trial because the jury instruction regarding his alleged oral statement was erroneous; and (4) the State’s rebuttal closing argument was improper. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

On April 11, 2004, James Rauch and Eric Metz…