People v. Barnard

The defendant, Gary L. Barnard, was charged by information in the circuit court of Saline County with three counts of murder, under the provisions of sections 9 — 1(a)(1) and (2) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, pars. 9—1(a)(1), (2)). The defendant was also charged with three counts of armed violence (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 33A—2) based on the different murder charges. Following a jury trial the defendant was convicted of one count of murder. Verdicts of not guilty were returned on the armed-violence counts. The defendant was sentenced to 25 years’…