People v. Melecio

¶ 1 Defendant Jose Melecio was convicted of first degree murder and unlawful vehicle invasion after a jury trial and was sentenced to consecutive terms of 55 years and 10 years, respectively, for a total of 65 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC).

¶ 2 Defendant raises a number of issues on appeal, including (1) whether the integrity of the judicial system was undermined and plain error occurred, when the State nol-prossed the felony murder charges prior to trial and then sought and received jury instructions on felony murder, thereby permitting a murder conviction without…