People v. Cook

In a bench trial, defendant, Alfred Cook, was convicted of murder, armed violence and unlawful use of weapons. He received concurrent sentences of 25 years for murder, 15 years for armed violence, and five years for unlawful use of weapons. On appeal defendant contends: (1) his guilt was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) testimony that defendant said he was going to “get even” with the victim was inadmissible hearsay; (3) defendant’s armed violence conviction must be vacated because it was based on the same physical act underlying his murder conviction; (4) defendant’s conviction for…