People v. Smith

Defendant Earl Smith appeals his conviction for armed violence. For the following reasons, we reverse the conviction and remand for further proceedings.

At trial in the circuit court of Kankakee County, police officers testified that they executed a search warrant at defendant’s apartment on June 22, 1994. As police approached the apartment building, they saw defendant drop a handgun out of the apartment window. The gun slid down the roof of the building’s porch and onto the ground, where police recovered it. The gun was not loaded. In the living room of the apartment, police found 2.5 grams…