People v. Roberts

After a jury trial, defendant, Terry T. Roberts, was found guilty of burglary (720 ILCS 5/19 — 1(a) (West 1996)) and sentenced as a Class X offender to 20 years’ imprisonment. He was tried and sentenced in absentia. Defendant sought a new sentencing hearing pursuant to section 115 — 4.1(e) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code of Criminal Procedure) (725 ILCS 5/115 — 4.1(e) (West 2000)), and the trial court denied the motion. On appeal, defendant argues that the statute the trial court relied upon to sentence him as a Class X offender, section 5 — 5—3(c)(8) of the Unified Code of…