People v. Gilford

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE EGAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Lonnie Gilford, was found guilty of armed robbery and aggravated battery in a bench trial and sentenced to concurrent terms of 5 to 10 years on the armed robbery and 2 to 5 years on the aggravated battery.

On the evening of June 24, 1971, William Brooks drove to the Astronaut Lounge at 2305 South State Street in Chicago. Before he entered the lounge he saw several people standing on the street, including the defendant and a man named Samuel Herbert, who was known as “Shorty.” Brooks remained in the lounge until about…