People v. Albea

¶ 1 Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Lake County, defendant, Thomas T. Albea, Jr., was convicted of first-degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 2010)) and sentenced to 33 years in prison. Defendant argues on appeal that his conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered because the trial court committed plain error when it denied defendant's request to represent himself at trial. For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On October 12, 2011, defendant was indicted on 14 counts of first-degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1),…