The PEOPLE v. Owens

In a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County the defendant, Anthony Owens, was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon and sentenced to imprisonment from one year to a year and a day in the penitentiary. In this direct appeal he contends the inclusion in his indictment of an allegation of a prior felony conviction deprived him of a fair trial and violated due process guarantees of the State and Federal constitutions.

The indictment contains two counts. The first alleges the unlawful use of a weapon and the second contains the same allegation, with an added charge that defendant had been…