People v. Gard

A jury in the circuit court of Shelby County found the defendant, Chuck Gard, guilty of two counts of arson. He was sentenced to serve two concurrent terms of four years each in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court (236 Ill. App. 3d 1001), with one justice dissenting, and we granted the defendant leave to appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 315 (134 Ill. 2d R. 315). The defendant relies upon two points for reversal of the appellate court’s decision, namely, that it was reversible error to admit evidence of…