People v. Curtis

Defendants, James Curtis and Andrew Ryder, were convicted in a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County of armed robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 18 — 2). The appellate court reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial. (132 Ill. App. 3d 241.) We allowed the State’s petition for leave to appeal (94 Ill. 2d R. 315).

On July 18, 1979, two men entered a liquor store on the south side of Chicago shortly before closing time. After pretending to inspect the merchandise, they announced a stickup. Four store employees, manager Thomas Buckle, cashier Rosalind Harris, stock…