People v. Hoddenbach

Following a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, and sentenced to a term of six years. The defendant contends on appeal that he was denied a fair trial (1) by the exclusion of the testimony of a defense witness, (2) by the admission of evidence of a stolen car and by the testimony of the arresting police officer that he had seen defendant on previous occasions, and (3) by the State’s improper rebuttal argument.

On July 11, 1980, the defendant, Keith Hoddenbach, shot and killed Orlando Roman. At trial, the defendant (nicknamed Popeye) claimed that he acted in…