People v. Zertuche

Mr. JUSTICE THOMAS J. MORAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Jose Hernandez Zertuche, was indicted for murder, found guilty in a jury trial and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of fifty years.

It is undisputed that on the evening of August 28, 1970, the defendant shot Richard Ochoa in front of the Guadalupano Club in Elgin, Illinois. Ochoa died from the wound ten days later. There were no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting.

The defendant admitted the shooting but alleged self-defense. At the trial, he testified that he first became acquainted with the deceased in…