People v. Aguirre

Following a jury trial, defendant, Francisco Aguirre, was convicted of the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon (720 ILCS 5/24— 1.1(a) (West 1994)). The trial court sentenced defendant to eight years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendant contends that prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of a fair trial.

At trial, Detective Scott Chastain, of the Waukegan police department, testified that he and Detective Jay Tapia were in plain clothes, patrolling in an unmarked car, a red Grand Prix. Around 3 p.m., Chastain, who was not driving, saw a white vehicle speeding through a residential neighborhood.…