People v. Van

The defendant, Daniel Nathaniel Van, was convicted of aggravated battery following a jury trial, and was sentenced to 3V2 years in the Illinois State Penitentiary. Defendant appeals, contending that “numchucks,” or karate sticks, are not deadly weapons, and therefore the aggravated battery conviction should be reversed.

We affirm.

From the evidence, it appears that the victim, Tony Hearton, was in Bloomington visiting an apartment where the defendant’s ex-wife was staying when a man began to force his way in through a front window. Hearton testified that he then proceeded to go out the back…