People v. Amerman

A jury found the defendant, Dustin M. Amerman, guilty of attempted armed robbery (720 ILCS 5/8 — 4(a), 18 — 2 (West 2006)) and aggravated battery (720 ILCS 5/12 — 4(a) (West 2006)). The trial court sentenced him to consecutive prison terms of 11 years for the robbery offense and an extended term of 8 years for the battery offense. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred by: (1) failing to conduct an adequate jury voir dire under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 431(b) (eff. May 1, 2007); and (2) imposing an extended-term sentence for aggravated battery, which was the lesser of…