(Download) "People v. Martin" by Illinois Appellate Court — First District (2Nd Division) Affirmed in Part and Vacated in Part ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Martin
- Author : Illinois Appellate Court — First District (2Nd Division) Affirmed in Part and Vacated in Part
- Release Date : January 25, 1983
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 73 KB
Description
Defendants, Arthur Martin and Darnell Jenkins, were charged in a four-count indictment with the murder and armed robbery of Joshua Beasley. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) and 18-2.) In a bench trial, both defendants were found guilty on all counts and judgment was entered accordingly. Defendants were sentenced to serve concurrent terms of 30 years for murder and 20 years for armed robbery in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On appeal defendants contend that they were deprived of their right to the effective assistance of counsel; that they were denied a fair trial by the prosecutor's suggestions that the testimony of certain witnesses was the product of intimidation; that they were not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; that the trial court erred in denying their motions for a new trial; that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing defendants to 30 years' imprisonment for murder; and that they were improperly convicted of both armed robbery and murder. For the reasons hereinafter stated, we affirm the convictions and sentences for armed robbery and for murder under the first count of the indictment (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1)) and vacate the convictions for murder under the second and third counts of the indictment (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, pars. 9-1(a)(2), (a)(3)). The victim, Joshua Beasley, resided in an 11th floor apartment in a Chicago Housing Authority facility located at 2145 West Lake Street in Chicago (2145 building). Lena Mae Beasley, his first wife, testified that at approximately 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, 1980, Beasley accompanied her from his apartment to the ground floor. Upon reaching the ground floor, Mrs. Beasley stepped out of the elevator and a young black man ran past her and jumped into the elevator. Another young man in the courtyard of the building hollered at him to hold the elevator. In the courtyard two men appeared to be forcing a third man towards the elevator. Mrs. Beasley stated that all of the men were in their twenties but could not describe them in any greater detail because it was too dark. She looked back at Beasley, who was still in the elevator, to try to get his attention to tell him something was wrong. Beasley asked her what she was looking at but she was afraid to answer and hoped that he would catch her eye and get out of the elevator. Beasley told her not to stand there because it was getting dark and she had a bus to catch. Mrs. Beasley then walked to the bus stop. Beasley was wearing a white fur hat, a three-quarter length brown leather jacket with buttons, black leather gloves, pants and a sweater. He was also wearing a birthstone ring.