People v. Anderson
| Decision Date | 24 September 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 34813,34813 |
| Citation | 17 Ill.2d 422,161 N.E.2d 835 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. Robert ANDERSON, Plaintiff in Error. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Erwin W. Roemer, and Howard S. MacAyeal, Chicago, for plaintiff in error.
Latham Castle, Atty. Gen., and Benjamin S. Adamowski, State's Atty., Chicago , for the People.
Defendant was convicted of the crime of burglary in the criminal court of Cook County. His petition for a writ of error under Rule 65-1, S.H.A. ch. 110, § 10s.65-1, was allowed by this court, counsel was appointed for defendant and the case was orally argued.
Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; that certain evidence was improperly admitted; and that the court considered improper matters in aggravation and by reason thereof imposed an unreasonable sentence of a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 50 years.
The manager of the Liberty Loan Corporation testified that his place of business had been broken into on the night of October 1, 1952, and that a safe had been removed from the premises. The cashier of the company testified that there was approximately $500 in the safe when the office was closed. Carl Wilson testified that about 2 o'clock on the morning of October 2, he saw defendant, together with Braxton Anderson and Thomas Woods, in a garage and that these men were trying to open a safe. Wilson did not know how the safe got into the garage. The men were having trouble getting the inner door of the safe open and they all left the garage leaving Wilson with the safe. While the other men were gone, Wilson stole the safe and took it to another location where Wilson and two other men opened the inner safe and found about $400. The money had been partially burned. Wilson paid his accomplices $100 each and took the rest of the money to his girl friend, Lorraine Johnson. Police officer Matthew Ferguson testified that after talking with Wilson and Lorraine Johnson, he went with the girl to her home where he picked up a key and went to the railroad station where he opened a locker and removed approximately $300. At the trial, certain money which was partially burned was introduced in evidence. Wilson identified this as the money which he had removed from the safe and later given to Lorraine Johnson. However, on cross-examination he stated that he could not be sure that it was the same money. Lorraine Johnson identified the money as the same which Wilson had given her and the police officer identified it as the money which had been removed from the locker.
Officer Ferguson also testified that on October 8, he and two other officers and Carl Wilson were parked in officer Ferguson's private car, which was not marked as a police car. They saw Braxton and Robert Anderson drive up. One of the other officers, William Trigg, got out of the car and went up to Anderson's car and identified himself as a police officer. At that time there were shots fired from the inside of the car and officer Trigg was shot in the chest. Robert Anderson ran from the car and escaped down an alley. Officer Trigg testified that as he approached the car in which defendant was seated, he had his gun in his right hand and his police star in his left hand. As he neared the car, he said, 'Police officers.' He then saw that defendant had a gun pointed right at him. Defendant fired, striking Trigg, who returned the fire. Braxton Anderson, who had been shot by officer Trigg, was taken to a hospital where he signed a confession, admitting the burglary of the Liberty Loan Corporation. At the trial this confession was introduced in evidence against Braxton Anderson but not as to Robert Anderson.
Officer Ferguson further testified that on November 9, he went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he placed Robert Anderson under arrest. The officer testified that while he and defendant were riding back to Chicago on the train, defendant boasted about being a good burglar and admitted burglarizing the Liberty Loan office and removing the safe. Upon their return to Chicago defendant denied taking part in the burglary. The defendant did not offer any evidence at the trial and the jury returned a verdict of guilty as to both defendant and Braxton Anderson.
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