State of Illinois v. Jeremy Peters

Joliet, Illinois criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with armed violence.

Defendant was charged by indictment with armed violence (720 ILCS 5/33A-2(a) (West 2022)), burglary (id. § 19-1(a)), unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (UPWF) (id. § 24-1.1(a)), defacing identification marks on a firearm (id. § 24-5(b)), and theft (id. § 16-1(a)(1)(A)) for allegedly stealing an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) while possessing a firearm. The armed-violence count alleged that defendant, "while armed with a dangerous weapon, a handgun, *** committed a felony *** to wit: Theft, in that said defendant possessed a stolen Polaris ATV[.]"



CRIMINAL LAW. WAIVER OF COUNSEL. The case concerns an appeal by the defendant asserting that his waiver of counsel was not knowingly and voluntarily made due to the circuit court's failure to properly admonish him pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a), specifically regarding the minimum sentence for armed violence.



CRIMINAL LAW. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTE. The court addressed the defendant's argument that section 24-1.1(a) of the Illinois Criminal Code, criminalizing the possession of a weapon by a felon, violates the Second Amendment and corresponding state constitutional provisions following the framework established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Bruen.



CRIMINAL LAW. ONE-ACT, ONE-CRIME DOCTRINE. The defendant claimed that his theft conviction violates the one-act, one-crime doctrine, as it was based on the same physical act as his armed violence conviction, leading the court to vacate the theft conviction and uphold the armed violence conviction.



Key Phrases One-act, one-crime doctrine. Waiver of counsel. Speedy trial demand. Admonishment compliance. Constitutional right to counsel.

Affirmed