Espinoza Direct appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County. J. A 1996 incident in a Kane County bar led to an indictment against this defendant for allegedly striking another individual with a bottle.
Armed violence carries a more severe penalty.
The trial court theorized that the elements of the aggravated battery and armed violence charges were identical and that, therefore, the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution would be violated by proceeding with the three charges. They were dismissed. In this decision, the supreme court disagreed that the charges are identical, noting that the battery offense requires proof of injury to another and its occurrence in a place of public accommodation, while the offense of armed violence requires proof of these two elements, plus the additional element that the bottle was used as a weapon. The circuit court's dismissal of these indictment counts was reversed and the cause was remanded.