Opinion ID: 2087709
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Evidence of Theft of Gun

Text: The defendant also claims that testimony from Larry Garnett regarding the theft of his .38-caliber Llama revolver was improperly admitted at the aggravation-mitigation phase of his sentencing hearing. Garnett's stolen revolver was identified by a firearms expert as the weapon from which the bullet recovered from Officer Doyle's body was fired. The defendant claims that this testimony was improper because it suggested that the defendant had burglarized Garnett's home when there was no evidence that that was the case. The record reveals that the defendant made no objection to Garnett's testimony concerning the theft of his gun. The issue of the admissibility of this particular evidence has thus been waived. ( Simms, 143 Ill.2d at 170, 157 Ill.Dec. 483, 572 N.E.2d 947.) Moreover, even if we were to consider this issue, we would find no abuse of discretion in the introduction of this evidence. The evidence was relevant because it showed that the gun used to kill Officer Doyle had been stolen and allowed the reasonable inference that the defendant had either stolen the gun or had, at least, been in possession of stolen property. Finally, the admission of this particular evidence cannot have had any effect on the outcome of the defendant's sentencing hearing. The evidence introduced in aggravation was so substantial that we are persuaded that, even without testimony suggesting that the defendant stole a gun, the verdict would have been the same. Any possible error in the admission of this evidence was therefore harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Williams, 164 Ill.2d at 24, 206 Ill.Dec. 592, 645 N.E.2d 844.