People v. Burton

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of burglary of car parked in a factory lot. Court properly allowed into evidence a photo of factory parking lot; even though photo showed a "no trespassing" sign, and State did not show that sign was present on date of crime, relevancy outweighed any prejudice. Photo was not improper other-crimes evidence, as no evidence suggests that Defendant committed any crime other than burlglary. Although court erred in failing to ask Defendant if he agreed with his counsel's request for a lesser-included jury instruction, it was not plain error, as evidence was not so closely balanced as to present doubt. Court within its discretion in sentencing Defendant to 9 years, which was within statutory range of 6 to 30 years. (LAVIN and MASON, concurring.)