Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Accountability Theory
Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, on accountability theory of 1st degree murder of one person and attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm as to 2 other persons. State's use of unsubstantiated assertions as to Defendant's alleged threat to intended victim's motion deprived him of a fair trial and was plain error in light of closeness of the evidence. State improperly bolstered otherwise admissible statement of identification by the only witness who testified that Defendant had a gun, by repeatedly showing jury photo arrays on which witness had written those statements.(PUCINSKI and HYMAN, concurring.)