People v. Wright

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of four counts of armed robbery while armed with a firearm. Court's pretrial admonishments failed to substantially comply with Rule 401(a) prior to accepting Defendant's waiver of counsel, as court never gave accurate statement of maximum punishment prior to waiver of counsel, and no evidence that Defendant was aware of penalty. At hearing on record outside presence of jury, with codefendant present, codefendant invoked his right not to testify under fifth amendment, and he was thus unavailable to testify for purposes of Rule 804(b)(3). However, Defendant failed to establish conditions for admissibility under Rule 804(b)(3) and thus court properly excluded codefendant's statement. Evidence was sufficient to find Defendant guilty of armed robbery with a firearm beyond a reasonable doubt. Even though witnesses viewed only the handle of the gun, their testimonies as to their having viewed guns before, and ample opportunity to view weapon at close distance, was sufficient identification.(FITZGERALD SMITH and ELLIS, concurring.)