People v. Gilliam
State: Illinois
Docket No: 77771
Docket No. 77771--Agenda 3--March 1996.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellee, v.
OASBY GILLIAM, Appellant.
Opinion filed May 23, 1996.
JUSTICE FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Jefferson County,
defendant, Oasby Gilliam, was convicted of first degree murder, aggravated
kidnapping, and robbery. 720 ILCS 5/9--1(a)(1), 10--2(a)(3), 18--1(a) (West
1992). At a separate sentencing hearing, the same jury found defendant
eligible for the death penalty and further determined that there were no
mitigating circumstances sufficient to preclude imposition of that sentence.
The trial court sentenced defendant to death on the murder conviction
and to concurrent, extended 30-year prison terms on the aggravated kidnapping
and robbery convictions. The death sentence has been stayed pending direct
review by this court. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, 4(b); 134 Ill. 2d Rs. 603,
609(a). We affirm defendant's convictions and sentences.
BACKGROUND
Defendant was charged in a seven-count information with four counts of
first degree murder based on intent, recklessness, and the predicate felonies
of robbery and aggravated kidnapping; one count of aggravated kidnapping; and
two counts of robbery alleging the taking of an automobile and a wristwatch.
Defendant was tried on all counts.
The State's evidence at trial was essentially as follows. On June 19,
1992, at approximately 2:15 p.m., bartender Russell Turner was alone at work
at Sovereign Liquors, at 6202 N. Broadway in Chicago. Defendant entered the
tavern and asked to use the restroom. Before he left, defendant put down a
plastic grocery bag and ordered a beer. The bag contained a paper bag that
held two bricks. When he returned, defendant changed his order. As Turner
leaned over to fill a glass with ice, defendant struck Turner over the head
with the bag, and a vicious struggle ensued. Defendant repeatedly pounded and
stamped on Turner and struck him with a brick and a liquor bottle.
Turner eventually maneuvered himself such that he struggled to pull
defendant out the tavern door, while defendant pulled Turner to keep him
inside. Because Turner was covered in his own blood, defendant slipped out of
Turner's hands and Turner went out the door. Once Turner was outside,
defendant immediately ran out of the tavern. Defendant ran south on Broadway
and then west on nearby Granville Avenue.
The victim in this case, Aileen D'Elia, lived on the first floor of a
two-flat building at 6223 N. Lakewood Avenue. The victim was 79 years old, 5
feet 2 inches tall, and wore dentures. She wore a Medic Alert bracelet,
wedding and engagement rings, a ring containing an aquamarine stone,
earrings, a wristwatch, and a silver bracelet. Also, the victim owned a brown
1986 Chevrolet Caprice. The car was in good condition because the victim kept
it in the garage behind her home.
On June 19, 1992, between 2:20 and 2:40 p.m., the victim returned home,
driving her car onto a cement slab next to her garage. At approximately 4:30
p.m., the victim's granddaughter, who lived on the second floor of the
building, noticed that the victim's apartment door was ajar and her car was
missing.
On July 1, the victim's corpse was found in a field near Illinois Route
15, approximately 2
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