Differed Victim In the Indictment from the Victim at Trial

In People v. Santiago, 279 Ill. App. 3d 749, 216 Ill. Dec. 320, 665 N.E.2d 380 (1996), the information charged defendant with committing an armed robbery against Jiminez while at trial Rodriquez testified that defendant robbed him. The State never moved to amend the indictment. Defendant argued on appeal that because the victim alleged in the indictment differed from the victim at trial, his conviction should be reversed. The appellate court disagreed. It noted that defendant did not deny that Rodriquez was robbed but claimed that Rodriquez mistakenly identified him. The court therefore found that the variance in the information was not fatal to the conviction because defendant did not sustain any prejudice and double jeopardy prevented defendant from being subjected to a second trial for the armed robbery against Rodriquez. The trial testimony and record undisputably established that the right defendant was tried for the right armed robbery. Santiago, 279 Ill. App. 3d at 753-54.