Clark v. Lashbrook

TOMMY CLARK, K77216 Petitioner, v. JACQUELINE LASHBROOK, Warden, Respondent.

No. 14-CV-03936

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

February 21, 2017

Judge John J. Tharp, Jr.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Before the Court is Petitioner Tommy Clark's petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Clark, who is a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, is currently serving a life sentence at the Menard Correctional Center located in Menard, Illinois for the 1997 double murder of Kevin Martin and Julio Meza. Respondent Jacqueline Lashbrook is the Menard facility's warden.¹ In his petition, Clark identifies five grounds for relief. Some of his claims are procedurally defaulted, however, and the remainder, though not frivolous, fall short for the reasons that follow. Accordingly, the petition is denied.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND²

In November 1997, petitioner Tommy Clark, Amos Chairs, and Traye Booker were charged with strangling to death, and then robbing, Kevin Martin and Julio Meza during the evening hours of August 21, 1997. Chairs and Booker were tried together while Clark was triedalone. In the joint trial of Chairs and Booker, Chairs was ultimately convicted while Booker was acquitted. In August 1999, a jury convicted Clark on all counts and the trial court sentenced Clark to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The murders occurred at a bar that Martin owned—known as "Johnny's Club"—located at 71st and Western in Chicago, Illinois. At trial, the prosecution's general theory was that Chairs, Clark, and Butler, who were all members of the Gangster Disciples street gang, agreed to meet Martin and Meza at Johnny's Club and to pretend to be interested in purchasing drugs when in fact they intended to steal the drugs from Meza. Because they had no direct evidence of who killed Martin and Meza, the prosecution sought to prove that Meza and Martin were killed during the course of this robbery and that Clark was responsible for the murders under an accountability theory based on his participation in the robbery. Although the prosecution was unable to provide any physical evidence linking Clark to the murders, they were able to offer significant circumstantial evidence implicating Clark in the robbery and murder.

This evidence included the testimony of Stacy Lynn Jones, who at the time of the murders was dating Chairs. She testified that while dating Chairs she learned that he was a "Governor" within the Gangster Disciples and that Clark was his "Assistant Governor." Resp't Ex. D at 4, ECF 18-4. As leaders within the Gangster Disciples organization, Chairs and Clark were responsible for overseeing the gang's operations in a portion of Chicago's south side. Id. According to Jones, Clark "was with [Chairs] like glue" and was Chairs' "right hand man." Supplemental State Court Record ("Supp. R."), ECF 27-5 at 157-158; Tr. A-156; -158]. After his arrest, Clark acknowledged that he had obtained his rank of Assistant Governor in the gang from Chairs. When asked what an assistant governor does, Clark responded: "he helps the governor." Supp. R., ECF 27-1, at T-89.

During trial, Jones recounted her interactions with Clark and Chairs in the weeks leading up to the murders. She testified that in August 1997, she was driving a rented Plymouth Breeze, which Chairs also occasionally drove. Resp't Ex. D at 4. She recalled that during the first week of August, Chairs was driving her car to an unspecified location while she rode in the front passenger seat and Clark was in the back seat. During this car ride, Chairs proceeded to tell Clark that Kevin Martin knew a "Mexican" who was in possession of fifty pounds of marijuana. Id. Chairs indicated to Clark that he wanted to steal the marijuana so the Gangster Disciples could sell it for $800 a pound. Id. Jones offered no testimony indicating that Clark responded to Chairs' plan.

Approximately one week later, according to Jones, Chairs drove Clark and her to a bar on 59th and San Francisco. Id. at 5. Chairs then told Clark that he was going inside to meet Martin, who was going to introduce Chairs to the Mexican who supposedly had the marijuana. Id. When they arrived at the bar, Chairs instructed Clark and Jones to wait in the car. Id. Jones recalled that Chairs returned to the car about fifteen minutes later and said that Martin was not inside, but that the Mexican was and he had in his possession of a large amount of cocaine. Id. Chairs and Clark briefly discussed a plan to steal the cocaine from the Mexican, but they ultimately decided not to do so at that time because they did not have enough cash to create a bankroll that was physically large enough to deceive the drug supplier as to their bona fides (they discussed papering the outside of the roll with twenties while the inside would consist of singles). Id.

A week later, in the early afternoon of August 21, 1997, Chairs and Jones picked up Clark and drove to 74th and Parnell. Id. Chairs was driving, with Jones seated in the front passenger seat, and Clark seated in the back. Chairs then explained to Jones that he was going to drop her off and that "we are going to take the bud [marijuana] from the Mexican and Kevin."Dkt 27-5 at 141; Tr. A-140. Chairs then dropped off Jones and Clark climbed into the front seat of Jones's car. At approximately 5:00 p.m. (according to Jones), Chairs returned to pick her up and told her that the "Mexican" had refused to give up the drugs, but not to worry because "folks took care of it." Resp't Ex. D at 5. Chairs then instructed Jones to get rid of her cellphone because it had been used to contact Martin. Id. Clark was not present for this conversation.

A few days later, Chairs, while driving with Jones, stopped at the corner of 79th and Vincennes and spoke to another Gangster Disciple (who is not otherwise identified in the record). The Gangster Disciple asked Chairs if he "had something to do with what happened on 71st where they found [the victims] duct-taped and in the garbage can." Id. at 5-6. Chairs answered that he had nothing to do with anything that happened on 71st Street. Assuming that Chairs was lying to the other Gangster Disciple, Jones later told Chairs that she was worried the police would be able to lift his fingerprints off the duct tape. Chairs responded with "it wasn't no duct tape and [the victims] wasn't in no garbage can." Id. at 6. Chairs instructed her that if the police came and asked her where he was the evening of August 21, she was to tell them that he was with her. Id. Again, Clark was not present for this conversation.

The State then offered the testimony of Tanya Robinson, who occasionally worked as a bartender at Johnny's Club and had known Martin for eleven years. Id. at 7. She testified that on August 21, 1997, at approximately 7:00 p.m., she was drinking in Johnny's Club and saw Clark, Chairs, Booker, Martin, and another man she knew as Bud Mayor, sitting at the bar talking among themselves. Id. She finished the beer she was drinking and then left the bar. Id. Bud Mayor also left at this time. Id.

Robinson then went to her friend's house a few blocks away. She testified at trial that she returned to the bar "like maybe I say a few minutes. Maybe a couple of hours. I'm not sure."³ Supp. Record, ECF 27-1, T-12. When she returned, the front door of the bar was locked. Id. She knocked on the door and Martin let her inside. She observed Clark, Chairs, and Booker get up from bar stools and walk towards a bedroom in the back of the bar. Id. Martin put money in the jukebox, turned the volume up, and proceeded to follow the others into the back bedroom. Id. Robinson listened to the music for a short time before going to use the restroom, which was located directly across the hall from the room the group had just entered. Id. As she left the restroom, Robinson heard Chairs say, "Where's the stuff at, where's the shit at?" A voice with a "Mexican accent" she did not recognize then said, "please don't do this, please don't do this." Id. at 7-8. She testified that another unknown voice then said, "He knows where it's at. He knows where it's at." Id. at 8. Robinson indicated that she did not believe this voice belonged to Chairs, Booker, or Martin and that it lacked the distinct accent that the previous "Mexican" voice had. Id. Martin then stated, "tell him what they want to know, tell them what they want to hear." Id.

Robinson proceeded back towards the main part of the bar and sat down to finish her beer. Id. A short time later she turned to see Booker exiting the bedroom and approaching her, while she simultaneously heard someone leave through the backdoor. Id. Booker placed one hand on her shoulder and with the other hand gave her a ring and told her "if this ring get [sic] back to the police, we'll know you told. And if you tell them anything you heard tonight . . . I'll kill you." Id.

Booker left and Robinson continued to sit at the bar until the music ended. Id. She walked towards the back and called Martin's name but heard no response. Id. She then looked into the back bedroom and saw Martin and Meza lying on the floor. Id. Suspecting they were dead, she ran home. Id. Robinson admitted that she did not know how many people were in the back bedroom, but maintained that she was sure that she saw Clark, Chairs, Booker, and Martin enter the room. Id. On cross examination, Robinson also admitted that she had used heroin a few times that month and was given money to relocate as a result of her cooperation with authorities. Id. at 9. Robinson also testified that she had previously had sex with both Chairs and Booker, a fact she acknowledged she had not told police when they questioned her about the events at the bar on the night of the murders. Id.

Chicago Police Detective Edward Winstead testified that he responded to a call concerning the discovery of the murders at the bar the following morning,...