Heidelberg v. Manias

1

KAYLA HEIDELBERG, Administrator of the Estate of CLEVE HEIDELBERG, JR., Plaintiff, v. EMANUEL MANIAS; LARRY BERNARD; HOLLI BAIN as the Independent Executor of the Estate of PAUL HIBSER; DAVID WENTWORTH II as the Independent Administrator of the Estates of KENNETH DECREMER, PAUL HILST, NOLAN MACKLIN, WILLIAM SCHALK, WILLARD KOEPPEL, and JOHN SACK; ROBERT WATSON JR. as the Independent Administrator of the Estate of ROBERT LEE WATSON; UNKNOWN OFFICERS OF THE PEORIA POLICE DEPARTMENT and THE PEORIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE; the CITY OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS; and the COUNTY OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS, Defendants.

No. 1:18-cv-01161-SLD-JEH

United States District Court, C.D. Illinois, Peoria Division

March 27, 2024

ORDER

SARA DARROW CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

In 1970, Cleve Heidelberg, Jr. (“Heidelberg”) was convicted of attempted armed robbery and murder of a sheriff's deputy. He spent 47 years in prison until his conviction was vacated in 2017 based on new evidence. Heidelberg died less than a year after being released. Plaintiff Kayla Heidelberg,^[1] granddaughter of Heidelberg and administrator of his estate, brings this suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Illinois state law. Before the Court are a motion for summary judgment filed by Holli Bain as the Independent Executor of the Estate of Paul Hibser, Robert Watson Jr. as the Independent Administrator of the Estate of Robert Lee Watson, and David Wentworth II as the Independent Administrator of the Estate of Paul Hilst (collectively, “City Defendants”),^[2] and City of Peoria, ECF No. 175; and a motion for summary judgment filed by Larry Bernard, Emanuel Manias, and David Wentworth II as the Independent Administrator for the Estates of Kenneth DeCremer, Willard Koeppel, Nolan Macklin, John Sack, and William Schalk (collectively, “County Defendants”),^[3] and County of Peoria, ECF No 184.^[4] For the following reasons, the motions are GRANTED.

BACKGROUND^[5]

I. The Parties

Hibser Watson, and Hilst are sued for their actions as police officers with the Peoria Police Department (“PPD”). Koeppel is sued for his actions as Sheriff of Peoria County, and Manias, Sack, DeCremer Bernard, Schalk, and Macklin^[6] for their actions as sheriff's deputies (“PCSD”) of the Peoria County Sheriff's Office (“PCSO”). Each of these Defendants is sued in his individual capacity. The City of Peoria is sued as Hibser, Watson, and Hilst's employer and statutory indemnitor. The County of Peoria is sued as the statutory indemnitor of Manias, Sack, DeCremer, Bernard, Schalk, and Macklin.

II. Armed Robbery of the Bellevue Drive-In and Shooting of Espinoza

Around 1:00 a.m. the morning of May 26, 1970, an armed Black man attempted to rob the Bellevue Drive-In Theater in Peoria, Illinois, holding Mayme Manuel, the theater manager, and Maurice Creemens, the projectionist, at gunpoint. PCSO Sergeant Raymond Espinoza, riding with confidential informant Jerry Lucas, was the first to arrive at the scene at about 1:30 a.m. The armed robber shot and killed Espinoza before absconding with Manuel in a blue Chevy II. Lucas called for help using Espinoza's radio.

A few hours earlier, Heidelberg had gathered with his friends Lester Mason, James Clark, Matthew Clark, and Junius Whitt at the TT Club, a bar in Peoria, Illinois. Heidelberg lent Mason his car that night, the same blue Chevy II that was used as the getaway car after the Bellevue Drive-In armed robbery and shooting.

The first description of the suspect communicated over the PPD radio frequency was “colored male, probably in a Rambler, . . . yellow shirt, brown jacket.” Dispatch Tr. 1:33.55, City Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 9, ECF No. 175-10. In 1970, PCSDs had access to the PPD radio frequency and PSCO dispatchers could phone PPD dispatchers with information they wanted broadcast over the PPD frequency.

A little after 1:30 a.m., PCSDs Bernard and Schalk arrived at the Bellevue Drive-In and interviewed Lucas and Cremeens. Bernard and Schalk did not write down a description of Lucas's clothing, but at Heidelberg's criminal trial they both testified that Lucas was wearing a yellow shirt and brown jacket that night. Lucas testified that he was wearing a gold shirt, black pants, and black shoes the night of the shooting.

At about the same time, PCSDs Sack and DeCremer - together in their squad car, unit 714 - were driving west toward the Bellevue Drive-In when they saw a blue Chevy II (similar in body type to a Rambler) drive past them heading east. Sack and DeCremer did a U-turn, and followed the vehicle east on Plank Road then Harmon Highway away from the drive-in. Sack and DeCremer communicated over the PPD radio frequency: “We have blue Chevy II pass us as we were going out. Two subjects in the car. The colored subject does have the woman from the drive-in with him. Does have the woman with the drive-in with him.” Id. at 1:34.05. Phyllis Fondriest, PPD radio operator, responded, “10-4,” and Unit 714 replied, “Colored male, yellow shirt.” Id. at 1:34.25;^[7] Dispatch Audio 6:10-6:14, Cnty. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 36, ECF No. 186-12. Sack and DeCremer lost sight of the car for a short while as the highway curved but caught up with it again at a stop sign where Harmon Highway merged with Lincoln Street.

City Defendants Watson and Hilst were each parked near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Laramie Street. They saw the blue Chevy II drive by with Sack and DeCremer in hot pursuit, and quickly followed them as the Chevy II turned left (north) onto Blaine Street, and then right (east) onto Butler Street, where it crashed into a parked car near 1803 West Butler Street. The driver of the blue Chevy II got out of the vehicle and fled on foot.

Hilst relayed over the PPD radio that PCSD DeCremer saw the suspect wearing a “dark blue sweater over a light blue shirt.” Dispatch Tr. 1:41.00;^[8] Dispatch Audio 12:56. About fifteen minutes later, Fondriest repeated that description of the suspect's clothing over the PPD radio frequency. Dispatch Tr. 1:57.10; Dispatch Audio 22:35.

County and City officers searched the area on foot for about twenty minutes. At 2:08 a.m., Heidelberg was arrested on the back porch of 1612 W. Butler, a few houses away from the crash site, wearing a blue shirt and gray sport coat. The arresting officers sicced their dogs on Heidelberg and kicked his head and body. He was taken to the PPD and processed, then to a hospital where he was treated for cuts and dog bites, requiring six stitches. Sack and DeCremer then transported Heidelberg to the Peoria County Jail.

III. The Investigation

Around 3:30 a.m. on May 26, 1970, a lineup was conducted by Manias at the Peoria County Jail that was viewed by eyewitnesses Lucas, Cremeens, and Manuel. Heidelberg stood in the lineup with three other Black male fillers. Koeppel and Macklin were in the viewing room with the witnesses. Manuel was unable to identify any of the men as the suspect. Cremeens identified Heidelberg in the first run of the lineup but identified a different man in the second run of the lineup. Lucas personally knew Heidelberg and identified him by name during the lineup. Manias wrote a report falsely stating that all three eyewitnesses positively identified Heidelberg as the shooter. Macklin told Manias to redraft the report omitting Lucas's name because Lucas was a confidential informant.

That same day, the Illinois State Police confirmed that the 1964 Chevy II with the license plate “TT 8665” found at the crash site of Blaine and Butler was registered to Heidelberg.

After Heidelberg's arrest, Manias spoke with officers who were involved in the police chase, including PCSDs Sack and DeCremer and PPD Officers Hibser and Hilst. Manias did not consider these to be formal interviews and did not make his own report of his conversations. He instead instructed the individual officers to write their own reports. On May 31, 1970, Manias listened in on a privileged conversation between Heidelberg and his appointed attorney and learned of Heidelberg's intent to pursue an alibi defense. He wrote a report documenting what he heard and turned it in to Macklin.

During the investigation, officers found the murder weapon in the blue Chevy II, along with a few other items there and at the theater, which were sent to the FBI for a ballistics and fingerprint examination. On June 5, 1970, the FBI sent a telegram to Sheriff Koeppel informing him that Heidelberg's prints were not on the murder weapon. Neither this telegram nor a further FBI latent fingerprint report documenting the results of the fingerprint testing done on the items was disclosed to Heidelberg.

IV. Heidelberg's Criminal Trial and Appeal

On June 10, 1970, Heidelberg was indicted by a grand jury and charged with attempted armed robbery and the murder of Espinoza. On July 30, 1970, Heidelberg moved to suppress the lineup eyewitness identifications, alleging due process violations. Manuel testified at the evidentiary hearings held in August and September, stating that during the lineup, her “glasses were broken and [she] couldn't see,” and that she did not identify any suspect. Aug. 25, 1970 Mot. Suppress Tr. 62-63, Cnty. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 42, ECF No. 187-1. Manias testified that he wrote a second lineup report solely to remove Lucas's name to keep his name from becoming public prior to trial. Heidelberg's motion to suppress was denied on September 16, 1970.

On November 5, 1970, the court heard several motions including a rule to show cause based on the prosecution's alleged discovery violations. For several months prior, Heidelberg had persistently requested that the prosecution provide him with the audio recording of the police dispatch from the night of the murder. At the hearing, the prosecutor stated that he had...