People v. Parker

1

2024 IL App (1st) 231072-U

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RONDALE PARKER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-23-1072

Court of Appeals of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division

December 5, 2024

This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County. No. 16 CR 18653 Honorable James B. Linn, Judge, presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE ROCHFORD delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Lyle and Ocasio concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

ROCHFORD PRESIDING JUSTICE

¶ 1 Held: The summary dismissal of defendant's postconviction petition at the first stage is reversed where one of his claims was not frivolous or patently without merit.

¶ 2 Following a bench trial, defendant-appellant, Rondale Parker, was found guilty of second degree murder, a Class 1 offense, (720 ILCS 5/9-2(a), (d) (West 2016)), and sentenced to an extended term of 30 years' imprisonment based on the aggravation and mitigation evidence, including his criminal history, pursuant to 730 ILCS 5/5-8-2 (West 2018). On direct appeal, this court affirmed. See People v Parker, 2021 IL App (1st) 190823-U. Defendant subsequently filed a pro se postconviction petition, pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2022)), alleging ineffectiveness of trial and appellate counsel. The postconviction court summarily dismissed defendant's petition at the first stage of proceedings. On appeal, defendant contends that the postconviction court erred in summarily dismissing his petition as the allegations of ineffective assistance have an arguable basis in law and fact. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand for second-stage proceedings.

¶ 3 In 2016, defendant, then 22 years old, was charged with six counts of first degree murder, which arose from the events of the July 5, 2016 shooting death of Laron McCoy (the victim).

¶ 4 At trial, Tequila Triplett, the victim's aunt, testified that she has three sons, Charles Bolden, Raphael Triplett, and Sergio Triplett. On July 5, 2016, Tequila lived at 8136 Burnham, in Chicago (Tequila's house), across the street from her mother, Christine Triplett, who lived at 8139 South Burnham (Christine's house). At about 1:00 p.m., Tequila was on Christine's porch talking to her, when she saw the victim "pull[] up" and exit his vehicle. The victim asked for Bolden, his cousin, who he would sometimes drive to work. Tequila told the victim that Bolden had left to get cigarettes at "the candy store," located in someone's home a block away on Muskegon Street. The victim drove off and left for a short time. When the victim came back, he told Tequila that he had not found Bolden, asked her to have Bolden call him, and then entered Tequila's house.

¶ 5 Thereafter, Tequila saw Scott Coleman, the brother of defendant, walking through a vacant lot next to Christine's house (the lot). Tequila had known Coleman and defendant for about 15 years; they were about the same ages as her sons. Coleman told Tequila that the victim had swerved by his car. He stood in front of Tequila's house and then left.

¶ 6 About five minutes later, Coleman walked back through the lot with defendant and stood "directly in front" of Tequila's house. Tequila walked across the street to her house, went inside, and talked to the victim. The victim looked out the window and saw Coleman and defendant and asked Tequila what "they was on." Tequila told him, "[T]hey said something about you was swerving by their car." The victim exited Tequlia's house and walked across the street and approached Coleman and defendant, who were standing in front of Christine's house. From the window, Tequila saw the three men talking, but when "they started moving hands *** like it was getting serious," Tequila walked out of the house and into the middle of the street. She heard the victim say that he did not have to explain himself "how he drive," and then defendant "start shooting him in his face." Coleman and defendant ran away. Tequila did not see any weapons in the victim's hands and did not hear the victim threaten either Coleman or defendant. Tequila remained with the victim until the police arrived. She did not see anyone else.

¶ 7 During the shooting, Raphael was inside of Christine's house, asleep on the floor. She explained that he had a bladder problem and was "laying in piss."

¶ 8 On the day of the shooting, Tequila went to the hospital stayed a few days. Shortly after being released, she spoke to detectives about what she witnessed on the date in question. She identified photos of both Coleman and defendant.

¶ 9 On cross-examination, Tequila testified that Raphael was lying in the living room, about ten feet from the front door, which was open. Tequila never knew the victim to own a handgun and had never seen a handgun around his waist. On the day in question, Coleman and defendant stood directly in front of Christine's house. Defendant had his hand on his pocket, which concerned Tequila because she thought he had a weapon. When she went across the street to her house, the victim was inside talking to a "couple of females." After the victim looked out the window and said, "What are these guys on?", Tequila answered, "[I]t looks like they on something." Tequila testified that she meant they "were up to something." She did not tell the victim that defendant had something in his pocket.

¶ 10 On redirect examination, Tequlia testified that Raphael was in custody on a pending felony charge, and that she was not given any promises in his case for her testimony.

¶ 11 Christine Triplett testified that the victim was like a grandson to her because she knew him from her grandsons. On the day of the shooting, she was sitting on her porch with Tequila. The victim arrived at 1:00 p.m., and asked for Bolden so he could give him a ride to work. The victim went to look for him but then came right back. Christine thought he left again; she did not see his car parked down the street.

¶ 12 Shortly thereafter, Coleman walked through the lot and asked what the victim "was on," and left. Coleman came back a short while later with defendant. The victim left Tequila's house and started talking to Coleman and defendant outside of the gate in front of her house. She heard the victim say something similar to, "I drive like that anyway. I ain't got to explain nothing to you." The victim then turned his shoulder like he was going to walk away and defendant started shooting him. The victim had a beer can in his left hand that he was trying to hide from Christine, because she had never seen him drink alcohol. The victim did not have anything in his other hand.

¶ 13 Christine went inside her house and called the police. When they arrived, she told the police that defendant shot the victim. She identified defendant and Coleman in a photo array.

¶ 14 Christine testified that Raphael was in custody on a pending felony charge and that she was not given any promises for her testimony. During the shooting, Raphael was in the house "laying on the floor" in "a puddle of pee pee because *** his bladder was messed up." She never saw Raphael exit her house.

¶ 15 On cross-examination, Christine testified that when Coleman and defendant stood in front of her gate, Tequila went across the street. A short time later, the victim came outside. The victim stated that he "wasn't on nothing," and his right hand was up at face level. When she heard the first shot, she ran inside but then came right back out. The victim eventually fell to the ground.

¶ 16 The audio recording of Christine's phone call to 911 was played; at the beginning she can be heard calling for Raphael. Christine testified that Raphael never got up.

¶ 17 Thereafter, the following stipulations were made. An evidence technician would testify that he recovered four fired cartridge cases. Another evidence technician would testify that she recovered two bullet fragments that were recovered from the victim during the autopsy. A medical examiner would testify that she conducted the autopsy of the victim, who suffered four gunshot wounds. The victim suffered one gunshot wound on the left side of his face, near his jaw. This was a close-range gunshot entrance with stippling present and it exited the right side of the victim's neck. The victim suffered a gunshot wound on the left side of his head that travelled downward toward his right jaw lacerating the tongue on the right side. There was no evidence that it was a close-range gunshot wound. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his right cheek, which travelled through his brain. This was a close-range gunshot entrance wound, with the presence of stippling. The victim also had a gunshot wound on his right, anterior, upper thigh that exited the posterior inner thigh. There was no evidence that this was a close-range firing. A Chicago Police Officer would testify that he recovered a firearm during a traffic stop, and an expert in the field of forensic science would testify that this gun fired the bullets recovered from the victim's body and the four fired cartridge casings from the scene. Lastly, a toxicology report was completed and the victim's blood alcohol content was .076. ¶ 18 For the defense, Raphael Triplett testified that, on the day of the shooting, he was living at Tequila's house. He was not suffering from an illness and was not laying on the floor of Christine's house in his own urine. Rather, he was outside and saw the victim drive up, enter Tequlia's house, and exit five minutes later. Defendant and Coleman were walking up the block and stopped outside of Christine's house. The victim, who was...