People v. Ramirez-Lucas

2017 IL App (2d) 150156

83 N.E.3d 539

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.David RAMIREZ–LUCAS, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 2-15-0156.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

Opinion filed August 8, 2017

Michael J. Pelletier, Thomas A. Lilien, Alan D. Goldberg, and Aliza R. Kaliski, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Joseph P. Bruscato, State's Attorney, of Rockford (Patrick Delfino, Lawrence M. Bauer, and Victoria E. Jozef, of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

JUSTICE SCHOSTOK delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Following a jury trial, the defendant, David Ramirez–Lucas, was convicted of first-degree felony murder in connection with the deaths of two men at a Rockford bar. He was sentenced to natural life imprisonment. On direct appeal, this court affirmed those convictions and the sentence. See People v. Ramirez–Lucas , 2013 IL App (2d) 110940-U, 2013 WL 1804204. The defendant thereafter filed a postconviction petition, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present three occurrence witnesses whose testimony would have corroborated his self-defense theory. The trial court dismissed the defendant's petition as frivolous and patently without merit. We reverse and remand for additional proceedings.

¶ 2 BACKGROUND

¶ 3 We previously summarized the relevant facts in our resolution of the defendant's direct appeal (see id. ), and we restate the pertinent facts here.

¶ 4 On December 19, 2007, the State charged the defendant with the knowing and felony murders ( 720 ILCS 5/9–1(a)(2), (a)(3) (West 2006)) of Tomas Mora and Heriberto Mendez. The defendant was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm ( 720 ILCS 5/12–4.2(a)(1) (West 2006)) as to Jesus Medrano, Leonardo Medrano, and Jose Ibarra. He was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm ( 720 ILCS 5/24–1.2(a)(2) (West 2006)) as to Cristiano Ramirez.

¶ 5 Between May 3 and May 10, 2010, the trial court conducted a jury trial on the charges against the defendant. The evidence presented indicated that on the evening of December 8, 2007, the defendant went to the El Tenampa bar on South Main Street in Rockford. El Tenampa was celebrating its fifth anniversary in business, and had a band playing in addition to various special events such as a raffle and giveaways of promotional items. The defendant arrived between 7:30 and 8 p.m. and sat at a table near the restrooms. The bar was U-shaped, with the back door to the parking lot at the southwest end of the U. The defendant was sitting in the northwest corner. The defendant drank at least 10 beers, ordering 3 or 4 "buckets" of beer (buckets filled with ice and bottles of beer). The bar was crowded, primarily with family and friends of the owner, Jesus Medrano, Sr. Witnesses estimated that there were between 40 and 60 people there.

¶ 6 Sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight, the defendant went to the restroom. There he encountered Jesus Medrano, Jr., and the two got into an altercation when (according to Medrano, Jr., and his friend Hugo Garza) the defendant made a comment about urinating in the bathroom sink. Garza joined in and began fighting with the defendant, hitting him seven or eight times. A few minutes later, Medrano, Sr., broke up the fight and told the defendant he had to leave. At that point the defendant's nose was bloody, as was his shirt. Garza's shirt also had blood on the sleeve, and he changed it later while still at the bar. Various witnesses testified that the defendant left El Tenampa peacefully (accompanied to the door by Medrano, Sr.), although the defendant testified that he was angry.

¶ 7 A friend gave the defendant a ride to his home, which was about 10 minutes away. The defendant did not have his keys, so he used a hidden key to enter his home. (The defendant originally testified that when he got home he looked for his keys and realized at that point he did not have them. However, the defendant later testified that he realized as he was being ejected from El Tenampa that he did not have his keys or cell phone and that he asked Medrano, Sr., to get those items for him, but Medrano, Sr., merely repeated that the defendant had to leave.) At his home, the defendant went to the bathroom, washed his face, and changed his clothes. He then decided to go back to El Tenampa to get his phone and keys. He took with him a fully-loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. The same friend who had given him a ride home gave him a ride back to El Tenampa.

¶ 8 The Shooting of Leonardo Medrano

¶ 9 The defendant arrived back at El Tenampa about 30 to 45 minutes after he had been ejected, and entered by the back door (the door most commonly used by patrons). Immediately inside the back door was a short hallway with two side doors, one leading to the area where drinks were served and one to the kitchen. Beyond that was the main room of El Tenampa. The defendant testified that he had his gun in the pocket of his jacket, with the handle sticking out a little bit. He walked into the main room and toward the area where he had been sitting earlier. According to the defendant, when he was a short distance away from the table where he had been sitting, he saw that his keys and phone were not on the table and turned around to leave. Without warning he was then grabbed from behind. He took his gun out of his pocket and fired a shot into the floor. He fired into the floor because he did not want to hurt the man who had grabbed him.

¶ 10 Various witnesses had differing accounts of the events that occurred immediately after the defendant returned to the bar. Nicole Beard, a waitress at El Tenampa, testified that she was in front of a closet near the back door when the defendant came in. He walked past her, and then he bumped into someone else and his coat flew open. At that point, people started screaming in Spanish. (Beard did not understand Spanish.) The defendant kept walking toward the crowd, and the crowd came toward him. The defendant then raised his hand above the crowd. He was holding a gun and started shooting in the air toward the crowd. Beard heard two to four shots as she left.

¶ 11 Medrano, Sr., testified that he did not notice that the defendant had come into the bar until someone yelled, "He has a gun!" The defendant was standing near the dartboard (near the restrooms) when Medrano, Sr., heard the first shot. After the first shot, the defendant began walking back toward the exit. Leonardo Medrano (one of the owner's sons) came up to the defendant and tried to take his gun away. Leonardo fell back and the defendant shot him in the leg. Leonardo's sister Nidya Angeles covered Leonardo with her body, and the defendant kicked at Leonardo's face. Medrano, Sr., hit the bar's "panic button" to call the police.

¶ 12 Angeles testified that she, Leonardo, and some others were at a table between the pool table and the restrooms. She saw the defendant escorted out. Later, she heard someone yell, "he has a gun!" The defendant was near the dartboard then. She saw the defendant pointing the gun, then shooting. Leonardo was near her and the defendant pointed the gun at him. She pulled Leonardo backward and he fell. Angeles then covered him with her body. Angeles did not recall the defendant shooting Leonardo. However, as she and Leonardo were lying on the floor, she "felt kicking."

¶ 13 Leonardo testified that he had followed his father as the defendant was escorted out after the restroom fight. When the defendant returned about 30 minutes later, Leonardo saw him. He approached the defendant and asked "what are you doing?" because the defendant had a gun in his hand. Leonardo described the defendant as holding the gun with his elbow bent and the gun pointed upward at a 45-degree angle. As the defendant walked toward the dartboard, he straightened his arm and began sweeping the gun back and forth in a panning motion. Leonardo tried to grab the gun from the defendant, but the defendant pulled away and shot once. The shot was toward Leonardo but missed him. Leonardo tried again to grab the gun. The defendant pushed him and then shot him in the leg as he fell backward. Angeles jumped on top of Leonardo and covered him, screaming at the defendant to leave him alone. The defendant then kicked Leonardo in the mouth.

¶ 14 Antonio Ramirez testified that he was at El Tenampa with his brother Christiano. He was sitting near the front door and the pool table, near the east end of the room. He saw the defendant escorted out after the restroom fight. About half an hour later, he saw the defendant run in, screaming "where is he, where is he?" and scanning the bar. (This is contrary to the testimony of most of the witnesses, who stated that the defendant did not say anything while he was moving through the bar.) Christiano pointed the defendant out to Antonio. Antonio saw the defendant holding the gun straight out in front of him and sweeping it back and forth toward people in a horizontal panning motion. Antonio saw Leonardo approach the defendant and try to calm him down. The defendant got mad and pushed Leonardo, who fell backward. The defendant then shot toward Leonardo. Antonio and Christiano heard a second shot, and people began screaming and running.

¶ 15 The Confrontation with Christiano Ramirez

¶ 16 Antonio and Christiano turned to go, but were blocked by other people. The defendant began approaching them. Christiano, who was holding a bottle of beer, stepped in front of Antonio. Christiano testified that the defendant approached until the gun was within a foot of Christiano's chest. Both Christiano and Antonio testified that the defendant pointed the gun at them. The defendant said something to Christiano in Spanish that he did not understand; according to Antonio, the man wanted Christiano to drop the bottle. The defendant testified that, as he was heading for the door, Christiano was...