The People Of The State Of Ill. v. Jones

399 Ill.App.3d 341

927 N.E.2d 710

339 Ill.Dec. 870

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Anteleto JONES, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-07-1190.

Appellate Court of Illinois First District, Fifth Division.

March 5, 2010.

Rehearing Denied April 7, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Emily R. Atwood, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, IL, for Petitioner-Appellant-Anteleto Jones.

Anita Alvarez, State's Attorney, County of Cook, Chicago, IL (James E. Fitzgerald, Alan J. Spellberg, Sarah L. Simpson, of counsel), for Respondent-Appellee-State of Illinois.

Presiding Justice TOOMIN delivered the opinion of the court:

In this appeal, we must determine whether the circuit court's summary dismissal of defendant's pro se petition for postconviction relief comported with the recently promulgated Hodges standard as lacking an arguable basis in law or in fact. See People v. Hodges, 234 Ill.2d 1, 332 Ill.Dec. 318, 912 N.E.2d 1204 (2009).

Following a jury trial, defendant, Anteleto Jones, was convicted of first degree murder, enhanced by a finding that he personally discharged a firearm during the course of the murder. He was sentenced to a total of 44 years' imprisonment. On direct appeal, we affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence. People v. Jones, 351 Ill.App.3d 1168, 315 Ill.Dec. 322, 876 N.E.2d 322 (2004) (unpublished order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 23). Thereafter, defendant filed a pro se petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (the Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2006)), based in part on claims of actual innocence and ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court summarily dismissed the petition finding it to be frivolous and patently without merit. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.¹

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant's convictions stemmed from the gang-related shooting of Jerry Green that occurred around 5 a.m. on January 8, 2000, on Chicago's South Side. The incident had its genesis in an ongoing gang war involving rival factions of the Gangster Disciples beginning in 1998 and continuing into January 2000. The factions, denominated the “Third Ward” and “No Limits,” bordered each other's territory. The satellite groups had separated from the Disciples in 1996 after the indictment of their leader, Larry Hoover, and other members. Defendant was a member of the Third Ward faction, as were his codefendants, Melvin Jones and Travis Ashby. Lawrence Green was the chief of the No Limits. The shooting occurred in the street adjacent to Lawrence Green's residence at 7159 South Seeley. Jerry Green, the victim, was related to Lawrence, but was not affiliated with either gang faction. There were no eyewitnesses to the occurrence.

Following his arrest, defendant provided a videotaped confession admitting his participation in the offense. Defendant subsequently moved to suppress his statements asserting that he had been interrogated after electing to remain silent and invoking his right to counsel. Additionally, defendant claimed physical coercion; that he had been “pushed, shoved and punched” by the polygraph examiner at 11th and State as other officers watched. At the hearing, Officer Robert Bartik, the polygraph examiner, denied defendant's allegations, as did three detectives from Area One Violent Crimes. Although the motion was verified, defendant did not testify nor did he call any witnesses. In turn, the motion was denied.

In January 2003, defendant and Travis Ashby proceeded to trial simultaneously before separate juries. The “double jury” procedure was implemented because of interlocking videotaped confessions wherein the defendants inculpated each other as well as themselves. Melvin Jones, who had likewise inculpated his co-offenders in his videotaped statement, was tried separately immediately following defendant's conviction and sentencing.

As the mandate of first-stage review requires that we determine whether the allegations of defendant's postconviction are rebutted by the trial record, we must consider the evidence adduced at trial. In the proceedings below, the trial evidence disclosed that Jerry Green arrived at the Members Only Lounge at 71st and Halsted between 11:30 p.m. and 12 a.m. on the evening before the shooting. He visited with his friend, Curtis Moore, who managed the club, and helped him clean up and restock the bar after closing. They left the premises around 3 a.m. in Green's gray Chevrolet and, after a brief stop, drove to Moore's home at 7159 South Seeley. Green parked his car on the south side of 72nd Street, facing east toward Damen. Moore testified that Jerry was called “Old Baby” and was related to his fiancée, Yolanda Green, who lived with her family and Moore at the Seeley residence.

Green and Moore entered the kitchen through the back door. Green went to the refrigerator to look for something to eat as Moore returned a page from earlier that evening. While Moore was on the phone, Green borrowed some money for food or gas and went out the door. As Moore remained on the phone, he heard 5 to 10 gunshots. Some of the gunshots seemed like they were right next to his window, while others did not sound as loud. Moore dropped the phone and woke his fiancée telling her that Old Baby had just gone outside. Because Moore could only see the side of the house next door from his bedroom, he went to the back of the house and looked through one of the windows. Although he could see that Green's car door was open, he could not see Green. He then went outside, where he found Green lying on his side in the street by the door of his car. The victim's feet were pointed toward the front of the car, his head to the rear. Moore called to Green, but received no response. He did not see who shot Green, nor did he see anyone running from the scene. As people gathered, Moore asked someone to call 911 and remained near the car until the police and ambulance arrived. Green initially was taken to Christ Hospital and eventually to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Odis Deal, who lived nearby at 7200 South Damen, testified that he heard the gunfire at about 5 a.m. He first heard two to three gunshots, followed by a volley of eight or nine more. They all followed one right after the other. Deal had been in the Army from 1970 to 1972 and had heard gunfire before. The first two or three gunshots sounded different from the rest, like the shots were coming from two or three different guns. About five to six minutes after the firing stopped, Deal went outside to the back of his home, which was located on the southwest corner of 72nd Street and Damen. He saw police cars and an ambulance and then went back inside.

Lawrence Green testified that he resided at 7159 South Seeley along with other family members, including Curtis Moore, who was engaged to his aunt, Yolanda Green, and Cora Green, who is the mother of his son. Jerry Green was Cora's nephew and would visit his aunt monthly. In the early morning hours of January 8, 2000, Lawrence was awakened by screaming in the house. He then went outside and saw Jerry lying down beside his car, which was parked on 72nd Street facing east toward Damen.

Lawrence Green acknowledged that he was the leader of the No Limits faction of the Gangster Disciples street gang. His nickname is “ Motor.” Green explained that the No Limits and Third Ward factions of the Disciples used to get along, but began having problems in the summer of 1998. Initially, the problems involved fighting between girls who were related to members of both factions which later led to fighting between the members. After the altercations escalated to shootings, Green and fellow gang members discussed putting out “hits” on members of the Third Ward faction.

Detective Joseph Struck was assigned to the shooting on January 8, 2000, at about 5:30 a.m. When Struck and his partner, Detective Girardi, arrived at the location beat officers had already secured the crime scene. Struck observed a gray two-door Chevrolet parked on the south side of 72nd Street facing east toward Damen. There were numerous shell casings on both sides of the vehicle and two small spots of blood on the driver's side near the rear tire. A set of keys lay nearby. Struck also noted two bullet holes in the overhead door of a garage that faced 72nd Street. The garage was in the front of the victim's car.

Forensic investigators James Shader and Carl Brasic arrived at the crime scene around 6 a.m. After speaking with the detectives, they photographed the entire scene and surrounding area. The investigators also recovered six PMC .380 auto cartridge casings, all predominately in the street alongside or immediately in front of the vehicle. Two of the .380 casings were near the driver's side door toward the rear of the car. Another casing was to the rear of the car and three additional casings were recovered from the street. A fired bullet was also observed adjacent to the driver's door next to the set of keys. Additionally, they recovered two FC 9-millimeter Luger cartridge casings on the passenger side of the car at the curb area near the front of the victim's vehicle. The investigators also examined the overhead door of the garage in front of the car. Shader testified that the bullet holes appeared to be new as there was no corrosion or wear and tear in the holes themselves and the paint chips that were dislodged appeared fresh. Although the investigators gained access to the interior of the garage, they were unable to locate any spent rounds or fragments due to the accumulation of debris.

Chief Medical Examiner Edmund Donoghue performed a post-mortem examination of Jerry Green on January 9, 2000. Dr. Donoghue found evidence of five gunshot wounds and additional abrasions or scrapes. The first evidence of injury was a gunshot entry wound to the victim's right shoulder involving the heart and abdominal cavity. A medium caliber...