Kidd v. Pfister
| Decision Date | 08 June 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 17 C 7031 |
| Parties | Leonard Kidd, (N23646), Petitioner, v. Randy Pfister, Warden, Stateville Correctional Center, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Hon. Robert W. Gettleman
Petitioner Leonard Kidd, a prisoner incarcerated at the Stateville Correctional Center, brings this counseled amended habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his convictions for quadruple murder, armed robbery, aggravated arson, and concealment of a homicidal death in the Circuit Court of Cook County. He alleges: (1) his confession was coerced through torturous interrogation by the police and was wrongfully introduced at his trial; (2) ineffective assistance of trial counsel at the suppression hearing for failing to investigate and present evidence supporting his coerced confession claim; and, (3) the state court made an unreasonable determination of fact that the police did not torture him. He also requests an evidentiary hearing. The Court denies the petition on the merits, and declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
The Court draws the following factual history from the state court record and appellate opinions. (Dkt. 1, 4, 16.) State court factual findings, including facts set forth in state court appellate opinions, have a presumption of correctness, and Petitioner has the burden of rebutting the presumption by clear and convincing evidence. Brumfield v. Cain, 576 U.S. 305, ___, 135 S. Ct. 2269, 2282 n.8 (2015) (citing 28 U.S.C § 2254(e)(1)); Hartsfield v. Dorethy, 949 F.3d 307, 309 n.1 (7th Cir. 2020) (citations omitted).
The evidence at Petitioner's trial showed that on the morning of January 12, 1984, the bodies of Renee Coleman, her nine-year-old son, Anthony, Michelle Jointer, and Ricardo Pedro, were discovered in an apartment building in Chicago. Illinois v. Kidd, No. 2016 IL App (1st) 122605-U, 2016 WL 1273897, at *1 (Ill. App. Ct. Mar. 31, 2016). The victims died of repeated stab wounds. Id. Coleman, her son, and Jointer lived at the apartment. Id. at *5.
The neighbor living in the apartment immediately below the victims, and who was friends with Coleman and Jointer, testified that he heard a commotion coming from the victim's apartment at 4:15 a.m., on the morning of the murders. Id. at *5. This was followed by Renee Coleman shouting, "you guys, stop it; you guys, stop it." Id. The neighbor did not hear another sound from the upstairs apartment until 6 a.m., when he heard what sounded like people shuffling around. Id. He then heard Renee and Anthony Coleman crying out hysterically. Id. Everything became very quiet two minutes later. Id.
The neighbor called the police. Id. A few minutes later, the neighbor heard a person outside saying the apartment building was on fire. Id. Water and smoke began coming into the neighbor's apartment from the above apartment. Id. The neighbor fled from the building after unsuccessfully attempting to put out the fire in the victims' apartment. Id.
The fire department would extinguish the fire. Id. One of the firefighters on the scene testified that, while he was outside the apartment building after extinguishing the fire, Petitionerapproached him asking if anyone was dead in the building. Id. at *11. The firefighter responded that four bodies were recovered. Id. Petitioner then asked if the bodies had been burnt, to which the firefighter said no. Id. Petitioner responded "Damn," and then walked away. Id. The firefighter contacted the police two days later after seeing Petitioner's picture in the newspaper along with an article about the fire. Id. The firefighter admitted on cross examination that he was not 100% sure if Petitioner was the man he spoke to as Petitioner's trial occurred nine and half years after the killings. Id. at *12.
Chicago Police Department Detectives Robert Flood and Dennis McGuire were assigned from Area 2 violent crimes to investigate the murders. Id. at *6, *9. They arrived at the victims' apartment at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the killings finding it severely damaged by the fire. Id. at *6. The four victims' bodies were in the back bedroom. Id. Pedro was bound by a scarf, and stab wounds were visible on his neck. Id. Jointer's hands were tied behind her back with an extension cord, and an article of clothing was tied around her neck. Id. Renee Coleman's hands were bound by a telephone extension cord with a cloth around her neck. Id. Anthony's hands were also bound with a telephone cord, and a cloth wrapped tightly around his neck as well. Id.
Subsequent autopsies found that Pedro, Jointer, and Renee Coleman had traces of cocaine in their systems. Id. at *7. The medical examiner estimated they consumed cocaine within three hours of their deaths. Id. Anthony Coleman's test was negative for drugs or alcohol. Id. Pedro had 10 stab wounds to his face, neck, and chest. Id. Michelle Jointer suffered 14 stab wounds to her chest, shoulder, back, and thigh. Id. Renee Coleman had 17 stab wounds and 18 incision wounds to her face, chest, back, forearm, and hand. Id. Anthony Coleman had seven stab wounds and six incision wounds to his head and chest. Id.
A police bomb and arson specialist concluded that two separate fires were set in the apartment, one in a front bedroom and the other in the back bedroom where the bodies were found. Id. at *12. No accelerants, such as gasoline, were used to start the fires. Id. A police evidence technician could not recover any fingerprints suitable for comparison due to the severity of the smoke, soot, water, and fire damage in the apartment. Id.
Despite the fire, the detectives recovered documents and pictures in the bedroom where the victims' bodies were discovered. Id. at *6. One item was a public assistance application listing a woman named Eniwotec Durr. Id. Various photographs of people, and a green address book with addresses and telephone numbers was also recovered. Id. At approximately noon that day, Detective Flood spoke to Durr who identified Leroy Orange as one of the men in the photographs. Id. Orange's name was also in the address book. Id.
Orange was an acquaintance of the victims, and Petitioner's half-brother.1 Illinois v. Orange, 659 N.E.2d 935, 938 (Ill. 1995). Flood determined the phone numbers listed for Orange were for his wife's and mother's homes. Kidd, No. 2016 IL App (1st) 122605-U, 2016 WL 1273897, at *7.
A group of officers went to both locations at approximately 3:00 p.m. on the day of the murders. Id. at *6. Orange's wife said that she did not know his location. Id. at *7. She explained that Orange left their home the night before at approximately 7:00 p.m., and did not return that evening. Id. His wife went to work at 9:00 a.m. that morning and returned around2:00 p.m. Id. Orange's wife found clothes belonging to Petitioner in the apartment when she returned from work that day. Id. Petitioner's clothes were not there when she went to work that morning. Id. Orange's wife called Orange's mother's home speaking to Orange on the phone. Id. She told the police Orange's location. Id. Flood and other officers arrested Orange at his mother's home. Id.
A short time later, Orange's wife received a call from Petitioner asking to meet because he had something to tell her that "could put me and [Orange] away for the rest of our lives." Id. She agreed to meet Petitioner at a nearby McDonald's at 4 p.m. Id. Orange's wife related to the police what Petitioner said, and the plan to meet at the McDonald's. Id. Petitioner met Orange's wife at the McDonald's where he told her that Orange had paid someone to stab Renee Coleman. Id. at *8. The police arrested Petitioner at the McDonald's following his statement to Orange's wife. Id.
Orange, his wife, and Petitioner were taken to Chicago Police Area 2 headquarters. Id. at *8, *17. Orange's wife, who saw Orange at Area 2, said he was wearing different clothes than those he wore when he left their apartment the prior evening. Id. at *8. Orange and Petitioner were isolated from one another and questioned separately. Id. at *17. Flood and McGuire conducted the questioning. Id.
The officers began questioning Orange at Area 2 at 3:30pm, approximately a half hour after his arrest. Id. McGuire testified that Orange said that two men came to the apartment, andthat the men were mad at "Rick" for a drug deal that had ended badly. Id. Orange identified the men as "Ricky Jones," and "Slick Rick." Id.
At approximately 5:15 p.m, a little more than an hour after his arrest, Flood and McGuire, questioned Petitioner at Area 2. Id. at *9. McGuire testified at trial that he read Petitioner his Miranda rights and Petitioner acknowledged that he understood them. Id.
Per McGuire's trial testimony, Petitioner stated that he went to Orange's girlfriend's apartment that morning around midnight and stayed until 4:30 a.m. Id. Petitioner said he heard an argument between Orange and one of the victims, Pedro. Id. Petitioner stepped out of the apartment as the argument became violent. Id. As Petitioner exited the apartment, two men entered the apartment displaying knives. Id. Petitioner initially said he went home, but later said he waited outside the apartment. Id. Petitioner identified the men as "Slick Rick," and "Ricky Jones." Id. He would later admit that he made up the name Ricky Jones, but asserted Slick Rick was the name of the man in the apartment. Id.
According to McGuire, Petitioner said the men exited the apartment with knives and one of them was covered in blood. Id. Orange exited the apartment a short time later, and he and Petitioner took a bus home. Id. On the ride home, Petitioner asked Orange what happened, and Orange replied, "We cut them up real bad." Id.
McGuire also said he asked Petit...
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