Maclin v. Pfister
| Decision Date | 23 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 15 C 04357,15 C 04357 |
| Parties | GEORGE MACLIN, Petitioner, v. RANDY PFISTER, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
George Maclin filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his 2007 state court conviction for first-degree felony murder.1 R. 1, Habeas Pet.2 For the reasons stated below, Maclin's petition is denied and this Court will not issue a certificate of appealability.
In reviewing a petition for habeas corpus relief under § 2254, a federal court must presume that the factual findings made by the last state court to decide the case on the merits are correct. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Coleman v. Hardy, 690 F.3d 811, 815 (7th Cir. 2015). This presumption can be overcome if the petitioner rebuts the state court's findings by clear and convincing evidence. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). Because Maclin has not presented clear and convincing evidence to rebut this presumption of correctness, the Court adopts the facts set forth by the Illinois Appellate Court in People v. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d 648 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014)—the laststate court to address Maclin's arguments on the merits. Pursuant to Rule 5 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, the facts are also supplemented where appropriate by the state-court record lodged with this Court. See Todd v. Schomig, 283 F.3d 842, 846 (7th Cir. 2002); United States ex rel. Parish v. Hodge, 73 F. Supp. 3d 895, 899 n.1 (N.D. Ill. 2014).
On July 3, 2002, Ernest McGhee was stabbed in the neck and died. People v. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d 648, 650 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014). That same day, the police arrested George Maclin for McGhee's murder. Id. On July 30, 2002, Maclin was indicted on charges of murder and armed robbery. Id. The State of Illinois proceeded to trial on one count of felony murder predicated on armed robbery. Id.; 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(3) (felony murder statute); 720 ILCS 5/18-2(a)(1) (armed robbery statute). Almost five year later, on May 16, 2007, Maclin's trial began in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Id.
At the time of Maclin's trial, Emmett Brown worked as a mechanic. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 650. Brown testified that he had been friends with McGhee for six or seven years. Id. He stated that at around 1 a.m. on July 3, 2002, he drove to a vacant lot on Adams Street and Western Avenue in Chicago to drink beer; he and his friends often visited that lot on weekends and during the week after work. Id. While sitting in the passenger seat of his car, Brown opened a beer and began talking to his friend Vearb Smith. Id. Brown stated that he then noticed Maclinwalking back and forth in the vacant lot and heard Maclin say "he wasn't going to let nobody else take no money from him" and "whoever do it he going to kill him." Id.
A little later, Brown saw another car pull up and park behind him. Maclin, 12 N.E.2d at 650. A woman named Helen was driving and McGhee was in the passenger seat. Id. at 650-51. When McGhee got out of the car, Maclin immediately approached McGhee and began arguing about $5 that McGhee owed Maclin. Id. at 651. Brown testified that Maclin told McGhee, "you going to pay me my money," and McGhee said, "I don't have it." Id. Maclin then told McGhee to go inside a nearby house and get the money. Id. McGhee went inside the house, but came out empty-handed. Id. Maclin then began to chase McGhee around one of the vehicles in the lot before pulling out a knife. Id. Brown stated that Maclin made a stabbing motion with the knife and said "you going to get my money or I'm going to kill you." Id. McGhee then ran across the street, picked up some "rocks or bricks," and began throwing them at Maclin. Id. Maclin then walked over to a blue van—which McGhee had been servicing earlier that day—parked on Adams Street. Id. at 650-51. Maclin took McGhee's toolbox from the van. Id. at 651. McGhee told Maclin, "you can't take my toolbox, I need that"; but Maclin responded, "you going to give me my money." Id. Maclin then put down the toolbox and began to chase McGhee again. Id. McGhee started to run away, but ran out of breath and slowed to a walk. Id. McGhee fell backward, hitting his head on the ground, which gave Maclin time to catch up, to get on top of McGhee, and to pin down McGhee's arms. Id. Browntestified that Maclin grabbed McGhee's hands and "slowly stuck [McGhee] in the neck." Id. Maclin then got up and walked away. Id.
Brown testified that after Maclin stabbed McGhee in the neck, Brown got out of his car to help McGhee. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 651. A woman named Rebecca Beck also came over to help. Id. Both Brown and Beck helped McGhee walk over to the blue van. Id. Once they reached the blue van, McGhee collapsed against a light pole and began gasping for air. Id. Brown called the paramedics. Id. Brown stated that he went to the police station to give a statement and then returned to his car in the vacant lot. Id. Brown and Smith began trying to figure out Maclin's last name because they knew him simply as "George." Id. Brown and Smith remembered that Maclin had some "medical papers" with him when he was around the area of the vacant lot. Id. When they found Maclin's mail on the side of a building near the vacant lot, Brown called the police. Id. Both Brown and Smith brought Maclin's mail to the police station. Id. Brown testified that later that night, on July 3, 2002, he saw Maclin in the area of the vacant lot and called the police. Id. When the police arrived, Brown pointed them in the direction of Western Avenue and Jackson Boulevard. Id. On July 4, 2002, Brown identified Maclin in a lineup. Id.
Vearb Smith testified that he and McGhee were friends and had worked as mechanics together. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 651. Smith stated that in the early morning of July 3, 2002, he was asleep on the second floor of a building located at 2337 West Adams Street. Id. Smith heard a commotion and went downstairs to seewhat was going on.3 Id. As he stood on the porch of his building, he saw McGhee lying on the ground with Maclin "standing on top of [McGhee]." Id. Maclin then walked away from McGhee, and McGhee started to yell for help. Id. Beck helped McGhee get up and walk toward Smith. Id. Smith noticed that McGhee was holding his neck, and saw McGhee collapse at the base of a light pole near the blue van. Id. Smith stated that he remained at the scene and spoke with a police officer. Id. Smith testified that later that morning, he was on the porch of his building talking to Brown. Id. Smith and Brown wanted to learn Maclin's last name. Id. Smith remembered that Maclin had been drinking in the area of the vacant lot with his "V.A. papers," id. at 651-52, presumably a reference to Veterans Affairs documents. Smith stated that he went to the side of a building where Maclin had been drinking, retrieved Maclin's papers, and gave the papers to Brown. Id. at 652. Smith and Brown then called the police and took the papers to the police station. Id. On July 4, 2002, Smith identified Maclin in a lineup. Id.
Chicago Police Officer Todd Stremplewski testified that he and his partner were the original officers on the scene, where they learned that a man had been stabbed with a knife. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 652. The next day, on July 4, 2002, Officer Stremplewski and his partner responded to a radio call regarding property found at the vacant lot of 2339 West Adams Street. Id. When he arrived at the lot,Officer Stremplewski spoke with Marilyn Green. Id. He testified that Green took him to the area where McGhee was killed and directed him to a nearby garbage can. Id. Officer Stremplewski looked in the garbage can and found a knife. Id. The parties stipulated that the knife had a bloodstain on it which was consistent with McGhee's DNA profile. Id.
Chicago Police Detective David March was assigned as a follow-up detective to investigate McGhee's killing. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 652. Detective March testified that the original case report stated that the offender was named "George." Id. Detective March reviewed the available reports and learned that some mail addressed to Maclin had been recovered. Id. At 11:30 p.m. on July 3, 2002, Detective March received a telephone call from Brown; Brown informed March that Maclin was back at the scene of McGhee's killing. Id. When Detective March arrived at the scene, Beck directed him to a Chicago Transit Authority bus that was going westbound on Jackson Boulevard. Id. Detective March and his fellow detectives stopped the bus and took Maclin into custody. Id. At the police station, Detective March advised Maclin of his Miranda rights and interviewed him. Id. Maclin denied having any knowledge of, or involvement in, McGhee's death. Id. Maclin stated that he did not remember where he was during the incident. Id. Detective March testified that as part of processing, he removed Maclin's shirt to note any scars, tattoos, or other marks that could be used for identification purposes. Id. When he did this, Detective March noticed an abrasion on Maclin's left armpit area. Id. When Detective March asked Maclin about this, Maclin replied that the injury occurredtwo weeks earlier but that he did not remember how it happened. Id. Detective March did not notice any blood on Maclin's shirt. Id.
Dr. Mitra Kalelkar testified that she is a forensic pathologist and the one who conducted McGhee's autopsy. Maclin, 12 N.E.3d at 652. Dr. Kalelkar stated that the cause of McGhee's death was internal bleeding as a result of a stab wound to the left side of his neck. Id. She concluded that McGhee's death was a homicide. Id.
Maclin testified in his own...
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