People v. Fuller

• Citation: 205 Ill.2d 308,275 Ill.Dec. 755,793 N.E.2d 526
• Decision Date: 22 February 2002
• Docket Number: No. 89220.,89220.
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Tyrone FULLER, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

793 N.E.2d 526

205 Ill.2d 308

275 Ill.Dec. 755

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Tyrone FULLER, Appellant.

No. 89220.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

February 22, 2002.

Charles Schiedel, Deputy Defender, Springfield, and Steven Clark, Assistant Defender, Chicago, both of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, for appellant.

James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, and Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, Chicago (William L. Browers, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, and Renee Goldfarb and Michele Grimaldi Stein, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Justice THOMAS delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Tyrone Fuller, pled guilty in the circuit court of Cook County to three counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of armed robbery, in connection with the robbery of a jewelry store and the shooting death of Marc Feldman, the owner of the store. At the conclusion of a sentencing hearing, a jury found that the defendant was eligible for the death penalty based on the statutory aggravating factor that the murder was committed in the course of an armed robbery. 720 ILCS 5/9-1(b)(6) (West 1996). Following a hearing in aggravation and mitigation, the same jury found that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of the death penalty. Accordingly, the trial court sentenced the defendant to death. The defendant's death sentence has been stayed pending direct review by this court. See Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, § 4(b); 134 Ill.2d Rs. 603, 609(a). In this appeal of the defendant's convictions and death sentence, the defendant raises 12 issues, including (1) that the trial court improperly admonished him as to the maximum penalty on two of the murder counts at the guilty plea hearing, (2) that his trial counsel was ineffective because he allowed the defendant to plead guilty to counts of knowing and intentional first degree murder, and (3) that the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury on the requisite mental states to prove death eligibility on a felony-murder count. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the defendant's convictions in part and vacate in part. Furthermore, we vacate the defendant's death sentence and remand the cause for a new death-eligibility hearing.

BACKGROUND

At a hearing on December 1, 1999, defense counsel informed the trial court that after extensive conversations with his client, the defendant had decided to waive his right to a jury trial and wanted to enter blind pleas of guilty to all pending charges. At that point, the trial court read the various charges of the indictment and asked the defendant if he understood each of those charges. With respect to the murder charges of the indictment, count I alleged that the defendant shot Marc Feldman in the head with a handgun without lawful justification and with the intent to kill him, thereby causing his death. Count II alleged that the defendant shot and killed Feldman knowing that his act created a strong probability of death, and count III alleged that the defendant shot and killed Feldman while committing a forcible felony, armed robbery. The defendant responded that he understood each of the charges. In addition, the trial court admonished the defendant concerning the possible penalties, including the possibility of a death sentence for the felony murder charge described in count III. The court then explained the various phases of sentencing and that the defendant would be entitled to have a jury determine his eligibility for the death penalty.

As part of a factual basis for the pleas, the parties stipulated to the proposed testimony of various State witnesses. The State recited that Aaron Smith would testify that he was an employee of Marc Feldman, at a jewelry store located in Oak Park, Illinois. On December 18, 1997, he and Feldman were working at the store around 10 a.m., when the defendant entered the showroom with codefendant, Kimberly Britt. Feldman proceeded to show various items of jewelry to the defendant and Britt, while Smith remained in a back room of the store. At some point, Feldman came to the back room to get more jewelry.

As Feldman was returning to the showroom, Smith observed the defendant fire a gunshot, striking Feldman in the center of the forehead and causing him to fall to the ground. At that moment, the defendant jumped over the counter and came into the back room where Smith was located. Smith fell to the ground and the defendant placed his gun to Smith's head. Smith heard two clicks, but the gun did not fire. The defendant then ordered Smith to get underneath a desk. Smith observed the defendant and Britt take various items of jewelry and United States currency. The defendant then came toward Smith a second time, and he attempted twice to shoot Smith in the leg, but the gun again would not fire. The defendant and Britt then fled the scene. The next day, Smith identified the defendant and Britt from a live lineup as the perpetrators of the crimes committed the previous day. The stipulated testimony of other State witnesses would show that following the crimes, an Oak Park police officer responded to a radio transmission of an armed robbery in progress. The officer observed the getaway car and pursued it at a high rate of speed until it crashed into a railroad pylon. The defendant and Britt were passengers in the vehicle, which had been driven by Eric Hughes. The defendant exited the vehicle after it crashed, holding a handgun. The officer drew his gun and ordered the defendant to stop. At that point, the defendant dropped his gun and fled. Police found the defendant a short time later hiding under a porch and he was arrested. Defendant had jewelry from the store in his possession and was wearing a torn surgical glove on his right hand at the time of the arrest. The torn glove worn by the defendant matched exactly the ripped portions recovered from the cash register at the crime scene of the jewelry store. A ballistics expert determined that the gun dropped by the defendant and recovered by police fired the bullet that killed Feldman.

Additionally, the defendant's 36-page court-reported confession was stipulated to and entered into evidence. In that statement, the defendant admitted that he went to the jewelry store on the morning in question to commit a robbery. The defendant further admitted that when Feldman came out of the back room, the defendant reached into his pocket for his gun and pulled it out. The defendant raised the gun and it went off. After the bullet hit Feldman, causing him to fall to the floor, the defendant jumped over the counter and went into the back room. He let Britt into the back room through another door and told Smith to sit by a desk. The defendant and Britt then proceeded to place jewelry and cash inside a bag. The defendant acknowledged that he put on latex medical gloves that he brought with him to the store because he did not want to leave any fingerprints. The defendant and Britt took the "loot" from the scene and fled in the getaway car driven by Hughes.

After hearing a factual basis for the defendant's pleas, the trial court accepted the pleas and found the defendant guilty of all charges. Following the empaneling of the jury, the case proceeded to the eligibility phase of the bifurcated capital sentencing hearing. The State sought to have the defendant declared death eligible based on the felony-murder provision contained in section 9-1(b)(6) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (the Criminal Code), which provides:

"(b) Aggravating Factors. A defendant who at the time of the commission of the offense has attained the age of 18 or more and who has been found guilty of first degree murder may be sentenced to death if:

* * *

(6) the murdered individual was killed in the course of another felony if:

(a) the murdered individual:

(i) was actually killed by the defendant, * * *

(ii) * * * and

(b) * * * the defendant acted with the intent to kill the murdered individual or with the knowledge that his acts created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to the murdered individual or another; and

(c) the other felony was one of the following: armed robbery * * *." (Emphasis added.) 720 ILCS 5/9-1(b)(6) (West 1996).

During his opening statement at the eligibility phase, defense counsel told the jurors that their job was "simple" and there was "nothing to dispute" as to what they had to do at the first phase because the defendant had admitted the crimes and pled guilty to the three separate ways that he was charged for this single murder. Defense counsel concluded by asking the jury to keep an open mind at the second phase of the sentencing proceeding.

At the eligibility hearing, several witnesses gave testimony that was substantially similar to the factual basis recitation given by the State at the guilty plea proceeding. Melissa Peterson, the victim's fiancée, testified that Feldman left for work around 8 a.m. the day of the murder. Feldman told Peterson that he loved her, and that was the last time they spoke to one another. She noted that she was also scheduled to work that morning but did not do so because of a prior family engagement. Later that day, she learned that the store had been robbed and that Feldman had been murdered.

Aaron Smith, a 76-year-old employee of Feldman, testified that when he arrived at the jewelry store on the morning of the robbery and shooting, Feldman was already at the store waiting on the defendant and a female companion of the defendant. Smith made coffee and waited on a blind lady who had entered the store. After the blind lady left, Feldman came to the back room to retrieve a pair of earrings to show the defendant. Smith told Feldman that he thought that something was wrong because the couple had been in the store for such a long time. Feldman reassured Smith that he knew the defendant and that he was a...