People v. Hampton
| Decision Date | 08 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | 5-17-0341 |
| Citation | 2021 IL App (5th) 170341,195 N.E.3d 1260,457 Ill.Dec. 844 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tony HAMPTON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
James E. Chadd, Ellen J. Curry, and Jennifer M. Lassy, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Mt. Vernon, for appellant.
James A. Gomric, State's Attorney, of Belleville (Patrick Delfino, Patrick D. Daly, and Jessica L. Book, of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.
¶ 1 The defendant, Tony Hampton, appeals his conviction for first degree murder, arguing that (1) he received ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial, (2) the court abused its discretion in refusing his tendered jury instruction on second degree murder, (3) the court erred in denying his motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence concerning his mental illness and intellectual disability, (4) his attorneys acted under an actual conflict of interest when they failed to argue their own ineffectiveness during proceedings on his posttrial motion, (5) his 75-year prison sentence is a de facto life sentence, which violates the Illinois proportionate penalties clause due to the defendant's mental illness and intellectual disability, and (6) the court abused its discretion in imposing an excessive sentence. On September 8, 2021, we issued an opinion affirming the defendant's conviction and sentence. On September 29, 2021, the defendant filed a petition for rehearing. After consideration of the arguments he raised, we now deny the petition for rehearing and issue this modified opinion. We again affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.
¶ 3 In the early morning hours of December 12, 2015, Salahudin Malik Robbins was shot to death in the parking lot of the Bottoms Up strip club in Brooklyn, Illinois. The shooting was captured on video by the club's security cameras. There is no dispute that two men shot at Robbins multiple times—the defendant and his cousin, Tiye Allen. A third man, Ryan Bryant, was with the defendant and Allen. The three men left the scene in a black Audi driven by Allen. They led police on a high-speed chase. They managed to evade police and later burned the black Audi in an effort to destroy evidence. At the defendant's trial, he attempted to demonstrate that his actions were justified as self-defense or the defense of others. His theory was based on an alleged "beef" between Bryant and Robbins. The defendant was 25 years old when the events at issue occurred. However, evidence presented at his sentencing hearing indicated that, due to an intellectual disability, he had the cognitive ability of an 11-year-old.
¶ 4 Brooklyn police officer Sherrod Stancil testified that, when he responded to the shooting, he saw a black Audi driving away from the area of Bottoms Up at a high rate of speed. He attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the vehicle managed to evade him during a high-speed chase.
¶ 5 Illinois State Police special agent Denis Janis testified at length about his investigation of the shooting. Much of his testimony focused on the footage obtained from the club's surveillance cameras. Janis first explained how the surveillance camera system worked. He explained that there were multiple external cameras, each of which captured a different area of the parking lot and the alley that connected Bottoms Up to another club called the Pink Slip. He further explained that the cameras did not record all the time. Instead, they operated through motion sensors, which caused each camera to begin recording when its sensor detected motion within the range of that camera. Janis noted that police also looked at footage from surveillance cameras inside the club; however, the only pertinent information they obtained from these cameras was the time that the shooters entered and left the club. He testified that this was consistent with what he was told by the bar manager and other witnesses he interviewed, all of whom told him that no altercation took place inside the club before the shooting.
¶ 6 Janis testified that he was able to determine from the video footage that both shooters had "distinctive neck tattoos," which are visible in the footage. He was also able to determine that they arrived at the club in a black Audi at approximately 1:35 a.m. Janis testified that he was aware of the high-speed chase involving Officer Stancil and a black Audi.
¶ 7 A series of short video clips from the surveillance camera footage was then played for the jury. The first two clips were recorded by a surveillance camera located just inside the entrance to the club. These clips show patrons walking through a metal detector to gain entry to the club. Janis testified that these clips showed the victim, Malik Robbins, entering the club. At this point, the trial judge asked counsel to approach the bench to discuss the limits on the testimony Janis could give regarding video recordings of events he did not personally witness. The State argued that the witness could narrate what he sees as the video is played but that he could not identify individuals depicted in the video unless he is familiar with those individuals. The court directed prosecutors to establish how Janis knew the identities of any individuals he identified in his testimony. The court then allowed the State to continue playing the video clips.
¶ 8 Janis indicated that the next three clips showed a black Audi pulling into the parking lot and three individuals exiting the vehicle and entering the club. Janis was able to identify the driver of the vehicle as Tiye Allen. He was able to identify the two passengers as the defendant and Ryan Bryant. Asked to explain how he was able to identify these individuals, Janis explained that, although he did not know who the individuals were when he first saw the recordings, he later received photographs of the three suspects and compared them to the video images. He testified that "they appear to be the same people." He further testified that he later interviewed two of the suspects, the defendant and Allen.
¶ 9 As the next video clip was played for the jury, Janis testified that it showed the individuals he believed to be Bryant and the defendant leaving the club. He explained that, based on the time stamp on the video, they left the club approximately 40 minutes after they entered. Janis testified that the next clip showed Bryant going back into the club and then exiting with Allen. Both clips were recorded by a camera showing the entrance to the club. Janis also narrated the next two clips, which were recorded by a camera showing the portion of the parking lot where the black Audi was parked. In the clips, the defendant and Bryant can be seen getting into the Audi. Bryant can then be seen getting out of the Audi and running back toward the club. Finally, Bryant and Allen can be seen walking from the direction of the club to the Audi and getting into the Audi.
¶ 10 The next clip shown to the jury shows the Audi parked next to a white Dodge Charger. Janis testified that the clip was edited to play in fast motion. He explained that the original footage showed the three suspects sitting in the Audi for a period of 20 minutes. He testified that he did not see the defendant exit the vehicle at any point when viewing the original footage. He later learned, based on information from Bryant, that at some point, Bryant exited the Audi, got into the white Charger, and then returned to the Audi.
¶ 11 Janis narrated the next two clips, both of which showed an individual Janis believed to be Malik Robbins leaving the club with three individuals. Janis testified that he did not know the identities of the individuals leaving the club with Robbins.
¶ 12 The next two clips were played for the jury without narration from Janis, pursuant to the court's direction. The first of the two clips shows a walkway next to the side of the club. Robbins can be seen walking along that pathway with three women. Other individuals can be seen walking along the walkway behind them. Almost immediately after Robbins and his companions round the corner of the building, a few individuals can be seen running in the opposite direction. The second of the two clips shows the parking lot. Robbins can be seen dropping to the ground, rolling a few times, and coming to rest face down on the pavement next to the building. Then the defendant can be seen running toward Robbins, firing three shots at him at close range, and running away. When Robbins first comes to rest next to the building, one of his legs is bent at the knee so that his foot is pointed upwards. After the defendant fires the shots, Robbins's leg drops to the ground.
¶ 13 After the clips were played, the following exchange occurred between Janis and one of the prosecutors:
Neither of the defendant's attorneys objected to these questions. However, when Janis began to answer the second question, the court interrupted to ask which clip the prosecutor was referencing in these questions. When the prosecutor indicated that he was not asking about a specific clip, the court asked how Janis could answer a question about what he saw on the video recordings without providing an answer that was inadmissible hearsay. At this point, one of the defense attorneys stated, "You're not saying anything else about the video, because even though you said that you weren't going to ask any more questions about the video, you asked a few more questions about the video." The prosecutor agreed to move on, and the court indicated that anything Janis was "about to...
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