People v. Morgan

• Decision Date: 21 October 2015
• Docket Number: No. 1–13–1938.,1–13–1938.
• Citation: 44 N.E.3d 433
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Cornell MORGAN, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

44 N.E.3d 433

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee

v.Cornell MORGAN, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 1–13–1938.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Third Division.

Oct. 21, 2015.

Michael J. Pelletier, Alan D. Goldberg, and Philip D. Payne, State Appellate Defender's Office, Chicago, for appellant.

Anita M. Alvarez, State's Attorney, Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Michele Grimaldi Stein, and Sarah L. Simpson, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

Presiding Justice MASON

delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant Cornell Morgan was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in connection with the shooting of Jarrett Garcia on December 26, 2001. He filed a pro se postconviction petition in which he raised three claims: (1) he had newly discovered evidence of his actual innocence, (2) his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call character witnesses at his sentencing hearing, and (3) his appellate counsel (who also represented him at sentencing) was ineffective for failing to raise on appeal her own ineffectiveness at sentencing. Morgan attached an affidavit from eyewitness Annie Coleman, who claimed she saw someone else shoot the victim, and three affidavits from his character witnesses.

¶ 2 On the State's motion, the circuit court dismissed Morgan's ineffective assistance claims at the second stage of postconviction proceedings. Morgan's actual innocence claim proceeded to a third-stage evidentiary hearing. Following the hearing, the trial court found that Coleman's testimony was not credible and denied Morgan's petition. Morgan now appeals, contending that: (1) the circuit court committed manifest error in denying his actual innocence claim; (2) the circuit court erroneously dismissed his ineffective assistance claim; and (3) his postconviction counsel violated Illinois Supreme Court Rule 651(c)

(eff. Dec. 1, 1984) by failing to consult with him regarding his claims. Finding no error, we affirm.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 Morgan's Trial

¶ 5 The case against Morgan proceeded to a jury trial before Judge Catherine Haberkorn. The State called three witnesses to the shooting: the victim Garcia, Loretta Megwa, and Berrisford Flowers.

¶ 6 Garcia testified that his brother Ean introduced him to Morgan in the summer of 2001. At the time, Garcia only knew Morgan as “ Doo.” The two of them came to a business arrangement: Garcia would store packages of marijuana for Morgan, and when Morgan came to pick up a package, he would give Garcia money and also some of the marijuana as payment. This arrangement continued through December 2001. Morgan gave packages to Garcia on about three occasions, and Garcia saw him in person about 10 times in total.

¶ 7 On December 25, 2001, Morgan called Garcia and told him that he was coming to pick up a package of marijuana. Garcia told him that he could not deliver the marijuana on that day, so Morgan said that he would come by the next day. In anticipation of Morgan's visit, Garcia placed one of Morgan's packages in his car, under the seat.

¶ 8 The next day, at around 1:30 p.m., Garcia returned home to his apartment at 1712 Estes Avenue. He parked his car in the parking lot behind the building and then walked up the stairs to his apartment. When he got inside, he looked out the window and saw a red Camry pull into the alley next to the parking lot. Morgan was the driver. He waved at Garcia. Garcia exited his apartment, came downstairs, grabbed the package from his car, put it inside his coat, and walked toward Morgan, who was still in his car.

¶ 9 When Garcia was about 12 feet away from Morgan's car, Morgan pulled out a gun and began shooting at him. Morgan did not say anything, nor did Garcia have a chance to say anything before Morgan started firing. He shot approximately five times, hitting Garcia in the stomach, right side, arm, and left shoulder. He then drove away westward.

¶ 10 Garcia stumbled over to a Dumpster that was by the foot of the staircase leading to his apartment and threw away the package of marijuana. He did this because he knew it was illegal and did not want the police to find him carrying it. At the time, Flowers was sitting in his car in the parking lot. Garcia stumbled over to Flowers' car and told Flowers to call the police and an ambulance. Ashley Cattouse, a man who lived in Garcia's apartment building, came outside and called the police. Garcia felt himself getting weak and told Flowers and Cattouse that he could not wait for an ambulance to arrive. The three of them got in Flowers' car and Flowers drove to the hospital.

¶ 11 Counsel for the State showed Garcia photographs of the crime scene. The photographs depict an alley, with parking spaces next to a building on the left and a fenced in parking lot to the right. Garcia indicated that his apartment building was the building on the left, and he was standing at the parking spaces next to his building when he was shot.

¶ 12 On the day after the shooting, December 27, 2001, Garcia spoke with Detective Robert Clemens. He told Detective Clemens that “Doo” had shot him, but he did not know Doo's real name or his address. On April 19, 2002, Garcia met with Detective Clemens, and Detective Clemens showed him a photo lineup. Garcia identified a photo of Morgan as Doo. On August 24, 2002, Garcia went to the police station and viewed an in-person lineup, where he again identified Morgan as the man who shot him.

¶ 13 On cross-examination, Garcia stated that he never stole marijuana from Morgan, and he also never stole any money from him. He did not know why Morgan decided to shoot him.

¶ 14 Megwa, the State's second occurrence witness, testified that in December 2001, she lived in the 1700 block of Touhy Avenue. On December 26, 2001, shortly after 1:30 p.m., she was in the parking lot behind 1713 Touhy Avenue, clearing snow off her parked car. She explained that the parking lot adjoins an alley that is shared by the 1700 block of Estes Avenue.

¶ 15 Megwa saw a red car in the alley, facing west. She was about two car-lengths away from the red car; she described its placement as “my car, this car, and then the fence, and then the [red] car.” While she was clearing snow, she heard a popping sound like a firecracker coming from the vicinity of the red car. She looked toward the car and saw a dark-skinned man with a gun pointing out the window, firing toward a man who was hopping around in the Estes parking lot. The man in the red car stopped firing and drove away west. The other man continued hopping toward the back staircase of the building.

¶ 16 At the time, there was a green Camry in the parking lot with people inside it. Megwa saw people come out of that car and call for help. A young man came out of the apartment building. Together, they helped the victim into the green Camry and then drove away. As soon as they left, police cars arrived on the scene, and Megwa spoke with the police.

¶ 17 Flowers testified that on December 26, 2001, at around 1:30 p.m., he was sitting in his green Camry in a parking space behind the building at 1712 Estes Avenue. He was eating while waiting for his friend Cattouse, who lived in that building, to come out. His car was facing south, toward the building. Flowers saw Garcia pull up in a vehicle, park, and get out of his car. Flowers stayed in his car and continued eating. A minute later, he saw Garcia walking toward the alley behind him. There was a red Camry in the alley, facing west. There was a dark-skinned individual in the car; Flowers thought it was a man, but he was not sure.

¶ 18 Flowers heard a popping noise like gunshots. He looked outside and saw Garcia jumping up and down next to his car. He asked Garcia what happened, and Garcia said to call 911. Flowers turned around and saw the back of the red Camry heading westbound out of the alley. Just then, Cattouse came out of the building. Cattouse and Flowers put Garcia in the car, and then Flowers drove away. He did not wait for an ambulance because he saw that Garcia was losing a lot of blood. On the way to the hospital, he encountered police, who escorted his car to the hospital.

¶ 19 Garcia's brother Ean also testified. In the summer of 2001, Ean worked at a shoe store. Morgan, whom he knew as Doo, was a frequent customer. Sometime that summer, Morgan asked Ean whether he knew of a place where he could store his marijuana. Ean said that he did and introduced him to his brother. That fall, Garcia stored Morgan's marijuana for him.

¶ 20 On December 26, 2001, Ean received a phone call from Flowers and Cattouse. He went to St. Francis Hospital and saw his brother, who had been shot. He also spoke with a police officer named Detective Clemens. On April 19, 2002, Ean met with Detective Clemens again and viewed a photo lineup, from which he identified Morgan as Doo.

¶ 21 Finally, the State called three police officers who were involved in the investigation of the shooting and Morgan's arrest. On December 26, 2001, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Detective Ed Heerdt responded to a call of shots fired at 1712 Estes Avenue. He arrived on the scene about 30 seconds later. There, he spoke to Megwa. He also observed a Dumpster to the left of the rear door of the apartment building on the Estes side of the alley. Standing next to the Dumpster, Detective Heerdt smelled cannabis. He looked inside the Dumpster and recovered a large clear plastic bag filled with a green substance. The bag was inventoried and sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab. Chemical analysis showed that the bag contained 439.1 grams of marijuana. The parties stipulated that only one fingerprint on the bag was suitable for comparison; it belonged to Detective Heerdt.

¶ 22 Special Agent Dan Thomas stopped Morgan for a traffic violation on June 15, 2012. Morgan was driving a black Camry. Based on a later conversation with Detective Clemens, Agent Thomas arrested Morgan at his traffic court hearing on ...