People v. Robinson

Citation181 N.E.3d 37,2020 IL 123849,450 Ill.Dec. 37
Decision Date18 June 2020
Docket NumberDocket No. 123849
Parties The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Rickey ROBINSON, Appellant.
CourtSupreme Court of Illinois

James E. Chadd, State Appellate Defender, Patricia Mysza, Deputy Defender, and Michael Gomez, Assistant Appellate Defender, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, of Chicago, for appellant.

Kwame Raoul, Attorney General, of Springfield (Jane Elinor Notz, Solicitor General, and Michael M. Glick and Erin M. O'Connell, Assistant Attorneys Genera, of Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Petitioner, Rickey Robinson, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County denying him leave to file a successive petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) ( 725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2014)). The pro se petition alleged a claim of actual innocence based on newly discovered evidence. The appellate court affirmed the decision of the circuit court in an unpublished order. 2018 IL App (1st) 153547-U, 2018 WL 2671772. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Petitioner was charged with numerous offenses in relation to the December 1997 death of Nicole Giles. Two codefendants, Marques Northcutt and Peter Andrew Ganaway, were also charged and tried for their involvement in Giles's murder.

¶ 4 A. Trial Proceedings

¶ 5 At trial, the State presented autopsy evidence establishing that Giles died of a gunshot wound

in her neck and that her body was subsequently burned. The State also presented the testimony of several witnesses.

¶ 6 Sherrilyn Bivens, Giles's mother, testified that Giles was supposed to pick her up from work at 6 p.m. on December 28, 1997. When she failed to show up, Bivens called Elsie Reed, Giles's friend, to ask whether she had heard from her daughter. Reed told Bivens that Giles had spoken with petitioner, who asked her to stop by. Bivens later went to the home of petitioner, who stated that, although he had spoken with Giles about coming to his house, she never arrived.

¶ 7 Elsie Reed testified that on December 28, 1997, she had participated in a three-way telephone conversation with Giles and petitioner. During that call, petitioner asked Giles to stop at his home before she went to Reed's house. When Giles failed to arrive at her house, Reed called petitioner to ask if he had seen her, and petitioner responded that she had not shown up.

¶ 8 Anjanette Vance and Lavell Rogers testified that on the evening of December 28, 1997, they were in a car stopped at the intersection of 88th and Kingston Streets, facing toward a viaduct. They observed two people standing over a person who was sitting on the ground against a car when a third person exited the vehicle and shot the person on the ground. The couple also saw a bag being placed over the head of the victim and the body being pulled into the back seat of the car. They then flagged down a nearby police car and informed the officers of what they had observed. The couple returned to the scene with the police officers and saw blood on the street.

¶ 9 Leonard Tucker testified that, on December 28, 1997, he was the boyfriend of petitioner's sister and was at her house when petitioner, Northcutt, and Ganaway had a conversation about Giles, whom he had known for about seven years. When he and petitioner were alone, petitioner stated that he had killed Giles and that he had jumped out of the car and shot her in the head. After petitioner stated that he did not wear gloves, Tucker responded that his fingerprints would be on Giles's body and the car. Petitioner also indicated that they had put a bag over Giles's head, put her in the car, drove off, and then put her body in a garbage can. Tucker further testified that, as he left petitioner's house, Ganaway handed him a green Pronto pager, which he took home. Later that evening, Ganaway came to his home and gave him a green box of AK-47 bullets to hide, which he knew was illegal. The following day, he returned to petitioner's home and saw him with a red gasoline can. At that time, petitioner said "we burned her body." Tucker further testified that, on January 7, 1998, the police arrived at his school and escorted him to the police station, where he was informed that he was a suspect. He then told the police about the pager, the box of ammunition, and the conversations he had with petitioner and the others.

¶ 10 Maisha Muhammad testified that she was the best friend of petitioner's sister. At about 10:30 on the morning of December 29, 1997, she received a call from petitioner's sister, who asked whether Muhammad could borrow her grandmother's car. After receiving permission, Muhammad drove her grandmother's four-door burgundy Corsica to petitioner's house. When she arrived, petitioner's sister was there along with petitioner, Tucker, and Ganaway. Muhammad further testified that she then left the house with Ganaway and petitioner, who was holding a gasoline can. She drove to a gas station, where petitioner left the car with the gas can while Ganaway remained in the car. Petitioner got back into the car with the gasoline can and directed her to drive around several streets. Petitioner eventually told her to stop the car, and he and Ganaway left with the gas can and headed toward an alley, returning about 5 to 10 minutes later. She then drove them back to petitioner's house. In response to her question of what was going on, petitioner asked if she remembered "Nicky." Muhammad answered that she did, and petitioner replied, "that's whose body we burned."

¶ 11 D'Andre Weaver testified that at about 11:45 a.m. on December 29, 1997, he was looking out of the second-story window in his bedroom waiting for his mother to return from the grocery store. While looking out of his window, he saw a dark reddish Chevrolet car parked at his neighbor's house, and two guys got out of the car and walked into the alley. He could not see their faces, but one was carrying a gas can. After leaving the window for a few minutes, Weaver returned and saw the same two guys running toward the red car with the gas can. They got into the car, and the driver, who had remained in the car, drove off. Weaver further testified that about 5 to 10 minutes after the car drove away, he heard fire engines, sirens, and police cars. He returned to the window and saw smoke coming from the alley. Later, a police officer rang his doorbell, and Weaver spoke with the officer about what he had seen.

¶ 12 Michelle McClendon testified that, on December 29, 1997, she was petitioner's girlfriend and was at his house with him and Ganaway when they told her they had burned Giles's body. Later, when she and petitioner were alone, she asked whether he had a conscience, and he answered that he did. McClendon further testified that she asked how the gun was put in the victim's car, and petitioner stated that one of his friends asked for Giles's keys to put something in her car and they then snuck the gun in the car. According to McClendon, petitioner stated that, while they were in Giles's car, one of them said he had to urinate. When Giles pulled over and stopped under the viaduct, they pulled her out of the car. Petitioner told her that he shot Giles in the head, and she fell to the ground. McClendon testified that she did not believe petitioner at the time but subsequently saw the murder reported on the television news and began to believe what petitioner had been saying. On December 31, 1997, two police officers arrived at her home in the middle of the night and escorted her to a police station. At trial, McClendon identified a picture of a rifle and testified that she had seen that weapon twice within the month prior to the shooting, once at Northcutt's home and again at petitioner's house.

¶ 13 Chicago police detective Michael McDermott testified that petitioner arrived at the police station on December 30, 1997, and was advised of his rights. McDermott also testified that he informed petitioner of the status of the investigation, including that witnesses had seen someone up against a car and another person shoot the victim, that the shooting took place under a viaduct, and that a rifle had been recovered. Petitioner then made a statement in which he admitted shooting and robbing Giles.

¶ 14 Assistant State's Attorney John Karnezis testified that he had advised petitioner of his constitutional rights and that petitioner had answered his questions. Petitioner agreed to make a court-reported statement, which he and Karnezis reviewed and signed. Karnezis read petitioner's 70-page statement into the record, without objection.

¶ 15 In that statement, petitioner, who was 18 years old at the time, admitted his involvement in the murder of Giles and the disposal of her body. Petitioner indicated that sometime prior to December 28, 1997, he, Northcutt, and Ganaway decided to rob Giles because they believed she would have a large sum of money in her possession. They also decided that they would kill her because she knew them. They formulated a plan for carrying out the robbery and murder. Pursuant to the plan, petitioner contacted Giles on December 28, 1997, and asked her to come over. After she arrived, petitioner asked Giles for her car keys, and he and Ganaway put a semiautomatic rifle in her car. Later, while she was driving the three of them around, Northcutt indicated that he had to urinate. Giles stopped under a viaduct, and Northcutt exited the car. Ganaway pulled Giles from the car, and petitioner shot her in the head. They placed a bag over her head and pushed her back into the car. They removed $50 from Giles's pocket and drove around before placing her body into a garbage can. They then drove to a south suburb and parked Giles's car on a side street near a train station before taking the train back to the city. The following day,...

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