Poole v. Lashbrook, Case No. 16 C 11060
| Decision Date | 30 January 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 16 C 11060 |
| Parties | ANTONIO POOLE (#M37390), Petitioner, v. JACQUELINE LASHBROOK, Warden, Menard Correctional Center, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
AMY J. ST. EVE, District Court Judge:
Before the Court is pro se Petitioner Antonio Poole's petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). The Court denies Petitioner's habeas petition and declines to certify any issues for appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).
When considering § 2254 habeas petitions, federal courts must presume as correct the factual findings made by the last state court to decide the case on the merits unless the habeas petitioner rebuts those findings by clear and convincing evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Hicks v. Hepp, 871 F.3d 513, 525 (7th Cir. 2017). Where Petitioner has not provided clear and convincing evidence to rebut this presumption, the following factual background is based on the Illinois Appellate Court's findings in People v. Poole, No. 1-13-2166, 2015 WL 5667068 (1st Dist. Sept. 25, 2015) (unpublished).
The State charged Petitioner by indictment with first degree murder in connection with the August 1, 2011 stabbing death of his roommate, Larry Dumas. Before his November 2012 jury trial, Petitioner filed a motion in limine indicating that he might assert self-defense asking the Circuit Court of Cook County judge to prevent the State from impeaching him with his November 1990 guilty plea and conviction in Michigan for second degree murder. On the same day, the State filed a motion seeking to introduce Petitioner's Michigan conviction for impeachment purposes.
At the motion hearing, the State informed the Circuit Court that Petitioner had spent nearly 20 years in prison based on a second degree murder conviction before being paroled on August 6, 2009. The State added that Petitioner then moved to Chicago and was arrested for Dumas' murder on August 1, 2011 while he was still on parole. The State then argued that Petitioner's Michigan conviction was relevant to the issue of his credibility. Defense counsel countered that the conviction occurred twenty years prior and would be "almost negligible" with respect to its probative value, but that the prejudicial effect on the jury would be "enormous." The Circuit Court denied Petitioner's motion and allowed the State to introduce the conviction for impeachment purposes should Petitioner testify - subject to a limiting instruction. Later, defense counsel filed a motion to reconsider and argued that should the Circuit Court reject his motion, he should be able to present evidence that the prior conviction resulted from a guilty plea. The Circuit Court denied the motion to reconsider concluding that Petitioner's release from prison, which was less than two years prior to the current offense, outweighed any prejudicial effect. The Circuit Court also denied defense counsel's request to produce evidence that the prior conviction was entered following a guilty plea unless counsel provided sufficient legal authority supporting this argument. Defense counsel did not provide any such authority.
At Petitioner's November 2012 jury trial, Charles Frazier testified that he, Lisa Davis (Frazier's girlfriend and Petitioner's sister), Petitioner, and Dumas lived on the second floor of atwo-flat apartment building at 7144 South Champlain Avenue in Chicago. Frazier had known Dumas for about two years. According to Frazier, Dumas smoked crack daily and weighed between 250 and 300 pounds. Frazier testified that there were two entries to their apartment, namely, the front door in the foyer of the building (that locked), which led to the front door of their second floor apartment (that did not lock), and the back door of the apartment (which did not lock). Frazier said that the apartment's back door was secured with a two-by-four propped against it, but Dumas would occasionally not secure the back door. Furthermore, Frazier testified that at around 10:30 p.m. on July 31, 2011, he and Davis spent the night at 237 North Sacramento Boulevard in Chicago where they were house-sitting. The next morning, Frazier went to work, while Davis stayed at the Sacramento residence. Between 8 and 8:30 a.m. on August 1, 2011, Petitioner called Frazier asking to speak with Davis. Frazier testified that about 5 to 10 minutes after that call ended, Petitioner called him again and Frazier spoke to both Petitioner and Dumas.
Chicago police officer Carlton Cook also testified at Petitioner's jury trial stating that at around 8:45 a.m. on August 1, 2011, he was alone on patrol in a marked vehicle traveling south along the 6900 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago. Officer Cook saw Petitioner driving northbound sounding the car's horn, waving his arms, and yelling that he needed help. Officer Cook immediately got out of his car. When Petitioner got out of his car, he fell to the ground. Officer Cook observed that although Petitioner was conscious, there was blood on his face, hands, shirt, arms, and legs. Officer Cook described Petitioner as hysterical and asked him what had happened. According to Officer Cook, Petitioner told him that three individuals tried to rob him near the basketball courts at a park by the intersection of East 72nd Street and South Martin Luther King Drive. Further, Officer Cook testified that Petitioner could not provide anyadditional details. Officer Cook then used his radio and asked for other units to search the basketball courts near the park around 72nd and King Drive for the possible assailants. An ambulance and other police officers arrived at the 6900 block of South Cottage Grove and Petitioner was transported to the hospital. Officer Cook testified that he was then alerted to another crime scene at 7144 South Champlain Avenue.
Kathleen Kelly testified at Petitioner's jury trial that at around 8:45 a.m. on August 1, 2011, she was on duty as a paramedic and received a call directing her to East 69th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue. When Kelly arrived at the scene, she saw Petitioner was in the care of a firefighter. Petitioner was then placed on a stretcher and into the back of Kelly's ambulance, after which she transported him to the hospital. While en route, Kelly said that Petitioner was awake, alert, and oriented - despite his hands and upper torso being covered in blood. Kelly testified that Petitioner told her that he had been jumped by several teenagers, but escaped and drove to the police station.
In addition, the parties stipulated that, if she had been called to testify, Chicago police officer Kendra Pepper would have stated that she accompanied Petitioner to the emergency room, that Petitioner told her that he lived at 3856 South Lake Park in Chicago, and that he had been walking south on King Drive at 72nd Street when three black males walked up to him and demanded his money. According to Officer Pepper, Petitioner said he refused to give them his money, after which the three individuals punched and kicked him.
Another Chicago police officer, Jeffrey Brosseau, testified at Petitioner's trial stating that at 8:46 a.m. on August 1, 2011, he was directed to go to 72nd Street and Martin Luther King Drive to locate a crime scene. Officer Brosseau arrived within one minute and began looking for evidence, but he stated that there was no indication of a crime. In addition, Officer Brosseauspoke to a woman who was at the park with her toddler and had been there for at least 20 minutes, but the woman saw nothing unusual. Officer Brosseau then received a dispatch about a crime scene at 7144 South Champlain and went to that location. When he arrived, Officer Brosseau saw an unresponsive black male lying at the top of the porch.
Chicago police detective Patrick Hackett testified that, at around 9 a.m. on August 1, 2011, he and his partner went to 7144 South Champlain to investigate a homicide. When they arrived, they saw Dumas lying on the front porch and that there was a significant amount of blood on the front door, as well as the stairs leading up to the second floor. Detective Hackett went to the back of the residence and up the stairs to the second-floor apartment. He testified that he observed a large amount of blood puddled in a rug and a large blood-stained knife. In addition, there was spattered blood on the dining room walls, in the living room, and on a comforter on a bed in the living room. Detective Hackett then recovered a knife. Thereafter, Detective Hackett and his partner went out the front door of the apartment and noticed a great deal of blood on the floor and the walls, as well as bloody footprints and a bloody shoeprint leading down the stairs. Detective Hackett testified that he and his partner completed their investigation of the scene when they were informed of Petitioner waving down a patrolman. The detectives then went to that scene.
When they arrived at East 69th Place, the detectives observed that Petitioner's car had bloodstains in it and learned that he had been transported to the hospital. They went to the hospital and spoke to Petitioner, who told them that he lived at 3856 Lake Park with his sister, Sabrina Jennings. Detective Hackett further stated that Petitioner claimed he left the Lake Park address earlier that morning to talk to someone about a job, but that person did not show up, so he went to the park at East 71st Street and South Martin Luther King Drive. Petitioner toldDetective Hackett that after he arrived, three black males tried to rob him and stabbed him in the process, resulting in blood on his T-shirt, shorts, and shoes.
Chicago police officer Edward McCartan also testified at Petitioner's jury trial. He stated that on August 1, 2011, he was an evidence technician and that he and his partner were assigned to investigate the crime scene at 7144 South...
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