People v. Tenny

586 N.E.2d 403, 224 Ill. App. 3d 53, 166 Ill. Dec. 445, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2123
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 20, 1991
Docket1-89-2210
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 586 N.E.2d 403 (People v. Tenny) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Tenny, 586 N.E.2d 403, 224 Ill. App. 3d 53, 166 Ill. Dec. 445, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2123 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE EGAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Robert Tenny, was convicted by a jury of the murders of Ezekiel Rhoten and Sabrina Sommerville, but the jury found that the evidence was insufficient to support the imposition of the death penalty. The judge sentenced the defendant to natural life imprisonment without parole. The defendant contends that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Alternatively, he asks that a new trial be granted because of improper conduct on the part of the State’s Attorney; the failure of the State to comply with discovery rules; improper restriction of cross-examination of the State’s witnesses; and the improper admission of evidence. He also contends that, if his conviction is affirmed, his sentence should be reduced.

On November 18, 1978, the bodies of Ezekiel Rhoten and Sabrina Sommerville were found in Rhoten’s home at 12135 South Normal Street in Chicago. Fingerprints were taken at the scene by the Chicago Police Crime Detection Laboratory. In April 1987, fingerprints lifted from a glass jar found in Rhoten’s house during the original investigation were analyzed using a new computer technology known as the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. One of the fingerprints matched those of Ella Haymon. Later comparisons established that four of her fingerprints had been found inside the house. The fingerprints of Dolores Lamb were also identified. After Haymon was arrested, she told the police that she had participated in the robbery and killing of Rhoten along with Lamb, Theaster Hunter, Johnny Armstrong and the defendant. Lamb, Hunter and the defendant were taken into custody. The police learned that Armstrong had died. The defendant was indicted with Lamb and Haymon; Hunter was indicted separately. Lamb and Haymon testified against the defendant while the charges of murder were still pending against them. No fingerprints of the defendant, Armstrong or Hunter were discovered in Rhoten’s house.

The judge denied the defendant’s pretrial motion to suppress his court-reported statement. The State, however, did not introduce that statement into evidence. Consequently, the State’s entire evidence implicating the defendant is the testimony of two accomplices, corroborated only by each other, more than eight years after the killing. We make this observation at the outset to answer the State’s argument that any error assigned here would be harmless since, the State maintains, the evidence is overwhelming. In our judgment, the testimony of two accomplices under all the circumstances present in this case is not overwhelming. We will first address the defendant’s contention that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Dolores Lamb testified that on November 18, 1978, she and Ella Haymon arrived at a Chicago pool hall located at 57th and Ashland; their acquaintance, Theaster Hunter, arrived later. Lamb had dated Hunter’s brother for two years and lived in Hunter’s house during that time. Hunter approached Lamb and asked to speak with her privately. Meanwhile, Haymon talked to the defendant and Johnny Armstrong while sitting in the defendant’s car outside the pool hall. After Lamb and Hunter finished their conversation, they went to the defendant’s car. Apparently, while Lamb and Hunter were away from the others, Hunter had shown Lamb a gun. Once in the car, Haymon asked the defendant if he would drive her to Ezekiel Rhoten’s house. The defendant agreed, and he, Hunter, Lamb, Haymon and Armstrong drove to Rhoten’s home at 12135 South Normal. On the way, Hunter asked Haymon whether Rhoten had any money because he wanted to steal it. The defendant said that he “wanted to stick [Rho-ten] up.”

When they arrived at Rhoten’s house, Hunter instructed Lamb and Haymon to go into the house and to leave the door unlocked behind them so that the others could come in quickly and surprise Rho-ten. Lamb and Haymon left the car and went to the house next door. They knocked on the door and were told by a man, Joseph Henderson, that they had the wrong house. Lamb and Haymon then went back to the car, and Lamb told Hunter that Haymon had reservations about going into Rhoten’s house. Hunter became angry and told Haymon she had better do as she was told. Haymon and Lamb then walked up to Rhoten’s house and rang the doorbell. Rhoten appeared in an upstairs window, saw Haymon and came downstairs to let her and Lamb in. Shortly after they were in the house, Sabrina Sommerville, a guest in the house, joined the others downstairs in the living room. Lamb testified that she and Haymon took a seat on the couch. Haymon and Rhoten were having a conversation when Hunter burst into the house, followed by Armstrong and the defendant. Both Hunter and Armstrong were carrying guns. Hunter yelled that it was a stickup; he was going to rob Rhoten. Rhoten laughed and told Hunter to get out of his house. Hunter began beating Rhoten’s head with his pistol. Rhoten then bent down and reached under a chair for a gun. After a struggle, Hunter took Rhoten’s gun and gave it to the defendant, who pointed the gun at Rhoten. After Hunter struck Rho-ten with his pistol, he struck Sabrina Sommerville over the head with “a vase or a statue or something,” knocking her unconscious. Sommerville fell backwards onto the couch.

Hunter then pushed Rhoten and ordered him upstairs. Everyone except the defendant followed Hunter and Rhoten upstairs. Rhoten attempted to run while he was going up the stairs, but Lamb caught him, and then Hunter grabbed him. They forced Rhoten into his bedroom. Lamb and Haymon tied Rhoten with a rope and beat him with a belt. Hunter ordered Rhoten to give him his money or he would die. Rhoten kept telling Hunter he did not have any money. Hunter then began to stab Rhoten repeatedly. Finally, Hunter raised a pillow to Rhoten’s face, pulled out his gun and fired a single shot into Rhoten’s head.

Upon Hunter’s orders, Armstrong, Haymon and Lamb searched through the house looking for valuables. Downstairs, Lamb saw the defendant coming out of the kitchen and Sommerville lying unconscious on the couch. Hunter again hit Sommerville on the head, this time with his pistol. Lamb never saw the defendant strike Sommerville. They returned to the car with a stereo and some of Rhoten’s clothes, a television and other personal belongings. They loaded the items into the defendant’s car and went to Hunter’s house. Upon arriving at Hunter’s house, he, Armstrong and the defendant unloaded the items and put them in the basement. Haymon left Hunter’s home first after four or five hours; then the defendant and the others left, while Lamb stayed overnight.

Ella Haymon testified that she offered to pay the defendant to give her a ride to Rhoten’s house, and he agreed. She had dated Rho-ten for four years and had moved out of his house only three days before. Haymon had the understanding that only she, the defendant and Lamb would go to Rhoten’s house. However, the defendant, Haymon and Lamb were joined by Armstrong and Hunter. During the ride, in response to a question by Hunter, she told him that Rhoten worked. She could not hear anything else due to loud music playing on the car radio.

When they arrived at the house Lamb told Haymon that Hunter had a pistol and that he wanted them to get into Rhoten’s house and leave the door unlocked. Haymon led Lamb to Rhoten’s next-door neighbor’s house, knowing it was the wrong house. Hunter did not know that it was the wrong house because he had never been there before.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
586 N.E.2d 403, 224 Ill. App. 3d 53, 166 Ill. Dec. 445, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 2123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-tenny-illappct-1991.