People v. Toms

2025 IL App (5th) 230275-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 13, 2025
Docket5-23-0275
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2025 IL App (5th) 230275-U (People v. Toms) 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. Toms, 2025 IL App (5th) 230275-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

NOTICE 2025 IL App (5th) 230275-U NOTICE Decision filed 01/13/25. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-23-0275 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to not precedent except in the the filing of a Petition for IN THE limited circumstances allowed Rehearing or the disposition of under Rule 23(e)(1). the same. APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT

______________________________________________________________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Champaign County. ) v. ) No. 20-CF-923 ) ANDREW C. TOMS, ) Honorable ) Randall B. Rosenbaum, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE BARBERIS delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Welch and Sholar concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The trial court’s denial of defendant’s amended motion to withdraw his guilty plea is vacated, where postplea counsel failed to strictly comply with the requirements of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(d) (eff. July 1, 2017). We, thus, remand for proceedings in compliance with Rule 604(d).

¶2 Defendant, Andrew C. Toms, appeals from the Champaign County circuit court’s denial

of his motion to withdraw guilty plea to one count of aggravated battery with a firearm. On appeal,

defendant contends that, although postplea counsel filed a facially compliant Rule 604(d)

certificate, postplea counsel failed to strictly comply with Rule 604(d). Specifically, defendant

argues that postplea counsel failed to (1) attach required affidavits, (2) present defendant’s claims

of ineffective assistance of counsel in proper legal form, (3) provide any evidence or argument in

support of defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims, (4) properly consult with

1 defendant, and (5) examine the required portions of the record. For the following reasons, we

vacate and remand for further proceedings.

¶3 I. Background

¶4 On August 2, 2020, the State charged defendant by information with the offenses of

aggravated battery with a firearm (count I) (720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(e)(1) (West 2020)), a Class X

felony, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (count II) (id. § 24-1.1(a)), a Class 3

felony. The State alleged that on August 1, 2020, defendant knowingly discharged a firearm during

the commission of a battery, thereby causing bodily harm to the victim, Christian Mbemba.

¶5 On August 20, 2020, the trial court held defendant’s arraignment hearing. After defendant

waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered pleas of not guilty, the State proffered the

following evidence. On August 1, 2020, defendant and the victim had an altercation. Defendant

chased the victim and shot at him two times, striking the victim’s arm and head. At the time of the

incident, the victim dated Erica Johnson, a woman defendant previously dated. Both defendant

and the victim have children with Erica. According to the State, Erica saw defendant shoot the

victim with a firearm, and Erica’s father, S.R. Johnson, 1 witnessed defendant holding a firearm.

The court appointed the Champaign County Public Defender’s Office to represent defendant.

¶6 On August 26, 2020, the State filed a motion for discovery, wherein the State indicated its

intent to call the following witnesses to testify: six individuals from the Champaign County

Sheriff’s Office, the victim, Ezzard Johnson, Erica Johnson, and Ramesh Patel. The next day,

defendant filed an answer to the State’s motion for discovery, indicating that he “may call any and

all persons named in the State’s discovery [motion].” Defendant did not raise an affirmative

1 Based on a review of the record, this court believes S.R. Johnson and Ezzard Johnson are the same individual. 2 defense but noted that “[i]f the defense becomes aware of such a defense, it will be disclosed in a

Supplemental Answer.”

¶7 On October 2, 2020, the State filed an amended information with two additional charges

against defendant, including the offenses of attempted first degree murder (count III) (id. § 8-

4(c)(1)(D)) and armed habitual criminal 2 (count IV) (id. § 24-1.7(a)), both Class X felonies. The

State also filed a motion to increase defendant’s bond. In support of this motion, the State asserted

that the victim and two other individuals witnessed defendant shoot the victim in the arm and back

of head with a firearm. In addition, the State argued that defendant had multiple prior convictions,

dating back to 1996, which included at least 10 felony convictions. The State also asserted that

defendant fled to Chicago from Champaign County following the August 1, 2020, shooting.

Shortly thereafter, law enforcement approached defendant in Chicago, at which time, defendant

fled, entered another individual’s residence, and hid until law enforcement discovered him.

Following this incident, investigators with the United States Marshals Service informed the State

that defendant posed a high risk of flight. Moreover, the State alleged that defendant contacted a

“witness” multiple times, telling Erica that “she needs to recant her statement, or to say that she

was intoxicated, and/or plead the 5th”; that he would “marry[ ] the witness, and that they can get

divorced as soon as he gets home”; and “to change or alter her statements” to law enforcement.

The State obtained this information from defendant’s jail calls with his sister and Erica. Shortly

thereafter, on October 13, 2020, defendant hired private counsel, Attorney Jeffrey Issacson, who

entered his appearance on defendant’s behalf.

2 On September 20, 2022, the trial court amended, on motion by the State, the charge of armed habitual criminal to the offense of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. 3 ¶8 On November 19, 2020, the trial court held a second arraignment hearing, at which time

defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered pleas of not guilty on all charges.

The court also heard argument on the State’s motion to increase defendant’s bond. The State

requested the court enter a no-contact order with Erica and withdraw defendant’s phone privileges

outside of contacting his attorney. Following argument by the parties, the court granted the State’s

motion to increase bond but denied the State’s requests to decrease defendant’s phone usage and

for a no-contact order with Erica.

¶9 On March 23, 2021, the trial court held a pretrial hearing. At that time, the State informed

the court that they “ha[d] a subpoenaed witness who’s being brought in” named Erica Johnson.

The court admonished Erica that, because defendant’s case was continued, her subpoena was

continued until June 22, 2021. On June 22, 2021, July 27, 2021, August 24, 2021, the court

continued defendant’s case and Erica’s subpoena.

¶ 10 On February 22, 2022, defendant sent a letter to the trial court, arguing that Attorney

Isaacson rejected defendant’s requests to file motions “for my discovery article,” to reduce his

bond, and request house arrest. Defendant requested the court appoint a public defender.

¶ 11 On March 22, 2022, the trial court held a hearing on defendant’s February 22, 2022,

correspondence to the court regarding Attorney Issacson’s representation. Without objection by

defendant, Attorney Issacson made an oral motion to withdraw, which the court granted. The court

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2025 IL App (5th) 230275-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-toms-illappct-2025.