People v. Turman

2020 IL App (1st) 180013-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 16, 2020
Docket1-18-0013
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2020 IL App (1st) 180013-U (People v. Turman) 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. Turman, 2020 IL App (1st) 180013-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

2020 IL App (1st) 180013-U Order filed: March 16, 2020

FIRST DISTRICT FIFTH DIVISION

No. 1-18-0013

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 16 CR 4936 ) HERIANCE TURMAN, ) Honorable ) James B. Linn, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE ROCHFORD delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Hoffman and Justice Delort concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: Defendant’s conviction for attempted murder is affirmed, where: (1) the evidence introduced at trial was sufficient for the jury to find that defendant acted with the intent to kill, and (2) trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to introduce evidence of defendant’s voluntary intoxication.

¶2 A jury convicted defendant, Heriance Turman, of attempted murder and two counts of

aggravated battery. The trial court found that the aggravated battery counts merged into the

conviction for attempted murder and sentenced defendant to 22 years’ imprisonment. On appeal,

defendant contends: (1) the State’s evidence was not sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt

his specific intent to kill, as is required to sustain a conviction for attempted murder; and (2) he

was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel, where his trial counsel failed to introduce No. 1-18-0013

evidence of his intoxication at the time of the incident in order to show that defendant lacked the

specific intent to kill. For the following reasons, we affirm. 1

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 Defendant was charged by indictment with attempted first degree murder and multiple

counts of aggravated battery with respect to an incident involving Edward Morrison. The matter

proceeded to a jury trial in July 2017.

¶5 Mr. Morrison testified at trial that in March 2016, he worked as a police officer for Indiana

University Northwest and had recently begun a part-time job, working as a security guard for Fidei

Group with his uncle. Fidei Group assigned Mr. Morrison to an automobile impound lot located

at 10303 South Doty Avenue (Doty), owned by the city of Chicago. The City contracted the towing

services for Doty to United Road Towing, Inc. (URTI). The lot was filled with thousands of

vehicles. To enter or leave the lot, a person had to drive to the front gate on Doty Avenue where a

URTI employee would open the gate to allow access. The main office was located in a trailer near

the front gate.

¶6 During night shifts, three URTI employees and one Fidei Group security guard staffed the

lot; each company had its own uniform. URTI assigned each employee to occupy the office,

control the front gate, or operate a forklift. The security guard was assigned to check in at the office

upon reporting for duty, to drive around the lot in a vehicle provided by Fidei Group, to make an

hourly check of the office lobby, and to make sure that the site was clear.

1 In adherence with the requirements of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(a) (eff. July 1, 2018), this appeal has been resolved without oral argument upon the entry of a separate written order stating with specificity why no substantial question is presented.

-2- No. 1-18-0013

¶7 When at Doty, Mr. Morrison drove a black truck with the Fidei Group logo on the side and

amber lights. The vehicle came equipped with a company telephone. Mr. Morrison also had a radio

to communicate with the URTI employees.

¶8 On March 6, 2016, Mr. Morrison, having only worked five or six shifts at Doty, took his

uncle’s shift, set to begin at 6 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. the following day. When Mr. Morrison arrived,

he checked in at the front office, drove the Fidei truck around the lot, and identified URTI

employees by their uniforms.

¶9 Around 1:00 a.m. on March 7, Mr. Morrison stopped his vehicle at a high point where he

was able to overlook much of the lot. A green minivan used by URTI employees pulled up next to

Mr. Morrison. Defendant, wearing a URTI uniform, exited the van and approached the driver’s

side of Mr. Morrison’s vehicle.

¶ 10 Mr. Morrison rolled his window down and had a brief conversation with defendant.

Defendant asked Mr. Morrison for a favor. Before Mr. Morrison could check to see if his vehicle

was in park, defendant reached through the window and attacked Mr. Morrison. At first, Mr.

Morrison thought defendant was punching him in the face, but then felt a stinging pain and guessed

defendant was using a knife. Mr. Morrison was stabbed seven to eight times, sustaining injuries to

his face, ear, head, arm, and shoulder. Mr. Morrison pleaded for defendant to stop, but defendant

continued. When Mr. Morrison tried to use his radio to call for help, defendant grabbed it.

¶ 11 Mr. Morrison put his car into drive and drove toward the office. Defendant held on to the

car, but eventually let go. Mr. Morrison arrived at the office, asked for help, and pulled out his

gun. Defendant never entered the office.

-3- No. 1-18-0013

¶ 12 Mr. Morrison’s vehicle contained recording equipment which was running at the time of

the attack. A video clip from the recording was published to the jury. Mr. Morrison described his

truck and the attack as it was depicted on the video.

¶ 13 The impound lot also had surveillance cameras. A video clip of defendant’s attack on

Mr. Morrison from the camera just outside the office was published to the jury. His vehicle can be

seen driving up to the office and Mr. Morrison can be seen exiting the vehicle and running into the

office. A video clip from the camera just inside the office was also published to the jury. Defendant

can be seen inside the office before the stabbing. Photos of Mr. Morrison’s vehicle, the office area

to where he retreated, and defendant’s vehicle were admitted into evidence and published to the

jury.

¶ 14 An ambulance arrived and took Mr. Morrison to Christ Hospital where he received stitches

to his face and staples to his head. He was discharged that same day. He later chose to have his

stitches redone by a plastic surgeon. His face, head, and arm were permanently scarred. The police

took photographs of Mr. Morrison’s injuries, which were admitted into evidence and published to

the jury. Mr. Morrison testified that he attended physical therapy three times a week for four weeks

to heal his arm injury, had suffered psychological damage, and was off of work for three months.

¶ 15 Charles Craft testified that at the time of the incident, he had worked for URTI for fifteen

years. He wore a URTI uniform, a dark grey jumpsuit with reflective stripes around the legs and

arms. During his time, he became familiar with the other URTI employees. He and defendant had

worked together for five or six years.

¶ 16 Mr. Craft worked the same shift as defendant on March 6 and 7. Mr. Craft saw defendant

in the office trailer just before their shift started at 11:30 p.m. Defendant was dressed in a URTI

uniform and a hoodie. Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
2020 IL App (1st) 180013-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-turman-illappct-2020.