Court Opinion

ID: 9444251
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 20:04:53.09188+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:31:46.559268
License: Public Domain

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except
            in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

                                        2023 IL App (3d) 220010-U

                                  Order filed August 3, 2023
      ____________________________________________________________________________

                                                  IN THE

                                    APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

                                            THIRD DISTRICT

                                                    2023

      THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF                      )       Appeal from the Circuit Court
      ILLINOIS,                                       )       of the 13th Judicial Circuit,
                                                      )       La Salle County, Illinois,
             Plaintiff-Appellee,                      )
                                                      )       Appeal No. 3-22-0010
             v.                                       )       Circuit No. 15-CF-149
                                                      )
      WILLIAM B. HORMAN,                              )       Honorable
                                                      )       H. Chris Ryan Jr.,
             Defendant-Appellant.                     )       Judge, Presiding.
      ____________________________________________________________________________

            JUSTICE DAVENPORT delivered the judgment of the court.
            Presiding Justice Holdridge and Justice Albrecht concurred in the judgment.
      ____________________________________________________________________________

                                                 ORDER

¶1          Held: The circuit court erred in dismissing defendant’s postconviction petition.
                  Reversed and remanded.

¶2          Defendant, William B. Horman, appeals the circuit court’s first-stage dismissal of his

     postconviction petition, arguing he stated the gist of claims of actual innocence and ineffective

     assistance of counsel. We reverse and remand for second-stage proceedings.

¶3                                         I. BACKGROUND
¶4          Defendant was charged with first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2014)) and

     concealment of a homicidal death (id. § 9-3.4(a)). Defendant worked for the victim, Robert Dowd

     Jr., at Rob’s Washouts (Washouts) in Ottawa. Dowd was the owner of Washouts and went missing

     around April 14, 2015.

¶5          At the outset, we note that the facts of this case were previously set forth in detail in

     defendant’s previous two appeals (People v. Horman, 2018 IL App (3d) 160423; People v.

     Horman, 2021 IL App (3d) 190382-U). We have relied on these previous cases, in conjunction

     with the record, in summarizing the facts relevant to this appeal.

¶6          At defendant’s jury trial, the State introduced evidence that Dowd’s friends were unable to

     locate him on April 15 and 16, 2015, but saw a smoldering fire in a burn pile at Dowd’s trailer

     (where defendant occasionally stayed) and later saw defendant and Jonathan Beckman cleaning

     up the property. Numerous witnesses testified defendant was angry at Dowd for not making him a

     partner in Washouts and repeatedly stated he wanted to hurt or kill Dowd.

¶7          Blood was recovered at Washouts, which was determined to be Dowd’s. Bone fragments

     were found in the burn pile and in the Fox River, which an expert determined were from the same

     adult individual. No DNA could be obtained from the bone fragments in the burn pile, and a DNA

     test of the bones recovered from the Fox River did not match Dowd. The State’s expert believed

     it did not match because of a contaminant.

¶8          Beckman reached a deal with the State in which he would plead guilty to concealment of

     a homicidal death and testify against defendant in exchange for the dismissal of the murder charge

     against him and a sentence of five years’ imprisonment, of which he would only have to serve

     50%. Before testifying, Beckman reviewed his prospective testimony and transcripts of statements

     he had made to law enforcement. Beckman further acknowledged his initial statements contained

                                                      2
       numerous lies and admitted to making several statements that were inconsistent with his trial

       testimony. He testified defendant called him after 9 p.m. on April 14 and stated he was upset with

       Dowd. Defendant picked up Beckman and said he was going to kill Dowd. They went to Washouts

       and saw Dowd asleep on a cot in his office. Defendant told Beckman to kill Dowd with a wooden

       club, but Beckman refused. Defendant then went into the office. Beckman heard 10 to 15 thuds

       but did not look into the office. Beckman helped put a tarp over Dowd’s body, and defendant

       loaded him into the truck. Defendant dragged Dowd’s body onto a burn pile and lit it on fire. After

       the body was burned, Beckman acted as a lookout as defendant threw the remains into the Fox

       River. Beckman later helped defendant get rid of Dowd’s Ford Bronco.

¶9            Defendant testified he was not a partner in Washouts but believed he would be. Defendant

       stated he did make statements about wanting to harm Dowd but would never actually do so. On

       April 13, 2015, defendant was with Dowd until approximately 2:30 or 3 p.m. before returning to

       his apartment. The following day, April 14, Barbara Higgins called defendant to fix a broken water

       heater, and he arrived at her house around 11 a.m. or noon. Defendant slept at her house. On April

       15, defendant left Higgins’s home at 9:30 or 10 p.m. to purchase a car with Beckman. Defendant

       drove his truck and Beckman drove Dowd’s Bronco, which Beckman stated he was going to have

       detailed. They left the Bronco in Harvey, Illinois, and returned to Higgins’s home at approximately

       1:30 or 2 a.m. The next day, April 16, defendant offered to let Beckman borrow his lawnmower if

       he would help clean up the yard around Dowd’s trailer. They went to the trailer shortly before

       noon on April 16. A fire was already smoldering in the yard. They cleaned up the yard and burned

       the yard waste.

¶ 10          The jury found defendant guilty of all charges, and the court sentenced him to 35 years’

       imprisonment. On direct appeal, defendant claimed his counsel was ineffective for failing to move

                                                       3
       to dismiss the charges under the speedy trial statute and the court failed to conduct a preliminary

       Krankel hearing. Horman, 2018 IL App (3d) 160423. We affirmed defendant’s convictions and

       remanded for a Krankel inquiry. Id. ¶ 33.

¶ 11          At the July 3, 2019, Krankel inquiry, defendant presented an affidavit from Cody Smith,

       dated June 3, 2019, unrelated to the subject of the Krankel inquiry. At the hearing, defendant

       explained he obtained the affidavit from Smith who had approached him at the Menard

       Correctional Center:

                      “When [Smith] said what are you doing here at Menard when you should be home?

                      I said what do you mean? Well, *** Beckman came to [Smith] and was telling

                      [him] he got the sweet deal, this, that and the other, and I was like whoa, whoa,

                      whoa, whoa. Write this all down in your words and get it approved by the State’s—

                      the notary at Menard’s law.”

       In the affidavit, Smith alleged he was at La Salle County jail with Beckman, who

                      “was bragging to anyone who would listen[ ] that a murder charge was being

                      dropped, and he would receive a sweet deal of 5 years [at] 50% if he testified against

                      [defendant]. The State had no evidence against [defendant]. So they needed

                      Beckman’s testimony that the State wrote for him ***. *** Beckman is lying for

                      the State to get out of somethings he might or might not have done. *** Beckman

                      told [Smith, defendant] was not guilty. The police scared him into lying ***.”

       The court did not consider the affidavit since it was not relevant to the Krankel inquiry. The court

       declined to appoint counsel and denied defendant’s motion. Defendant appealed and this court

       upheld the circuit court’s dismissal. Horman, 2021 IL App (3d) 190382-U, ¶ 24.

                                                        4
¶ 12           Defendant then filed a pro se postconviction petition on October 14, 2021, which is the

       subject of this appeal. In the petition defendant alleged he was innocent of the charged crimes

       based on the newly discovered affidavit from Smith and that his counsel was ineffective for failing

       to introduce phone records contradicting parts of Beckman’s testimony. Defendant attached

       Smith’s affidavit to his petition. The circuit court summarily dismissed defendant’s petition, and

       this appeal followed.

¶ 13                                            II. ANALYSIS

¶ 14           On appeal, defendant argues the circuit court erred in dismissing his postconviction petition

       as he stated the gist of constitutional claims of actual innocence and ineffective assistance of

       counsel. The Post-Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2020)) provides a

       process for a criminal defendant to assert his conviction resulted from a substantial denial of his

       rights under the United States Constitution, the Illinois Constitution, or both. People v. Hodges,

       234 Ill. 2d 1, 9 (2009). At the first stage, defendant need only state the “gist” of a constitutional

       claim. Id. This standard presents a low threshold, requiring only that defendant plead sufficient

       facts to assert an arguably constitutional claim. People v. Jones, 211 Ill. 2d 140, 144 (2004). The

       circuit court may summarily dismiss the petition at the first stage of proceedings if it is frivolous

       or patently without merit, such that it “has no arguable basis either in law or in fact.” Hodges, 234

       Ill. 2d at 12.

¶ 15           “[W]hile a pro se petition is not expected to set forth a complete and detailed factual

       recitation, it must set forth some facts which can be corroborated. People v. Delton, 227 Ill. 2d

       247, 254-55 (2008). “All well-pleaded facts must be taken as true unless ‘positively rebutted’ by

       the trial record.” People v. Brown, 236 Ill. 2d 175, 189 (2010) (quoting People v. Coleman, 183

       Ill. 2d 366, 385 (1998)). The reviewing court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of

                                                        5
       advancing the petition. People v. Knight, 405 Ill. App. 3d 461, 471 (2010). We review de novo the

       circuit court’s first-stage summary dismissal of a postconviction petition. Hodges, 234 Ill. 2d at 9.

¶ 16          The due process clause of the Illinois Constitution forbids punishing a defendant for a

       crime where evidence newly discovered after trial shows that defendant is actually innocent of the

       crime. People v. Washington, 171 Ill. 2d 475, 487-88 (1996). Such a claim is established by

       supporting evidence that is “(1) newly discovered, (2) material and not cumulative, and (3) of such

       conclusive character that it would probably change the result on retrial.” People v. Robinson, 2020

       IL 123849, ¶ 47. To survive first-stage dismissal, a petition must present evidence that arguably

       meets each of these three factors. People v. Coleman, 2013 IL 113307, ¶ 96.

¶ 17          First, the evidence contained in Smith’s affidavit is arguably newly discovered. “Newly

       discovered evidence is evidence that could not have been obtained earlier through due diligence.”

       People v. Fields, 2020 IL App (1st) 151735, ¶ 46. Smith’s affidavit was dated June 3, 2019, which

       was over three years after the trial ended. “The dating indicates that the information contained in

       the affidavits was generally undiscoverable until after the trial had concluded ***.” People v.

       House, 2020 IL App (3d) 170655, ¶ 30. Moreover, Smith was not a witness to the crime, and there

       was no way for defendant or counsel to know about his existence at the time of trial. Smith’s

       testimony, therefore, could not have been discovered earlier. The only reason the evidence was

       ultimately discovered was due to a chance encounter between defendant and Smith at Menard

       Correctional Center. Further, while defendant had attempted to bring the affidavit to the court’s

       attention during his Krankel inquiry, the court declined to address the affidavit, noting it was

       obtained after the matter had been resolved. Taking the allegations in the affidavit and petition as

       true, defendant has shown the evidence was arguably newly discovered.

                                                        6
¶ 18          Second, the evidence here is arguably material and noncumulative. “Evidence is material

       if it is relevant and probative of the petitioner’s innocence”; it is noncumulative if it “adds to the

       information that the fact finder heard at trial.” Robinson, 2020 IL 123849, ¶ 47. Smith’s affidavit

       is arguably material. Beckman was a major witness at trial and testified at length against defendant,

       outlining the murder, how they disposed of the body, and their actions after disposing of the body.

       The only people that knew exactly what happened to Dowd were defendant and Beckman so both

       their testimonies and inconsistencies were important to the case. The affidavit alleged Beckman

       not only exaggerated defendant’s role in the murder, but defendant was actually innocent of the

       murder. Further, the evidence is arguably noncumulative. The jury heard evidence that Beckman

       received a lenient and favorable deal from the State and could make the reasonable inference he

       had an incentive to downplay his own role in the murder. However, no evidence was presented

       that Beckman completely fabricated his testimony at the State’s request and admitted defendant

       was not guilty, which Smith’s testimony would provide.

¶ 19          Finally, the new evidence is arguably of such conclusive character that it would change the

       result on retrial, even if the “evidentiary balance weighed heavily in the State’s favor at defendant’s

       trial.” People v. White, 2014 IL App (1st) 130007, ¶ 26. Besides Beckman’s testimony, the State

       presented evidence defendant wanted to kill the victim, was at the trailer with a smoldering fire

       the day after the murder was believed to have occurred, and he and Beckman drove Dowd’s Bronco

       shortly thereafter. However, Beckman’s testimony was unquestionably a key part of the State’s

       case since it was the only testimony presented at trial that defendant was present at the time of

       Dowd’s death. In his defense, defendant testified at length regarding his activities from April 13

       to 16, 2015, and provided an alternative, exonerating explanation for why he was driving the

       Bronco, why he was at the trailer with a smoldering fire, and where he was at the time of the

                                                         7
       murder. Given the conflict in testimony and the nature of the affidavit, we believe the petition has

       surpassed the low bar at this stage of the proceedings. People v. Harmon, 2013 IL App (2d)

       120439, ¶ 22 (“The trial court is not allowed to engage in any fact finding or credibility

       determinations at this stage ***.”); White, 2014 IL App (1st) 130007, ¶ 29 (petition withstood

       first-stage scrutiny where a single affiant stated he lied at trial when he said defendant was the

       shooter and that he was with defendant at the time of the shooting even though “multiple witnesses

       testified that defendant was the shooter”).

¶ 20          Because defendant stated the gist of an actual-innocence claim, we remand his full petition

       for second-stage postconviction proceedings. See Hodges, 234 Ill. 2d at 23. We need not consider

       defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim as partial summary dismissals are not permitted

       at the first stage of postconviction proceedings. See People v. Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d 364, 374 (2001);

       White, 2014 IL App (1st) 130007, ¶ 33.

¶ 21                                          III. CONCLUSION

¶ 22          For the reasons stated, we reverse and remand the judgment of the circuit court of

       La Salle County.

¶ 23          Reversed and remanded.

                                                        8