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On the afternoon of October 6, 1994, Columbus and Antwan Hart were walking to their home on West 50th Street, when Antwan noticed a man at the corner of 50th and Peoria Streets. The man was dressed in black and wore a black cap cocked to the right with the words “I’m Real” on it, which indicated thatin that neighborhood an individual was a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang.
The man approached Columbus and Antwan from behind and said “GD,” an apparent reference to the Gangster Disciples. When the man drew to within two feet of Columbus, he pulled a gun from his waistband, said “I ain’t a GD. Never could be a GD,” and shot Columbus, who fell backwards and died.
The prosecution called Officer John Bloore as an expert witness to testify about Chicago street gangs.
Both defendants objected, but the trial court permitted Bloore to testify, even while acknowledging that “the issue of gang membership is very inflammatory.”
Bloore, a purported gang specialist, testified regarding gang history, organization and tactics.
Specifically, Bloore described “false flagging” as a tactic where a gang member enters rival territory posing as a member of the rival gang to draw a rival gang member into the open for an ambush (e.g., cocking a hat in the manner of a rival gang).
Furthermore, Bloore testified regarding tattoos worn by members of the Black P-Stones.
During this testimony and over objection, Petitioner was required to remove his shirt and stand in the well of the courtroom in front of the jury while Bloore identified Petitioner’s tattoos as related to the Black P-Stones.
Neither Bloore nor any other witness, however, testified that Petitioner had the tattoos at the time of the shootingalmost three years earlieror could otherwise link Petitioner to a gang at the time of the shooting.
After the jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of first degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to fifty-nine years in prison. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed Petitioner’s conviction on direct appeal.
Petitioner Clemons argues that the gang-related evidence presented by Chicago Police Officer Bloore was irrelevant to the charges against Petitioner, and was prejudicial and inflammatory evidence that deprived Petitioner of his due process right to a fair trial. Bloorethe final witness called by the State in its case against Petitioner over the objections of Petitioner’s counseldescribed himself as a “gang specialist” and testified regarding: (1) the history of the two primary nations of gangs in Chicago, the Black Gangster Disciple Nation and the Black P-Stone Nation; (2) the organizational structure and hierarchy of a typical street gang; and (3) the tattoos worn by members of the Black P-Stones.
Specifically, over the objections by Petitioner’s counsel, Petitioner was forced to open his shirt for the jury while Bloore circled him in the well of the courtroom pointing out his tattoos. As evidence of Petitioner’s alleged membership in the Black P-Stones, Bloore described for the jury: (1) a five-pointed star on Petitioner’s arm; (2) a pyramid with an aura on his chest; (3) a stone on his arm; (4) the initials “B.S.” on one hand; (5) the phrase “Stone life” on his stomach; and (6) the teardrop tattoo on Petitioner’s face.
On cross-examination, however, Bloore admitted: (1) he did not know when Petitioner got the tattoos; (2) he did not know whether Petitioner had any of the tattoos on October 6, 1994, the day of the shooting; and (3) he was unable to connect Petitioner with any gang nicknames including “Eric” or “Myron,” the names used by witnesses to identify the suspected gunman.
Thus, Petitioner argues that: (1) Bloore’s testimony was introduced specifically to pander to the jury’s prejudice against gangs and gang members; (2) the probative value of the gang evidence was not enough to outweigh its prejudicial effect; and (3) because of the weakness of the State’s case, the admission of the gang evidence calls into question the jury verdict.
After finding that the gang-related evidence was highly prejudicial, we further hold that the probative value of the evidence was not enough to outweigh its prejudicial effect. We do not believe that Officer Bloore’s testimony made it more probable that Petitioner, rather than any other Black P-Stone, was the shooter.
Indeed, even if some portions of Bloore’s testimony relating to gang hierarchy were marginally relevant to show a potential motive for the crime, the bulk of his testimony involving gang history, organization and activitieswas completely irrelevant.
Moreover, forcing Petitioner to disrobe and display his tattoos to the jury was also unnecessary and irrelevant: (1) it was unnecessary because Bloore had seen Petitioner in the lockup prior to his testimony and, as such, he could have testified concerning Petitioner’s tattoos without subjecting Petitioner to the prejudicial display before the jury; and (2) it was irrelevant because neither Bloore nor any other witness testified that Petitioner either had the tattoos or was a Black P-Stone at the time of the shooting in October 1994, nearly three years before his trial.
Therefore, because the gang-related evidence in this case was highly prejudicial to Petitioner and was without significant probative value, the state trial court should have excluded the evidence.
In this case, the Court’s consideration of only the properly admitted evidence reveals that the State’s case against Petitioner is extremely weak. The State based its case upon the testimony of three purported eye witnesses, all of whom were members of the Gangster Disciples.
The Gangster Disciples are the rivals of the Black P-Stones, the gang to which the gunman andaccording to Officer BloorePetitioner belonged. In light of these three eyewitnesses’ possible motive to blame a P-Stone for the shooting, their testimony of these witnesses was highly suspect.
US Ex Rel. Clemons v. Walls, 202 F. Supp. 2d 767 (N.D. Ill. 2002). US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois – 202 F. Supp. 2d 767 (N.D. Ill. 2002), May 2, 2002
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