Opinion
2-22-0127
06-29-2023
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANTHONY C. MEDINA, Defendant-Appellant.
This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County. No. 17-CF-1128 Honorable David P. Kliment, Judge, Presiding.
JUSTICE BIRKETT delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Jorgensen and Kennedy concurred in the judgment.
ORDER
BIRKETT, JUSTICE
¶ 1 Held: Defendant's trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance where defendant could not show prejudice arising from the jury instruction pertaining to the 25-year firearm enhancement.
¶ 2 Defendant, Anthony C. Medina, was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1) (West 2016)), armed violence (720 ILCS 5/33A-2(b) (West 2016)), and aggravated battery with a firearm (720 ILCS 5/17-3 (West 2016)) from a June 10, 2017, shooting resulting in the death of Rodolfo Rocha. Defendant was sentenced to an aggregate 80-year term of imprisonment, which included the 25-year firearm enhancement for personally discharging a firearm that caused great bodily harm, permanent disfigurement, or death to the victim. 730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(a)(1)(d)(iii) (West Supp. 2017). On appeal, defendant contends that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by not objecting to the inclusion of death in the firearm enhancement jury instruction because the evidence conclusively demonstrated that defendant did not fire the fatal shots. Because defendant cannot demonstrate prejudice arising from the jury instruction, we affirm.
¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 4 Early in the morning of June 10, 2017, defendant and Martin Garcia, both members of the Latin Kings street gang, approached a group of friends drinking and listening to music. Defendant and Garcia both fired multiple gunshots, causing the group to scatter. Rocha was killed by multiple gunshots to his body. On July 26, 2017, defendant was indicted for Rocha's murder along with other offenses. On January 24, 2022, the case advanced to a jury trial.