The complexities of January’s rare double-jury retrial in Lake County Circuit Court didn’t simply end with the conviction of two men for the shooting death of a North Chicago woman.
William Fillyaw, 37, and Johnny Parker, 31, who were convicted Jan. 21, have not yet been assigned sentencing dates, and both have post-trial motion hearings scheduled in March that go beyond the routine post-trial, pre-sentencing procedures.
On Tuesday, defense attorney Lawrence Wade, one of the attorneys representing Fillyaw, said he believes the twin-jury trials prejudiced jurors against both defendants. Specifically, if jurors believed one to be guilty, they would consider both guilty.
Wade also argued that the double-jury format violated an Illinois Appellate Court directive that the trials be severed. The proceedings, in which separate juries heard the case in the same courtroom, were held as a retrial for the 2007 murder.
Judge Mark Levitt is scheduled to hear post-trial motions March 17 for Parker and March 24 for Fillyaw.
Both were convicted for the second time on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder related to a bloody home invasion after midnight June 29, 2007. Prosecutors said Fillyaw, armed with a shotgun, and Parker, armed with a handgun, kicked open the door of Lasondra Shaw’s North Chicago apartment, and began shooting at people inside before fleeing.
Shaw, 28, was killed by a shotgun blast to the neck, and two men were seriously injured.
Both juries returned guilty verdicts the same day closing arguments were completed.
Fillyaw and Parker were originally convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 55 years in prison, but the convictions were reversed in an April 2011 Illinois Second District Appellate Court ruling citing trial errors. The case was then remanded back to circuit court, leading to a decision by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office to proceed with a retrial.
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While the procedure is more routine in Cook County, it was Lake County’s first double-jury trial in 28 years.
To prepare, Courtroom 201 was temporarily reconfigured to include two additional rows of seats in front of the usual jury gallery to make room for more jurors. An additional counsel table was also added to accommodate an additional defense team.
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