People v. Quintero

── People v. Quintero ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 24, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: This order was filed under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). 2026 IL App (3d) 240290-U Order filed April 24, 2026 ____________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS THIRD DISTRICT 2026 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ILLINOIS, ) of the 12th Judicial Circuit, ) Will County, Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) Appeal No. 3-24-0290 v. ) Circuit No. 06-CF-1899 ) PAUL QUINTERO, ) Honorable ) David M. Carlson, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ____________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE BRENNAN delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Peterson and Davenport concurred in the judgment. ____________________________________________________________________________ ORDER ¶1 Held: The circuit court did not err in dismissing defendant’s postconviction petition at the second stage of proceedings. ¶2 Defendant, Paul Quintero, appeals the dismissal of his postconviction petition at the second stage of proceedings. Specifically, defendant argues that he made a substantial showing that (1) appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to argue on direct appeal that defendant was prejudiced by the jury viewing him in shackles, (2) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate the layout of Stateville Correctional Center to impeach a witness’s testimony, and  (3) postconviction counsel provided unreasonable assistance where he failed to attach necessary documentation to adequately present defendant’s claims. We affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 On July 26, 2006, defendant was charged with two counts of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 2000)) stemming from the November 2, 2001, shooting death of Darnell Washington. Initially, we note that the facts of this case have been previously set forth in detail in defendant’s two prior appeals. People v. Quintero, 394 Ill. App. 3d 716, 717-25 (2009); People v. Quintero, 2012 IL App (3d) 100857-U, ¶¶ 4-15. We have relied on these previous cases, in conjunction with the record, to summarize the facts relevant to this appeal. ¶5 Defendant was initially convicted of first degree murder following a 2007 jury trial. We reversed and remanded for a new trial based on the admission of improper other-crimes evidence. Quintero, 394 Ill. App. 3d at 729. Defendant was retried in 2010. The evidence at trial established that the police found Washington on November 2, 2001, at approximately 4 a.m. on a rural road in the outskirts of Joliet. Forensic evidence showed that Washington had been shot 11 times on the right side of his body from a range greater than two feet. His injuries were consistent with being shot by someone outside the front passenger door of an SUV, while Washington was in the driver’s seat. The parties