People v. Johnson

── People v. Johnson ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 220494-UB No. 1-22-0494 Order filed June 5, 2026 Sixth Division 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). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 17 CR 8698 ) ANTRELL JOHNSON, ) Honorable ) Thaddeus L. Wilson, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. JUSTICE HYMAN delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Pucinski and Oden Johnson concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: Affirmed. Trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance by failing to call a second alibi witness. ¶2 In Antrell Johnson’s first appeal, we reversed his conviction after finding the eyewitness identifications insufficient to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Our supreme court reversed that judgment and remanded for us to address the remaining unresolved issue—whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to call a second alibi witness, Vernon Johnson. People v. Johnson, 2026 IL 131337, ¶ 104. No. 1-22-0494 ¶3 Johnson contends Vernon’s testimony would have strengthened Kennedi Myles’s alibi testimony. We disagree. Vernon’s proposed testimony was weak, uncertain, and contradicted Myles’s account of Johnson’s whereabouts at the time of the shooting. Thus, Johnson fails to show a reasonable probability that the trial’s result would have differed had Vernon testified. We affirm. ¶4 Background ¶5 As this appeal involves an unresolved issue from our earlier decision, we recite only those facts necessary to resolve the question on remand: Whether Johnson’s counsel was ineffective in failing to call a second alibi witness, Johnson’s cousin, Vernon Johnson. ¶6 The jury found Johnson guilty of first degree murder and that he personally discharged a firearm that proximately cause the death of Taurean “Tori” Tyler (720 ILCS 5/9- 1(a)(1), (2) (West 2016)) and found him not guilty of attempted first degree murder of DeAngelo Mixon (720 ILCS 5/8-4(a) (West 2016)). ¶7 Several witnesses identified Johnson as the shooter. Tristan Thomas identified that Johnson in a photo array and at trial, though he acknowledged the shooter’s face was partially covered. Mixon identified Johnson in a photo array and video-recorded statement but recanted portions of those identifications at trial, testifying that he was unsure who shot him. Eyewitness Janeese Washington identified Johnson in a photo array and again at trial. Security video depicted a person in white pants and a dark jacket running from the area immediately after the shooting. ¶8 Police officers testified eyewitnesses described the shooter shortly after the shooting. ¶9 Johnson’s defense centered on an alibi. His former girlfriend,