The sentencing of Kevin Johnson, the Harvey man convicted of the shooting death of 19-year-old Charles “Charlie” Baird was delayed once again following an afternoon of post-trial motions on Monday.

Johnson, 21, was found guilty of first degree murder in the 2020 killing of Baird at a New Lenox gas station on March 19. A sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for May 21, then was delayed until June, when it was once again postponed until Aug. 25.

During what was supposed to be the sentencing hearing, Johnson first made a motion for judgement notwithstanding a verdict or a retrial after claiming he had received “ineffective assistance” from his public defenders, Jason Strzelecki and Samantha LaRowe Kerins.

Johnson requested to represented himself in the motion, and was granted the request before Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak dismissed the motion, finding that Johnson’s claims about his attorneys not showing him video evidence of the car used to commit the crime being apprehended in Dalton, did not qualify as providing “ineffective advice.”

Johnson claimed that since the car was found being driven by “someone else who matched the description of the shooter” while he was detained, that the attorneys should have claimed there was reasonable doubt in the case.

“I don’t find that your counsel was ineffective so I’m going to deny those claims,” said Bertani-Tomczak, who also denied Johnson’s request for a continuance to amend his motion.

Following the dismissal of the claims, Johnson reengaged the service of the public defenders to make a motion for a retrial on the grounds that the testimony of two witnesses had been improperly admitted.

Strzelecki and LaRowe Kerins argued that the testimony of Marquez Whitfield, who was with Johnson in the car the day of the shooting and granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against Johnson, should be dismissed because he was not sworn in during his first day in court.

Rather than taking an oath, Bertani-Tomczak asked him if he understood the terms of his deal that he could be charged if he did not tell the truth before he offered his testimony, though the judge noted that he was sworn in to provide testimony the next day.

“Even though I believed he understood, I had him come in again and swore him in to reiterate his statement,” she said. “And he was thoroughly cross-examined.”

The defense also objected to another witness being allowed to check a note she created on her phone of a detail of her testimony before being recalled to the stand.

The state argued that witnesses are allowed to refresh their memory, and nothing improper occurred, however Strzelecki suggested that it was “inappropriate because she was allowed to do her own investigation outside of the courtroom.”

Bertani-Tomczak said it was “not unusual for a witness to be recalled” and denied the motions in their entirety.

‘You have tainted my Mother’s Days forever’

With the pre-sentencing motions exhausted, Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Senko called the victim’s mother, Jennifer Baird, to the stand to read an impact statement. Baird was supported in court by nearly two dozen family members and friends, many of whom wore badges with pictures of the victim on their shirts.

“May 11, 2020 was the day our lives changed forever,” she said. “Charlie was my oldest son and the last we saw him was Mother’s Day. I’m grateful that Charlie shared his last meal with us as a family. I had no idea that it would be the last time I would see my son awake.”

Jennifer Baird shared the details of her family’s struggle in the days following her son’s shooting as he was hospitalized and they were unable to stay with him because of pandemic-era lockdown restrictions at medical facilities.

“Only a monster without a soul would commit such an act,” she said, after describing how Charlie was shot in the back while fleeing from an attempted carjacking.

“There’s a special place in Hell for you, but for now I’ll settle for your Hell being here on Earth,” she said, addressing Johnson directly. “I’ll sleep a little better knowing you can’t hurt another innocent family and take a member of their family to an early grave. You have tainted my Mother’s Days forever. I hope to God you get what is coming your way. You pulled the trigger that night and as a result your whole life was blown away in the blink of an eye. Enjoy prison life, you still have Hell to look forward to.”

Jennifer Baird’s statement was followed by testimonies from multiple law enforcement officers.

The officers testified to previous carjackings committed by Johnson and his disciplinary record while incarcerated the last five years, which included 11 instances of fighting with other inmates and threatening or disrespecting guards, according to law enforcement testimony.

When the state had finished calling its witnesses, the defense team noted that Johnson had wished to have his sister present to give a statement on his behalf before sentencing, and she was not present.

Johnson said he had expected to proceed after the motions Monday and had not expected the hearing to proceed to sentencing, so his sister had not been contacted.

“We are ready to proceed with sentencing, but we don’t want to prevent him from presenting a witness,” Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Capelli said.

Bertani-Tomczak agreed, stating “I feel like I have to allow that,” and granted the continuance, though she requested Johnson’s lawyers make contact with the witness and report back Tuesday with her availability.

A new date for the sentencing was to be set Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m just frustrated,” said Jennifer Baird, who noted that members of her family and her son’s friends had taken off work to be in court Monday. “It’s just more delays. He likes to stall. It’s been five years. I realize it was a pandemic when it happened, but that’s done. I want to get this done.”