An appeals court has reversed the murder conviction of a Round Lake Beach man who authorities said shot twin brothers that stole his car, saying trial jurors may have been swayed by a prosecution PowerPoint presentation improperly included among the evidence used for deliberations.
The 2nd District Appellate Court decision likely means a retrial for Lynell Glover, who was found guilty in 2022 in Lake County of second-degree murder in the death of Anthony Awad, 17, and the wounding of his brother, Jonathan. Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to retry the case.
Glover, who is serving a 21-year prison sentence, shot the brothers on Jan. 3, 2021, in a roadside confrontation near Volo, several days after the pair stole his Camaro from his house, according to police.
Glover was tried on first-degree murder and other charges and his case was heard by a jury in March of 2022.
According to the appellate court, jurors deliberated a day without reaching a verdict and went home for the night. Court employees collected the evidence that jurors had been using.
On the second day of deliberations, jurors saw a 58-page PowerPoint to which they had inadvertently been given access. Prosecutors had used the PowerPoint during their closing argument, and it included prosecution notes.
According to the court records, jurors sent Judge Mark Levitt a note about the situation.
“Many people formed thoughts after viewing the PowerPoint,” the jurors’ note said. “Why were we given evidence we should not have seen or used(?) This is a problem for us. We used the PowerPoint extensively.”
Glover’s attorney, James Schwarzbach, asked for a mistrial, which Levitt denied. The judge sent back a note reminding jurors that closing arguments are not considered evidence, and that they should continue deliberating.
Jurors returned a verdict four days later, finding Glover guilty of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm. Jurors declined to convict on first-degree murder, and they acquitted Glover on one battery count.
The appellate court said the jury’s verdict indicated that the question of Glover’s guilt was a close call.
“We hold that the inclusion of the State’s PowerPoint presentation, while properly presented at trial during closing argument, was prejudicial and may have influenced the decision of several jurors who admittedly ‘formed thoughts’ after erroneously viewing it while deliberating,” the court said in its ruling.
Schwarzbach said Thursday that he felt strongly that the case would be returned to Lake County, though he said the error that produced the reversal was accidental.
“It’s just an unfortunate set of circumstances that the PowerPoint slipped in there,” he said.
State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said prosecutors would retry Glover.
“Mr. Glover chased down two people who were running away from him and shot them,” Rinehart said. “Regardless of what they had done to his property, he shouldn’t have taken the law into his own hands.
“The PowerPoint itself was properly used in closing arguments and we wish the PowerPoint had not been inadvertently sent back to the jury on the second day of its deliberations without the State or the defense knowing,” he said.
