Tracking Pachino Hill

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By Tom Saul | Saturday, November 15, 2008 8:04 PM CST | () comments

Pachino Hill (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The longest Pachino Hill has gone without being arrested while on the streets since his first encounter with police at age 9 is three years, one month and 29 days.

That was from Sept. 27, 1988, to Nov. 25, 1991 — when Hill, perhaps Davenport’s best-known career criminal, was 9 to 12 years old.

As an adult released from state prison in January 2000, Hill’s longest stretch without an arrest has been 15 months and 18 days, from Aug. 12, 2004, to Nov. 30, 2005.

Hill’s criminal career, which now spans 20 years, includes 124 contacts with police in Davenport, prosecution on 28 felony and misdemeanor cases in Scott County District Court and three cases in Rock Island County. He’s also been questioned or suspected numerous times in murders, assaults, sex crimes and weapons cases.

Even so, Hill, 29, has served only about six years and two months in state prison and 370 days in the Scott County Jail.

A Sept. 13 case involving Wendy McDonald of Davenport, who alleged that Hill assaulted her, helps illustrate one reason he has avoided more time behind bars. Police sought a warrant to arrest Hill for simple domestic assault based on McDonald’s complaint, but the woman who bore him two children withdrew her accusation.

Police and prosecutors say Hill tends to avoid crimes that generate independent witnesses and evidence. Instead, he engages mainly in a violent subculture in which he exerts some degree of influence over victims.

Noticeably absent from successful prosecutions against him are crimes such as burglary, drug dealing and delivery, theft and robbery cases, Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said.

“It always gets back to the evidence,” Walton said. “If people don’t come forward, we can’t pursue a case. If there is other evidence, we look for it, but I have a high burden of proof. If a victim isn’t cooperative or says it didn’t happen, that’s the end of the case.”

Hill’s talent at avoiding prosecution goes way beyond that, said his former attorney Gary Koos, who represented him 11 times over 10 years with great success.

In seven of the cases, all charges were dismissed. Koos won acquittals in two that went to trial. Two others were plea bargained, with one resulting in Hill’s only prison term, for voluntary manslaughter and terrorism, after the charges were bumped down from first-degree murder, two counts of terrorism, criminal gang participation, willful injury, first-degree robbery and second-degree sexual abuse.

“He never gives a statement, and police never have anything from him that he gave them,” Koos said. “He knows how to walk that fine line. When he gets caught, he knows where he’s going to go to get out of it. He knows what is needed to convict him. He’s like a cat with nine lives. They never have enough to get him.”

Hill’s record of prosecution seems to bear that out.

He has been prosecuted for five felonies since 1993. Charges included murder, attempted murder and a felon in possession of a firearm. Hill served his only prison term for the 1993 plea to voluntary manslaughter. He was 15 at the time. He also served 97 days in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to assault resulting in bodily injury, court records show. Other cases resulted in acquittals, dismissal of charges and fines with suspended jail time.

Six aggravated misdemeanors, which included initial charges of assault while displaying a weapon, going armed with intent, witness tampering, aggravated domestic assault and commission of a crime with a knife, resulted in two acquittals, dismissal of charges, plea bargains and a jury conviction that gave him fines, suspended jail time and unsupervised probation.

Hill also has been prosecuted for 15 simple misdemeanors and a serious misdemeanor, the records show. In six cases, all charges were dismissed. The remaining 10 cases earned fines, court costs, suspended jail time and, in one instance, 30 days in jail.

More than numbers

Raw statistics about Hill’s cases don’t tell the whole story, Walton said. But he acknowledges that with Hill’s lengthy arrest and prosecution record he should have gotten prison time for a March misdemeanor conviction in which the sentence included attendance at church.

Police officer Sean Roth, president of the Davenport Union of Professional Police, says that Hill, who has been arrested 31 times as an adult by city officers, seems to lead a charmed life when it comes to avoiding conviction and prison time.

“He has a good record of getting out of doing jail time,” Roth said.

The union was particularly incensed by the church sentence imposed by Scott County Associate Judge Christine Dalton following a guilty verdict for offenses involved in fleeing Rock Island police into Davenport. A Rock Island jury found him innocent of charges in the same incident.

“An embarrassment” to the legal system was how the police union described Dalton’s sentence. Former union president Jim Meyrer called it a slap in the face to officers.

“I don’t think eight weeks of church is going to make him think he shouldn’t do it again,” Meyrer said at the time of the sentence. “He’s a repeat offender.”

Hill’s private life seems to be as complicated as his criminal record, and in many cases, the two are inseparable.

He appears to have no permanent residence or job, with court records and police reports listing dozens of different addresses over the years. Some of those addresses appear to have been residences he shared with his many girlfriends. Hill has never been married but has seven children with six different women.

All six women have filed court petitions to make Hill pay child support. In a 2004 child-support case, Hill said, “I am a felon. It’s hard to get a job.”

Hill did not comment for this story. He refused one invitation to speak on the record when asked following a September court hearing and could not be located for a reporter to offer subsequent invitations. His lawyer, Brenda Drew Peoples of Davenport, also declined to talk about Hill and would not forward a message to him requesting an interview.

In fact, few people are willing to talk on the record about Hill.

Acquaintances are difficult to locate. Many have criminal records themselves. They change addresses and phone numbers frequently or are in prison.

Victims who could be located recoiled at requests for interviews. “He’s very violent, and he’s still out there,” one victim said. School officials who knew him and police officers who have dealt with him also shied away from comment.

Jim Blanche, former Davenport Schools superintendent and principal at Sudlow Intermediate School while Hill attended, said it would be “unprofessional to remark about a student, good or bad.”

Mike Bladel, former Scott County sheriff and Davenport police chief, also declined to talk about Hill. In 2002, Hill was among four men accused of attempted murder after shots were fired at Cpl. Dennis Colclasure as he got out of his squad car in the parking lot of a west Davenport apartment complex.

At the time, an infuriated Bladel was adamant that the group tried to kill Colclasure. Now, he says, while he won’t forget the incident or those involved, “it is not appropriate for me to comment” on Hill’s involvement in the case, its outcome or his criminal record.

“As past police chief, police officers filed appropriate charges and, when they had probable cause, they made appropriate arrests,” Bladel said. “I am personally disappointed that he has never been held to account for some more recent matters.”

Colclasure declined to return repeated phone calls seeking an interview about the incident.

Hill’s former attorney, Koos, said his client’s high profile makes him a target for arrests but wouldn’t go so far as to claim that police and prosecutors are out to get him.

Newspaper and online articles about Hill generate hundreds of angry comments about the ineffectiveness of prosecutors and the courts. A recent Google search of “Pachino Hill” produced 677 individual hits. His name also came up in the campaign for county attorney as a reason to vote against Walton.

Hill’s notoriety results from “irresponsible journalism. He relishes being on the front page,” said Marc Gellerman, an assistant Scott County attorney who won a guilty verdict in the so-called “church case” but lost a jury trial in a 2003 case of driving while barred by a habitual offender. Three other cases handled by Gellerman, including a 2006 felony, resulted in plea bargains that earned fines, suspended jail time and unsupervised probation.

The Rev. Rogers Kirk, pastor of Third Missionary Baptist Church in Davenport where Hill was sentenced to attend church, did not return phone calls seeking an interview. But in a June 19 letter to the court, he said efforts to rehabilitate Hill faced “pressure from the media.”

“(Hill) came to me as a young man hardened by society and the many bad choices that he had chosen to make throughout his life,” Kirk wrote.

During “assessment and spiritual guidance sessions,” Kirk said, Hill acknowledged that his prison term had taken him away from his family and children and that he “chose to make loved ones also pay for his poor decisions.”

But over the course of Hill’s sessions and church services, Kirk said, he saw “tremendous growth in Pachino. He takes responsibility for his actions and has become a better father.” He also became more interested in the church and attends with his family. The congregation, in turn, has embraced him.

“Pachino now understands how and why the cognitive behaviors in which he chose to use did not work,” Kirk wrote. “He is clear on the need to reprogram his mind and change his way of thinking.”

Former county attorney Bill Davis, who supervised the office while most of Hill’s cases were prosecuted, acknowledges that Hill “loves the limelight” created when he has a confrontation with law enforcement or the judicial system.

“He goads the police,” Davis said. “He goes right up to the line and pokes a finger in their eye, but doesn’t go far enough to get arrested. Unfortunately, they react. Cops are only human. They play right into his hands, and he becomes a neighborhood folk hero.”

That was likely the case as Rock Island County Judge Charles “Casey” Stengle rejected a plea agreement for Hill in March that would have given him 120 days in jail for charges stemming from the 2007 police chase from Rock Island into Davenport.

In July, a Rock Island jury found Hill innocent, and Stengle was forced to set him free. A Scott County jury found him guilty in April on charges stemming from the same incident. Attendance at church was part of his sentence.

“If not for who he was, any judge would have taken that plea agreement in a minute,” Davis said.

Davis was the chief prosecutor in two of Hill’s most significant felony cases. He won Hill’s only state prison sentence to date with a 1993 plea bargain for terrorism and involuntary manslaughter for Hill’s part in the slaying of Lawrence Brown Johnson. Hill provided the gun used in the killing.

Court records show that, as part of the agreement, more serious charges of first-degree murder and criminal gang participation were dismissed and unrelated charges of first-degree robbery and second-degree sexual abuse were dropped.

Davis wasn’t as lucky when he prosecuted the charge of the attempted murder of Colclasure. A lack of evidence resulted in dismissal of the case.

“Police never found the weapon,” he said. “I didn’t have the evidence.”

Arrest and prosecution came early and often for Hill. From 1987 through 1993, he had 52 contacts with police involving incidents ranging from murder and sexual assault to simple assault, theft, shoplifting and drug possession, police records show.

In March 1992, police Officer H.S. Hawkins reported that Hill was identified as a member of the Vice Lords street gang as he was being investigated for suspicion of possessing packets of crack cocaine while in the building at the Eastern Avenue School.

During a November 1992 arrest for drug possession and delivery while he was a student at Sudlow Intermediate, Hill and four others who were stopped by police in a car in the 1500 block of Warren Street were identified as known members of the Vice Lords.

Lt. Brent Biggs, commander of tactical operations for the Davenport Police Department, said Hill would have been identified as a member of the gang through his own statements, the wearing of gang colors, his associations, tattoos or other indicators used by officers to determine if someone is affiliated.

Over the years, police have kept detailed records of all of Hill’s known addresses, his associations, acquaintances and anyone who has been involved in any police incident concerning Hill.

While Hill is well-known to police and prosecutors, his current status as a gang member, if any, is unknown, Biggs said. There have been no recent indicators. As police have focused more heavily on gang-related crime, members have become more discrete about flouting telltale signs. They also have become more nomadic, staying in the community to commit crimes until they feel the heat of law enforcement and then moving on.

“We can’t tell if (Hill) is a Vice Lord or not,” Biggs said. “There is nothing recent on him as a gang member. His involvement in major incidents is all documented. But his gang involvement, we’re not as sure of.”

Koos describes Hill as intelligent and likeable, someone who would probably have done well in life if he had applied himself to academics or a career.

“But he wants to live the street life,” he said.

While police think he intimidates witnesses to prevent them from coming forward, Koos said he never saw evidence of that.

Hill does maintain an extensive network of friends and family in the Quad-Cities who shield him and, if need be, hide him when he is being sought by police, Koos said. Hill is one of the few people he knows who can hide for long periods while staying in the community.

“When he wants to lay low, everybody clams up about him,” Koos said. “In the past, I’ve advised him to move out of town, but he has all his contacts here. He has a lot of friends and the ability to hide in town from the police. Most don’t.”

Davis acknowledges Hill’s “charm and charisma.” Over the years, he has demonstrated an ability to get people to “go to bat for him” because they think they can help or change him. People in the neighborhoods where he has lived see him as a “folk hero.”

“But his is a recipe for failure,” Davis said. “He’s going to end up dead on the path he is following.”

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.

Pachino Hill’s brushes with the law

Pachino Hill was born on Dec. 7, 1978, and has so far racked up 124 contacts with Davenport police,

beginning with a juvenile offense at age 9, and 28 criminal cases in Scott County District Court.

The following is a timeline noting major events in his criminal career:

July 15,1987: First contact with police for a juvenile offense of disorderly conduct for fighting.

May 24, 1992: Suspected in the gang sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl.

Aug. 18, 1992: Arrested for punching two girls, ages 14 and 16, in the face in an argument over gum.

March 3, 1992: Suspected of possessing crack cocaine on school grounds. Identified by police as a member of the Vice Lords.

March 3, 1993: Arrested for role in robbery and sexual assault of a couple.

April 29, 1993: Arrested for role in homicide of Lawrence Brown Johnson.

Oct. 7, 1993: Pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter and terrorism in death of Johnson. Charges reduced from first-degree murder. Robbery and sexual assault charges are dropped.

Oct. 17, 1993: Involved in attack on deputies and corrections officers in Scott County Jail.

Oct. 22, 1993: Sentenced to 15 years for role in death of Johnson.

Oct. 25, 1993: Starts serving prison sentence at Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville.

Jan. 5, 2000: Let out of prison for work release after serving six years, two months and 11 days of a 15-year sentence.

Dec. 20, 2001: Arrested twice in one day for separate fights in a sports bar and a fast-food restaurant.

Dec. 25, 2001: Discharged from parole.

May 2, 2002: Police investigate stabbing of Hill. A girlfriend and mother of one of his children is a suspect.

Dec. 8, 2002: Accused of attempted murder involving shots fired at Davenport police Cpl. Dennis Colclasure.

April 9, 2003: Attempted murder charge for Colclasure shooting dropped for lack of evidence. Case refiled with charge of felon in possession of a firearm.

July 2, 2003: Acquitted of final charge from Colclasure case.

Aug. 12, 2004: Arrested as accessory after the fact in killing of Grayling Churn.

Oct. 18, 2004: Acquitted of charges for role in Churn killing.

Nov. 18, 2005: Arrested for attempted murder and other charges in shooting of Deandre Harris.

March 7, 2006: Harris shooting plea-bargained down to assault with a sentence of a fine and costs and all but 97 days in jail suspended.

April 24, 2006: Arrested and charged with child endangerment with serious injury for holding 1-year-old son on lap as he drove. Police say odor of marijuana present in vehicle.

July 5, 2006: Questioned in killing of Tristan Menzl.

Aug. 1, 2006: Child endangerment case plea bargained and sentenced to fine, suspended jail time and unsupervised probation.

Oct. 28, 2007: Charged with variety of offenses in Iowa and Illinois for leading Rock Island police on a chase into Davenport.

April 7, 2008: Convicted at trial in Scott County of all counts in chase case and receives sentence that includes attendance at church, suspended prison and jail time and unsupervised probation.

May 24, 2008: Begins serving a 30-day term in the county jail for probation violation in chase case.

July 14, 2008: Rock Island County finds him not guilty in chase case after judge refuses to accept plea agreement that would have required jail time.

Source: Scott County Court, Rock Island County Court, Davenport police

Contacts with Davenport police

Pachino Hill has had 124 contacts with Davenport Police, beginning at age 9 for disorderly conduct by fighting. Before his 16th birthday, he had 52 contacts, including accusations of first-degree murder and attempted murder. After serving about six years and two months in Iowa prisons beginning on Oct. 25, 1993, for voluntary manslaughter and terrorism, Hill had another 72 contacts. The following is a breakdown of his involvement with Davenport police:

-- Arrests — 31

-- Held by police — 72

-- Warrants — 9

-- Citations — 16

-- Victims — 5

-- Juvenile cases — 17

Source: Davenport Police

Scott County court cases

In Scott County, 57 cases have been filed involving Pachino Hill. In an additional case, he was held on a fugitive warrant for Illinois authorities. Twenty-eight of the cases involve civil matters or traffic offenses. The remaining 28 were felony and misdemeanor criminal matters. The following is a breakdown of the criminal cases and their disposition.

Case type     Number    All charges dismissed    Plea bargains   Jury trial guilty       Jury trial acquittal

Felony                                           5                      1                        3                   0                            1

Aggravated misdemeanor          7                      2                        2                   1                            2

Serious misdemeanor                 1                      0                        1                   0                            0

Simple misdemeanor                 15                     6                        9                   0                            0

Source: Scott County Court