Judge denies Sterling arsonist’s new trial request, says evidence shows his actions killed three people

MORRISON — A Whiteside County judge has denied a Rock Falls man’s request for a new trial, saying the jury had more than enough evidence when it found him guilty of setting an apartment fire that killed three people in June 2020.

Steven Coleman, who faces life in prison when he is sentenced next month, was convicted in July of three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the arson-related deaths of Celina Serrano, 13, her cousin Shyla Walker, 8, of Davenport, and neighbor Carrie A. (Hall) Hose, 49, at the Western Apartments in Sterling. The eight-man, four-woman jury also convicted Coleman of four other arson-related charges for starting a fire inside the apartment building, which prosecutors said Coleman did in retaliation for a drug deal gone bad.

[ Rock Falls man found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder ]

Coleman, who is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Oct. 17, was in court for a hearing Thursday asking for a new trial just one week after losing his argument that the public defender representing him at trial was ineffective and had a conflict of interest.

[ Judge denies Rock Falls man’s claims of ineffective counsel at Western Apartments murder trial ]

During that hearing, Coleman told Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge Trish Senneff that Dana McCormick, the public defender who represented Coleman at his criminal trial, was unable to effectively represent him because her boss, Whiteside County Public Defender James Fagerman, was employed as an attorney with Sterling law firm Mertes & Mertes at the time charges were filed four years ago.

Mertes & Mertes is the law firm representing a survivor of the fire in a $100 million civil lawsuit that names Coleman as a defendant, Coleman claimed. Senneff at that hearing denied any further court proceedings in regard to his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, during which Coleman said McCormick could not effectively represent him because she was loyal to her boss, who may still be loyal to Mertes & Mertes. Coleman also questioned how McCormick could effectively cross-examine prosecution witnesses during the trial and said Fagerman, who was not part of the defense team, sat at the prosecutors’ table at one point during the trial.

Senneff on Thursday ruled against Coleman’s request for a new trial, saying the presented evidence led the jury to return a guilty verdict. She said the evidence showed Coleman was upset about funding a drug deal and then receiving what he believed to be fake drugs.

“He coerced his brother to give him a ride” to the area of the Western Apartments and took a gas can along with him, Senneff said. Accelerant was detected at the fire scene, his personal cellphone was found near the scene shortly after, he called his brother the next day to look in his vehicle for Coleman’s lost cellphone and then made incriminating statements that linked him to the fire, she said.

“I don’t see how the jury could have come up with any other verdict,” Senneff said.

Senneff also defended McCormick’s work on the case. Senneff said she herself has been involved in the court system 40 years and that McCormick’s defense of Coleman was “one of the most competent defense presentations I’ve seen.”

Coleman was found guilty after three days of testimony that included firefighters, police, fire investigators, and DNA and forensics experts. Coleman’s ex-girlfriend Carly Fischbach and Coleman’s brother Jesse Coleman also testified for the prosecution. Throughout the trial, prosecutors worked to prove that Coleman’s motive was to seek revenge after paying $150 for cocaine May 31, 2020, that turned out to be fake.

They said he had gotten a ride to the Western Apartments — a two-building complex at 908 W. Third St. — in the early-morning hours of June 1, 2020. They said he then set two fires in the entryway of the eight-unit building.

Celina, Shyla and Hose died at the scene. Nine others were injured.

Coleman next month faces sentences of 20 to 60 years or up to life in prison on each of the three first-degree murder charges. Of the four arson-related charges for which he was convicted, three carry a sentence ranging from six to 30 years in prison and one carries a sentence of four to 15 years.