MOUNT VERNON — The Fifth Appellate Court has remanded a case back to Jefferson County Court for the retrial of a 49-year-old Mt. Vernon man on charges stemming from a double shooting for which he was sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Alvin C. Smallwood remains in the Illinois Department of Corrections on his remaining conviction for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon for which he was sentenced in 2021 to five years in prison.

The Appellate Court ruled Smallwood received ineffective counsel when his attorney failed to argue the defense of dwelling and then failed to ensure that the jury was properly instructed on an affirmative defense.

According to the Mt. Vernon Police Department, they responded one July afternoon in 2020 to a report of shots fired and a person lying on the ground in the 2800 block of College.

MVPD officers and Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies, along with medical personnel from the Mt. Vernon Fire Department and Litton’s Ambulance responded to the area.

Two people had been struck by gunfire and transported from the scene by personal vehicles with non-life-threatening injuries.

Smallwood testified at trial that a group of people had gone to his home and was yelling for him to come outside. He said they were knocking on the doors, jiggling the door handles, and attempting to pull up the garage door.

After approximately 30 minutes of the group being outside of his home, the defendant fired gunshots through his garage door when he saw fingers appear under the garage door in an attempt to lift the door.

Keshawn Harris and Isaiah Green were struck by bullets and injured.

Smallwood is scheduled to return to Jefferson County Court on January 23 for a status hearing on his retrial.