A 38-year-old man who has maintained his innocence despite being convicted of a 2007 Rockford murder is one step closer to a new trial.A Winnebago County judge granted an evidentiary hearing in the post-conviction case of Marquis Thomas, who was found guilty of the shooting death of Lavontaye Nunn and is seeking a new trial.An evidentiary hearing in the third and final stage of a post-conviction petition.Thomas’ petition claims his appellate lawyer was ineffective because the lawyer failed to challenge, on appeal …