People v. Anderson

Annotate this Case
SIXTH DIVISION
February 20, 1998

No. 1-95-0194

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County
)
v. )
)
RENARD ANDERSON, ) Honorable
) Robert W. Krop,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE QUINN delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant Renard Anderson was
convicted of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and sentenced to
six years' imprisonment. Defendant appeals contending that he was
not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We reverse.
Velyne Zumm testified that on July 20, 1994, she owned a 1989
Trans Am automobile and during that evening it was stolen from her
driveway. The car was in good condition at that time but when she
saw the car next at the police auto pound on July 22, the passenger
door lock was punched, the trunk lock was punched, the steering
column was torn part, the car had to be started with a screwdriver
and her stereo was missing. There was also meat in the back seat
of the car.
Officer Anthony Bartolomei testified that at about 1:30 a.m.
on July 22, 1994, he and Officer Alex Ramano were in plainclothes
in an unmarked vehicle at 16th and Halsted Streets in Chicago
Heights, when they observed a dark blue Pontiac Trams Am going
eastbound. As the car passed in front of them, Bartolomei noticed
that the driver looked like a man wanted in a shooting earlier in
the evening. The officers activated their emergency equipment and
followed the car, in which defendant was a passenger. Both
occupants looked back when the officers put on the emergency
lights. The driver of the Pontiac did not stop but accelerated,
traveling about 60 miles per hour in a posted 25-mile-per-hour
zone.
The officers followed the car, which traveled through a red
light and almost hit a group of people standing outside a tavern.
The car then went around a corner and almost hit a second group of
people outside another tavern. After proceeding several more
blocks, the car was driven onto the sidewalk where it collided with
a planter. Both the driver and defendant got out of the car and
ran, but they were apprehended. The officers learned the car was
stolen and examined the car, which had the trunk lock and the
passenger side door lock punched out. The steering column cover
was ripped out on the driver's side of the column, and the radio
was missing with damage to that area. There were no keys in the
ignition and two screwdrivers were found in the car.
Officer Bartolomei spoke with defendant after his arrest, and
defendant gave a statement which was reduced to writing. The
statement recited:
"I was in Dolton at Fairway Foods.
I went inside to boost some meat. I met up
with a guy I recognized who was boosting
also. I asked him if he had a car. He told
me yeah, he did.
He asked me if I was going to boost
anything. I said yeah I was. He told
me when I come [sic] out that he would have
the car running on the side of the store.
He walked out, waited for me to come
out.
I left the store about five minutes
later. He got into a blue Pontiac Grand
Am that he was driving.
We drove to an unknown block around
127th Street in Chicago and sold the
meat I took from the store.
We then drove to another area in Chicago
and bought two bags of rock cocaine. We smoked
the dope inside and we wanted more.
At this point the car dies out and I
asked him where's [sic] your keys. He told
me that he didn't need his keys because
it was started from the column.
He then stuck a screwdriver in the left
side of the column and restarted the car.
He then drove to a Jewel Food Store
where he again boosted four packages of
meat and we decided to come south to
Chicago Heights and try to sell the meat,
to get more dope.
It was shortly after this that the
police got behind us.
He floored the gas pedal in [an] effort
to run from the police. I told him don't run,
we're caught, just stop. He said no man, I'm
dirty. And then drove into a yard where we
both jumped out of the car and were both caught
by the police."

Officer Ramano testified that he apprehended defendant after
the car chase. When he caught defendant, defendant said, "I wasn't
with him; I wasn't in that car."
The court found defendant guilty, concluding that defendant
had knowledge that the car was not the property of its driver and
that it was not obtained in a lawful manner, yet defendant
persisted in going through transactions with his accomplice and
remained in joint possession of the car.
On appeal defendant argues that since he was only a passenger
in the car, he did not possess the car and, therefore, could not be
convicted of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Under the facts
of this case, we agree.
A person commits the offense of possession of a stolen motor
vehicle when he possesses that vehicle knowing it to have been
stolen and he is not otherwise entitled to its possession. People
v. Abdullah, 220 Ill. App. 3d 687, 690, 581 N.E.2d 67 (1991).
Section 4-103(a)(1) of the Illinois Vehicle Code provides in
pertinent part:
"It is a violation of this Chapter for:
(1) A person not entitled to the possession
of a vehicle or essential part of a vehicle to
receive, possess, conceal, sell, dispose, or
transfer it knowing it to have been stolen or
converted***. It may be inferred, therefore
that a person exercising exclusive unexplained
possession over a stolen or converted vehicle
or an essential part *** has knowledge that such
vehicle ***is stolen or converted, regardless of
whether the date on which such vehicle*** was
stolen is recent or remote." 625 ILCS 5/4-103(a)
(West 1994).

Here, the trunk lock and passenger lock were punched out, the
steering column was visibly damaged and the radio had been torn
out. The driver sped away from the police when they attempted to
stop the car. Defendant initially denied being in the car when
arrested by the police but then admitted knowing that the car had
to be started with a screwdriver. This evidence is more than
sufficient to prove that defendant knew that the car was stolen.
The evidence that defendant possessed the car is much more
problematic. The State argues that defendant jointly possessed the
stolen motor vehicle with the driver, citing People v. Tucker, 186
Ill. App. 3d 683, 694, 542 N.E.2d 804 (1989), and People v.
Santana, 161 Ill. App. 3d 833, 835, 515 N.E.2d 715 (1987).
In Santana, the police arrested the two defendants as they
were both stripping a motor vehicle that was parked in a garage.
The car had been stolen the previous day. This court affirmed both
defendants' convictions for possession of a stolen motor vehicle,
holding, "[a] person has actual possession over a thing when he has
immediate and exclusive control over it. [Citation.] The fact that
numerous people may be present does not affect the exclusivity of
control. The term 'exclusive' is relative and joint possession is
sufficient to constitute exclusive possession. [Citation.]"
Santana, 161 Ill. App. 3d at 837.
In People v. Tucker, defendant Ester was seen exiting a motor
vehicle from the passenger side. Ester then acted as a lookout
while the driver stripped the vehicle. When the police arrested
Ester, he had a tool suitable for stripping a motor vehicle on his
person. The car had been stolen one day earlier. This court
affirmed Ester's conviction of possession of a stolen motor
vehicle, saying:
"a defendant who is a passenger in a stolen
motor vehicle may be found guilty of possession
of a stolen motor vehicle, where the circumstantial
evidence shows ***that the vehicle was stolen. (See
People v. Span, (1987) 156 Ill. App. 3d 1046, 7050.)"
Tucker, 186 Ill. App. 3d at 694.

A review of other reported cases in Illinois involving
passengers in stolen motor vehicles has revealed the following.
In People v. Brown, 184 Ill. App. 3d 277, 540 N.E.2d 782
(1989), this court affirmed the defendant's conviction for pos-
session of a stolen motor vehicle where the defendant was observed
taking a tire off a stolen car and he had hubcap emblems from the
car in his pocket.
In People v. Davenport, 176 Ill. App. 3d 142, 530 N.E.2d 118
(1988), this court affirmed the defendants' convictions for
possession of a stolen motor vehicle where the defendants were
observed removing lug nuts from the tire of a stolen car. The
defendants were using a lug wrench that had been taken from the
car's trunk.
The defendants in Santana, Tucker, Brown and Davenport all
participated in some way in the stripping of the vehicles they were
found guilty of possessing. There is no such evidence against
defendant.
The only case in Illinois affirming the conviction of a
passenger for possession of a stolen motor vehicle where there was
no evidence that the passenger participated in the stripping of the
vehicle is People v. Span, 156 Ill. App. 3d 1046, 509 N.E.2d 1057
(1987). In Span, the owner of a Cadillac was awakened when she
heard her car's engine start up. She saw the car being driven out
of her driveway and she immediately notified the police of the
theft. She then discovered that her home had been broken into and
her car keys, among other items, were missing.
Forty minutes later, an Illinois State Trooper saw the stolen
Cadillac and attempted to stop it. A high speed chase ensued and
the defendant, who was a passenger in the stolen vehicle, ran from
the car before he was apprehended. The appellate court affirmed
Span's conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The
court pointed out that the defense relied upon People v. Abrams,
360 Ill. 594, 196 N.E. 801 (1935). In Abrams, the Illinois Supreme
Court found that evidence that a defendant was riding as a
passenger in a recently stolen automobile was insufficient to show
that the defendant was in possession of the car, pointing out, "the
defendant was riding in the back seat of a recently stolen
automobile which was being driven by another. The facts of the
case do not bring it within the rules laid down in the [theft by
possession] cases cited." Abrams, 360 Ill. at 596.
The appellate court in Span did not address Abrams but cited
People v. Williams, 44 Ill. App. 3d 143, 358 N.E.2d 58 (1976), for
its holding that the State may prove that a defendant had knowledge
that a vehicle was stolen through circumstantial evidence. While
this is true, the defendant in Williams was arrested as he was
stripping a stolen car.
In the present case, the State does not address the issue of
possession but rather argues that we should affirm defendant's con-
viction of possession of a stolen motor vehicle based on the theory
that he was legally accountable for the actions of the driver. To
be legally accountable for another person's commission of a
criminal offense, the State must prove that the defendant,
"[e]ither before or during the commission of [the] offense, and
with the intent to promote or facilitate such commission ***
solicits, aids, abets, agrees or attempts to aid, such other person
in the planning or commission of the offense." 720 ILCS 5/5-2
(c)(West 1994); People v. Batchelor, 171 Ill. 2d 367, 375, 665 N.E.2d 777 (1996). The State bases its argument on its assertion
that defendant benefitted from the driver's crime. This may be
true but that fact does not make defendant accountable for the
driver's actions in possessing the stolen motor vehicle in this
case. While the State cites several cases in support of its
argument that defendant is accountable for the driver's actions,
none of the cases involve possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
With the exception of Span, every reported case in Illinois
affirming the conviction of a nondriver for possession of a stolen
motor vehicle involved the defendant exercising control over the
stolen vehicle by participating in the stripping of the vehicle.
Even in Span, the vehicle had been stolen only 40 minutes prior to
the defendant passenger's arrest. This is strong evidence that the
defendant participated in the theft of the vehicle itself.
However, as in much as Span holds that a passenger in a stolen
motor vehicle may be found guilty of possession of that vehicle
based only on his knowledge that the vehicle is stolen, we decline
to follow it. We hold that for a passenger in a stolen motor
vehicle to be found guilty of possession of a stolen motor vehicle,
the element of possession must be proven by evidence that the
passenger exercised sufficient control over the vehicle or
participated in the theft of the vehicle or theft of a part of the
vehicle.
For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the circuit court of
Cook County is reversed.
Reversed.
THEIS, J., concurs.
ZWICK, J., dissents.

JUSTICE ZWICK, dissenting:
I dissent.
Defendant was tried and convicted of possession of a stolen
motor vehicle on the theory of accountability. Thus, the sole
focus of our inquiry should be whether the evidence was sufficient
to sustain the defendant's conviction. In my view, the evidence
adduced at trial undeniably established that defendant and his
companion were engaged in a common criminal design to possess and
use this stolen vehicle in furtherance of their shoplifting and
drug purchases and use.
Defendant admitted that he remained in the vehicle long after
he had knowledge of facts that would have led a reasonable person
to conclude that the car was stolen. Indeed, the majority
concludes that the evidence was more than sufficient to prove that
defendant knew the car was stolen. Thus, defendant was present
during the commission of the crime and was well aware that
possession of this vehicle was unlawful. In addition, defendant
and his companion were in the car together for an extended period,
using it to shoplift food items from supermarkets, to sell those
items, and to purchase and to use the proceeds to purchase and
smoke rock cocaine. It is undisputed that defendant never reported
the crime, nor did he oppose, disapprove, or attempt to withdraw
from the enterprise. Moreover, defendant fled from the scene when
he and his companion were unable to outrun the police in the
vehicle.
An accused may be deemed accountable for acts performed by
another pursuant to a common plan or purpose. People v. Furby, 138 Ill. 2d 434, 456, 563 N.E.2d 421 (1990). Under this rule, where
two or more people engage in a common criminal design, any acts in
furtherance thereof committed by one party are considered to be the
acts of all parties to the common design and all are accountable
for those acts. People v. Martin, 271 Ill. App. 3d 346, 351, 648 N.E.2d 992 (1995). A common purpose or design may be inferred from
the circumstances surrounding the perpetration of the unlawful
conduct (People v. Taylor, 164 Ill. 2d 131, 141, 646 N.E.2d 567
(1995); People v. Reid, 136 Ill. 2d 27, 62, 554 N.E.2d 174 (1990)),
and evidence that a defendant voluntarily attached himself to a
group bent on illegal activity with the knowledge of its design
supports an inference that he shared the common purpose (People v.
Perez, 108 Ill. 2d 70, 82-83, 483 N.E.2d 250 (1985)).
In deciding defendant's legal accountability, the trial court
could properly consider evidence that defendant was present during
the commission of the offense, did not oppose or disapprove of it,
maintained a close affiliation with the driver of the stolen
vehicle, failed to report the crime, and fled the scene when the
police finally stopped them. See Taylor, 164 Ill. 2d at 141; Reid,
136 Ill. 2d at 62.
Based upon this evidence, I would affirm the defendant's
conviction.

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.