People v. Wise
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An officer stopped a van, driven by Wise, for speeding. There was a passenger in the front seat and another in the “very back” seat. As the officer spoke with Wise, he detected the odor of burnt cannabis and called for backup. Two officers conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle; one found a firearm and ammunition “in the rear passenger compartment [in] kind of like [a] little cupholder armrest, inside a glove.” The gun was not in plain view. Searching Wise’s handbag, the officer found a large number of prescription pills. Wise, who had a 1995 Iowa conviction for first-degree burglary, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, 720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a) and unlawful possession of a substance containing oxycodone, 720 ILCS 570/402(c). An officer testified that Wise had told the officer that his brother owned the van, that he knew the gun was present, and that the gun belonged to a friend who also borrowed the van from Wise’s brother. Both passengers stated that the gun did not belong to Wise. The officer estimated that the gun was five to 10 feet away from Wise while he was driving.
The Illinois Supreme Court vacated Wise's conviction. The state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Wise exercised immediate and exclusive control over the area where the firearm was found; his conviction for unlawful possession of a weapon under section 24-1.1(a) on a theory of constructive possession cannot stand.
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