In re Thomas T.
2016 IL App (1st) 161501
Ill. App. Ct.2016Background
- On March 7, 2016, Chad Smalls (a taxi driver) had an unlocked Toyota Prius parked at a stoplight with his money/receipt pouch on the front passenger seat; Thomas T. approached and placed a flyer on the passenger window.
- Smalls told Thomas T. to leave; Thomas moved to the rear, then opened the front passenger door, removed the pouch, closed the door, and fled. A second person fled from the driver side.
- Smalls chased but could not catch Thomas; he later identified Thomas to police when Thomas was stopped on March 10.
- A juvenile petition charged vehicular invasion (720 ILCS 5/18-6(a)), burglary, and theft; after a bench trial Thomas was adjudicated delinquent on all counts and committed to IDJJ.
- On appeal Thomas challenged only the vehicular invasion conviction, arguing the State failed to prove he entered the occupied vehicle "by force." The appellate court reversed the vehicular invasion finding but affirmed burglary and theft, and remanded for a new dispositional hearing.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether entry into an occupied vehicle was "by force" under the vehicular invasion statute | State: opening the unlocked door and taking the pouch satisfies "force" when viewed in light most favorable to the State | Thomas: opening an unlocked door without violence, compulsion, or threat is not "force" required by the statute | Reversed vehicular invasion finding — opening an unlocked door without more is not "force" under the statute |
| Whether the burglary conviction (unchallenged) supplies the "force" element for vehicular invasion | State: burglary is a forcible felony and shows force, so vehicular invasion force element is met | Thomas: burglary statute lacks a force element; conviction does not prove force for vehicular invasion | Rejected — burglary conviction does not establish the force element for vehicular invasion |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Isunza, 396 Ill. App. 3d 127 (affirming vehicular invasion where reaching in involved violent conduct such as punching the occupant)
- People v. Jones, 289 Ill. App. 3d 1 (vehicular invasion affirmed where defendant thrust a knife through an open window)
- People v. Collins, 106 Ill. 2d 237 (sets sufficiency-of-evidence standard: view evidence in light most favorable to prosecution)
- People v. Davison, 233 Ill. 2d 30 (use of dictionaries for undefined statutory terms; review de novo)
- People v. Ward, 215 Ill. 2d 317 (undefined statutory terms given their ordinary meaning)