Background
James Tennessen was convicted in a Jefferson County bench trial of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. The owner had left his 2003 Buick LeSabre, keys, wallet, and other belongings at a Rural King parking lot; the car was later found at the home of Priscilla Brozowski.
Brozowski testified that Tennessen arrived in a vehicle matching the stolen Buick and told her he had stolen it. She contacted someone to call 911, and Tennessen fled after officers arrived. Surveillance video showed the stolen vehicle at a truck stop and depicted a person whose clothing generally matched Tennessen’s clothing. The court sentenced Tennessen to three years’ imprisonment.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed. Tennessen forfeited his challenge to the admission of flight evidence because he did not preserve it in his posttrial motion, did not invoke plain error, and failed to provide a transcript or bystander’s report from the hearing on the State’s other-crimes-evidence motion. The court therefore presumed the trial court’s ruling was proper.
The evidence was sufficient to support the conviction. Tennessen’s admission to Brozowski, the recovered stolen vehicle and owner’s belongings, the surveillance footage, his flight from police, and his jail message attacking Brozowski supported a rational finding that he possessed the Buick knowing it was stolen. The three-year sentence, the statutory minimum for the Class 2 felony, was within the permissible range and was not an abuse of discretion.
Key Takeaways
- An appellant must preserve an evidentiary issue and provide a sufficient record for review.
- Circumstantial evidence, including an admission and flight, can prove knowing possession of a stolen vehicle.
- A within-range sentence will stand absent an abuse of discretion.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates how preservation failures and an incomplete appellate record can foreclose review of an evidentiary ruling. It also confirms that a fact finder may rely on the combined force of circumstantial evidence to establish knowledge and possession in a stolen-vehicle prosecution.