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People v. Bartimo1/15/2004
UNPUBLISHED
In March 2002, the State charged defendant, Anthony W. Bartimo, with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of cannabis. In July 2002, defendant filed a motion to suppress, which the trial court denied. In January 2003, the trial court found defendant guilty of unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of cannabis. The court denied defendant's posttrial motion and sentenced him to 24 months' probation on each offense.
On appeal, defendant argues (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, (2) he was wrongfully convicted of unlawful use of a weapon, and (3) he received ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
In March 2002, the State charged defendant by information with (1) unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2002)), alleging he knowingly possessed less than 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine; (2) unlawful use of a weapon (720 ILCS 5/24-1(a)(4) (West 2002)), alleging he knowingly possessed in a vehicle a 9-millimeter handgun; and (3) unlawful possession of cannabis (720 ILCS 550/4(c) (West 2002)), alleging he knowingly possessed more than 10 grams but less than 30 grams of a substance containing cannabis.
In July 2002, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence, alleging he was illegally seized by an officer for an expired license plate when the plates were valid as evidenced by a temporary sticker. In August 2002, the State dismissed the unlawful-possession-of-a-substance-containing-cocaine charge. In September 2002, the trial court conducted a hearing on defendant's motion to suppress. Defendant testified he was driving his car on March 11, 2002, at about 11 p.m. He testified his license plates expired on November 30, 2001, but the "yellow 'T' sticker" extended them for 120 days. He received a new set of license plates a "few days prior to being stopped," and they were in the backseat of the car when the officer pulled him over. The State moved for a directed finding on defendant's motion, which the trial court denied.
The State called Woodford County deputy sheriff Shawn Trent, who testified he observed a black Audi on March 11, 2002, and he ran the registration plate on the vehicle. A dispatcher advised him the registration expired in November 2001. Prior to stopping the vehicle, Deputy Trent observed a November 2001 sticker on the back of the license plate. He then stopped the vehicle to investigate the status of the plates. After shining his spotlight on defendant's vehicle, he noticed a temporary registration sticker. At the time of the stop, he was unaware of how long a "T" sticker was valid. The trial court found Deputy Trent had a "good-faith basis" to stop the vehicle because of the expired plates and denied defendant's motion.
In January 2003, defendant's bench trial commenced. Deputy Trent testified to the expired license plate and his stop of defendant's vehicle. Upon approaching the vehicle, Trent noticed a "hard-cased shotgun or rifle case protruding from the trunk" and an unzipped soft-sided shotgun or rifle case on the floorboard of the backseat. Trent then asked defendant for identification and he presented a traffic citation in lieu of his license. Trent returned to his squad car and checked defendant's license.
Upon returning to defendant's car, Trent noticed defendant with his hand "behind the passenger seat," which he later removed. Deputy Trent then asked defendant if he had any weapons in the vehicle. Trent stated defendant appeared "nervous" and advised him that he had a rifle in the trunk. When asked if he had other firearms
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