Present: Hassell, C.J., Koontz, Kinser, Lemons, Goodwyn, and 

Millette, JJ., and Russell, S.J. 

TONY JERMAINE WALKER 

 OPINION BY 

v. Record No. 100263 SENIOR JUSTICE CHARLES S. RUSSELL 

 January 13, 2011 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

 

 In this appeal from a conviction of grand larceny of an 

automobile under Code § 18.2-95, the Commonwealth relied on 

the “blue book” published by the National Automobile Dealer’s 

Association (NADA) to prove that the value of the stolen 

property exceeded $200. The dispositive question is whether 

proof by that method, although expressly authorized by 

statute, violated the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right of 

confrontation as elucidated in Crawford v. Washington, 541 

U.S. 36, 68 (2004), and Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 

U.S. ___, ___, 129 S.Ct. 2527, 2531 (2009). 

Facts and Proceedings.

 On July 7, 2008, Thanh Ngo parked a white 2004 Toyota 

Sienna van owned by his wife behind a nail salon that he and 

his wife operated in a shopping mall in the City of Hampton. 

Ngo testified that the car was “in very good condition” and 

that there was a bicycle mounted on a rack attached to it. 

The car was still there at 3:30 p.m. but was gone when Ngo 

looked for it at 4:00. At approximately 6:50 p.m., Officer 
Matthew Peele of the Hampton Police Division found the vehicle 

in a ditch. The defendant, Tony Jermaine Walker was slumped 

over the steering wheel, unconscious. After regaining 

consciousness, Walker told the officer that he had seen Ngo 

park the van behind the nail salon and inadvertently drop the 

keys to the van. Walker told the officer that he picked up 

the keys and took the van as an act of retaliation. He 

contended that Ngo had stolen his bike a few days earlier but 

that he had not reported the theft to the police because he 

was “keeping it in the streets.” 

 Walker was indicted for grand larceny in the Circuit 

Court of the City of Hampton. At a bench trial, he was 

convicted and sentenced to nine years imprisonment with five 

years suspended on conditions of probation. At trial, the 

court admitted the NADA “blue book” into evidence as proof 

that the stolen vehicle had a value in excess of $200. Walker 

objected on the ground that his counsel could not crossexamine the book and that its admission violated his right to 

confront the witnesses against him. 

 Walker appealed to the Court of Appeals, contending that 

the circuit court erred in admitting the “blue book” into 

evidence and that without it, there was no proof of value, a 

requisite element of grand larceny. By memorandum opinion and 

order entered January 26, 2010, the Court of Appeals affirmed 

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the conviction, holding that the “blue book” was not 

testimonial in character and therefore its admission did not 

violate Walker’s constitutional confrontation rights. Walker 

v. Commonwealth, Record No. 2931-08-1, slip op. at 2-3 

(January 26, 2010). We awarded Walker an appeal. 

Analysis

 Because Walker’s appeal presents a question of law as to 

the admissibility of evidence, we apply a de novo standard of 

review. Commonwealth v. Garrett, 276 Va. 590, 599, 667 S.E.2d 

739, 744 (2008). Code § 18.2-95 defines grand larceny as 

“simple larceny not from the person of another of goods and 

chattels of the value of $200 or more.” Therefore the 

Commonwealth, to prevail in a prosecution for that offense, 

must prove beyond a reasonable doubt not the exact value of 

stolen property, but only that its value exceeded the 

statutory minimum. 

 Code § 8.01-419.1 provides, in pertinent part: 

Whenever in any case not otherwise specifically 

provided for the value of an automobile is in issue, 

either civilly or criminally, the tabulated retail 

values set forth in the National Automobile Dealers' 

Association (NADA) "yellow" or "black" books or any 

vehicle valuation service regularly used and 

recognized in the automobile industry that is in 

effect on the relevant date, shall be admissible as 

evidence of fair market value on the relevant date. 

 Walker argues that the effect of that section, as applied 

at his trial, was to deny him his right to cross-examine the 

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Commonwealth’s witnesses against him on the issue of the van’s 

value. The Commonwealth contends that Walker’s confrontation 

rights were not infringed because the “blue book,” unlike 

certificates of drug or blood alcohol analysis, is a 

repository of information prepared for general use by the 

automobile sales industry, not for litigation. The book is 

neutral, the Commonwealth argues, and not accusatory because 

it was not designed to prove criminal wrongdoing by Walker or 

anyone else.∗

 The Supreme Court of the United States, in Crawford and 

Melendez-Diaz, made it clear that the admission of documentary 

evidence in lieu of the live testimony of witnesses violates a 

criminal defendant’s confrontation rights under the Sixth 

Amendment, if the documents are testimonial in nature, because 

such documents cannot be tested “in the crucible of crossexamination.” Crawford, 541 U.S. at 61. On the other hand, 

the admission of documentary evidence that is not testimonial 

does not offend the confrontation clause. Business and public 

records, for example, are not testimonial because they are 

created for the administration of affairs generally “and not 

 ∗

 Guides prepared by the NADA are “intended . . . to 

assess the values of various vehicles.” N.A.D.A. Services 

Corp. v. Business Data of Virginia, Inc., 651 F. Supp. 44, 47 

(E.D. Va. 1986). 

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for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact at 

trial.” Melendez-Diaz, 557 U.S. at ___, 129 S.Ct. at 2539-40. 

 It is most improbable that the compilers of the “blue 

book” ever heard of Walker or the charges against him and they 

certainly did not prepare the book for the purpose of 

assisting the Commonwealth in securing his conviction. We 

agree with the conclusion reached by the Court of Appeals that 

the book was not testimonial in character. 

 Walker also argues on appeal that the circuit court erred 

in admitting the “blue book” as a business record under the 

business records exception to the rule against hearsay because 

the Commonwealth failed to lay the requisite foundation to 

support that exception. We find no merit in that contention. 

The Commonwealth did not rely on the business records 

exception at trial, but rather offered the “blue book” on the 

sole authority of Code § 8.01-419.1. That statute provided 

the only foundation necessary. 

 Walker further argues that the “blue book” did not give 

the value of the particular vehicle stolen. Instead, the book 

listed four classes of 2004 Toyota Sienna vans and assigned 

values to each class. There is no contention that the stolen 

van fell into some category not listed in the book but Walker 

contends that its value cannot be ascertained by reference to 

classes or models. Walker’s argument is based on the 

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erroneous premise that the Commonwealth was required to prove 

the precise value of the stolen property. As stated above, 

the Commonwealth’s burden was only to prove that its value 

exceeded $200. Because all four classes of 2004 Toyota Sienna 

vans were shown by the book to have values far in excess of 

that amount, there was credible evidence before the court from 

which a rational fact-finder could conclude that the 

Commonwealth had met its burden of proof. 

Conclusion

 For the reasons stated, we will affirm the judgment of 

the Court of Appeals. 

Affirmed.

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