Case Name: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STANLEY SMITH, Defendant-Appellant
Court: Illinois Appellate Court
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Decision Date: 1997-06-03
Citations: 288 Ill. App. 3d 820
Docket Number: No. 1—96—1317
Parties: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STANLEY SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Illinois Appellate Court Reports, Third Series
Volume: 288
Pages: 820–827

Head Matter:
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STANLEY SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.
First District (2nd Division)
No. 1—96—1317
Opinion filed June 3, 1997.
McNULTY, J., dissenting.
Rita A. Fry, Public Defender, of Chicago (Julie A. Hull, Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.
Richard A. Devine, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Renee Goldfarb and Latisha Foster, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Opinion:
PRESIDING JUSTICE DiVITO
delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a bench trial, defendant Stanley Smith was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. In this appeal, defendant contends that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
At trial, Chicago police officer Quadir Dawan testified that at 1:30 p.m. on December 13, 1994, he and his partner, Officer Weather-spoon, were seated in an unmarked car conducting a surveillance of possible narcotics transactions at 1534 East 66th Place. Approximately 20 feet away, defendant and his codefendant, Kem Haynes, were standing in a vacant lot. On two separate occasions, the officers observed an individual approach defendant, who walked a short distance and retrieved something from the ground. Defendant then returned to where the individual and Haynes were standing and handed something to Haynes. Haynes handed the object to the individual in exchange for cash.
After the second transaction, Officer Dawan called for assistance, whereupon two other officers apprehended defendant and Haynes. Officers Dawan and Weatherspoon then went to the location where they had observed defendant retrieve something from the ground. They recovered a wine bottle cap that contained seven clear, knotted plastic bags containing a white, rock-like substance, which was later determined to be cocaine. The officers also recovered $80 from Haynes. Although Officer Dawan inventoried the narcotics found inside the bottle cap, he did not inventory the $80 because of a general order exempting any amount under $135 from being inventoried.
During cross-examination, defense counsel asked Officer Dawan if he recognized a copy of the general order of the Chicago police department with regard to the inventory of property. Officer Dawan stated that he was not familiar with the general order because it was dated 1981, and the order he was familiar with was dated 1986.
The parties stipulated that if called to testify, forensic chemist Jamie Sea would have stated that the plastic bags contained 1.13 grams of cocaine.
Following the close of the State's case, the parties stipulated that the 1981 general order was in effect on December 13, 1994, and admitted the document into evidence. In closing argument, defense counsel noted that there was no limit on the amount of money to be inventoried in the general order.
The circuit court found defendant guilty of possession with intent to deliver. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. Defendant also pled guilty to violation of probation and was sentenced to a concurrent five-year prison term.
Defendant contends in this appeal that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because the facts were not sufficient to establish probable cause, much less guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In arguing that, at the time that Officer Dawan called for a back-up unit to arrest him, the facts were insufficient to warrant any police action beyond an investigatory stop, defendant essentially challenges the propriety of his arrest. Because he failed to raise this issue in the circuit court, he is barred from raising it for the first time on appeal. People v. Enoch, 122 Ill. 2d 176, 185, 522 N.E.2d 1124 (1988). Moreover, our review of the record provides no basis for application of the plain error doctrine. People v. Mullen, 141 Ill. 2d 394, 402, 566 N.E.2d 222 (1990). Accordingly, defendant has waived review of the sufficiency of the facts supporting his arrest.
Waiver aside, the capacity to claim fourth amendment protection depends upon whether the police entered an area in which the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy, typically his person, home, or belongings. People v. Janis, 139 Ill. 2d 300, 313, 565 N.E.2d 633 (1990); People v. James, 163 Ill. 2d 302, 311, 645 N.E.2d 195 (1994). Under the "open fields doctrine," a person cannot claim a legitimate expectation of privacy in any unoccupied or undeveloped area beyond the immediate surroundings of his home. People v. Becktel, 137 Ill. App. 3d 810, 813, 485 N.E.2d 474 (1985). Here, because the cocaine that was the basis for his conviction was recovered from a vacant lot, defendant cannot invoke fourth amendment protection.
Defendant also contends that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because there was no evidence that he had knowledge and constructive possession of the cocaine.
A conviction will not be disturbed on appeal unless the evidence is so unreasonable, improbable, or unsatisfactory as to justify a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. People v. Steidl, 142 Ill. 2d 204, 226, 568 N.E.2d 837 (1991). The standard of review is whether, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational finder of fact would have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. People v. Hendricks, 137 Ill. 2d 31, 63, 560 N.E.2d 611 (1990).
To support a finding of possession of a controlled substance, the State must prove that the defendant had knowledge of the presence of the narcotics and that the narcotics were in his immediate and exclusive control. People v. Ray, 232 Ill. App. 3d 459, 462, 597 N.E.2d 756 (1992). Constructive possession may be established by proof that the defendant knew the contraband was present and that it was in his immediate and exclusive control. People v. Feazell, 248 Ill. App. 3d 538, 545, 618 N.E.2d 571 (1993). Knowledge may be shown by evidence of conduct from which it may be inferred that the defendant knew the contraband existed in the place where it was found. Feazell, 248 Ill. App. 3d at 545. The elements of knowledge and possession are questions of fact that are rarely susceptible to direct proof. Feazell, 248 Ill. App. 3d at 545.
Here, Officer Dawan testified that on two separate occasions defendant, who was standing in a vacant lot, walked a short distance, retrieved something from the ground, returned to where an individual and Haynes were standing, and handed something to Haynes. Following defendant's arrest, Officer Dawan recovered a wine bottle cap and cocaine from the area from which defendant had twice retrieved something. Nobody else was seen in that area. Viewing those facts in a light most favorable to the prosecution, we cannot' conclude that no rational trier of fact could have found that defendant had knowledge of and control over the cocaine. Accordingly, we reject defendant's contention that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
We note that defendant challenges neither the sufficiency of the evidence with regard to his intent to deliver nor Officer Dawan's credibility. Although it was shown that there was no money limit in the general order regarding inventory procedures, the credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given their testimony, and the resolution of any conflicts in the evidence are within the province of the trier of fact. People v. Slim, 127 Ill. 2d 302, 307, 537 N.E.2d 317 (1989). Here, the circuit court expressly found Officer Dawan to be credible. We find no basis in the record for reaching a contrary determination.
Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County is affirmed. Pursuant to People v. Nicholls, 71 Ill. 2d 166, 374 N.E.2d 194 (1978), and the relevant statutory provisions, we grant the State $100 as costs for this appeal.
Affirmed.
RAKOWSKI, J., concurs.
The dissent's statement that the prosecutor "stipulated that [Officer Dawan's] testimony was false in that department regulations made no exception for lesser amounts of cash" and its repeated statements that the testimony was "false" are not borne out by the record. 288 Ill. App. 3d at 820-21. The parties merely stipulated that the 1981 general order was in effect on December 13, 1994, and admitted the document into evidence. In closing argument, defense counsel noted that there was no limit on the amount of money to be inventoried in the general order. Because there was no stipulation or admission that Officer Dawan testified falsely, it is not unreasonable to infer that he simply may have been mistaken as to the requirements of the inventory regulations.
In any event, the dissent relies on Officer Dawan's purportedly "false" testimony only insofar as it relates to the sufficiency of the evidence concerning defendant's intent to deliver. As we stated previously, defendant did not challenge the sufficiency of that evidence. Moreover, the dissent ignores the totality of the circumstances testified to by Officer Dawan — that defendant "was approached by a male black subject on two separate occasions in that he upon being approached would walk a short distance in the vacant lot and retrieve from the ground an unknown item" and walked "over towards [Haynes] and handled] him this item." Although Officer Dawan admitted under cross-examination that he could not "see the object at all," he was able to observe Haynes "exchange that item for U.S.C." He also recovered seven individually wrapped packets of cocaine. Under those circumstances, we cannot conclude that the evidence was so improbable as to raise a reasonable doubt of defendant's guilt.