Opinion ID: 779497
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attempted Theft

Text: 17 On November 10, 1997, Sun Bear pled guilty to attempted theft of an operable vehicle in Cedar City, Utah, and was sentenced to prison for zero to five years. This offense was a violation of section 76-6-404 of the Utah Code and an undisputed felony. We need only determine whether it was a crime of violence. 18 The guidelines divide crimes of violence into two categories. An offense falls into the first category if it has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(1). An offense falls into the second category if it is burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2). The commentary to section 4B1.2 lists several additional offenses as crimes of violence, but does not list vehicle theft. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2, cmt. n.1. However, as the commentary explains, an unlisted offense is a crime of violence when the conduct with which the defendant has expressly been charged, by its nature, presented a serious potential risk of physical injury to another. Id. 19 Although we have never addressed whether vehicle theft is a crime of violence, two other courts of appeal have considered the issue. The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, recently held that a defendant's conviction for motor vehicle theft in Texas was not a crime of violence. United States v. Charles, 301 F.3d 309, 313-14 (5th Cir.2002) (en banc). After examining the indictment, which charged the defendant with appropriating and operating an automobile without the owner's consent, the Fifth Circuit found a risk of injury to property, but no serious potential risk of injury to another person. Id. Similarly, the Sixth Circuit has held that an aggravated motor vehicle theft, as defined by Colorado law, may not be a crime of violence. United States v. Crowell, 997 F.2d 146, 149 (6th Cir.1993). 20 Simple theft of a motor vehicle does not have injury or potential injury to others as one of its essential elements. However, in evaluating the risks entailed by a crime, we must also examine the likely consequences of its commission. See United States v. Griffith, 301 F.3d 880, 885 (8th Cir.2002) (holding that theft from a person is a crime of violence). And we must examine these likely consequences in the light of common sense. See Charles, 301 F.3d at 315 (Barksdale, J., dissenting). 21 Our Eighth Circuit precedents reflect this common sense approach to determining whether a given offense is a crime of violence. For example, we have held that burglary of a commercial building is a crime of violence under the guidelines. See United States v. Peltier, 276 F.3d 1003, 1006 (8th Cir.2002). In reaching this conclusion, we relied on United States v. Solomon, 998 F.2d 587, 590 (8th Cir.1993), a case decided under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), which held that such a burglary imposes a serious risk of harm to occupants, returning occupants, or interested passersby. See United States v. Hascall, 76 F.3d 902, 904 (8th Cir.1996). In addition, we have held that every escape, even a so-called `walkaway' escape, is a crime of violence. Nation, 243 F.3d at 472. The variety of supercharged emotions an escapee is likely to experience, including the fear of being captured, have led us to conclude that every escape is a powder keg with the serious potential to explode into violence. Id. (citing United States v. Gosling, 39 F.3d 1140, 1142 (10th Cir.1994)). 22 Theft of a vehicle presents a likelihood of confrontation as great, if not greater, than burglary of commercial property, and it adds many of the dangerous elements of escape. The crime begins when a thief enters and appropriates a vehicle, a time when he is likely to encounter a returning driver or passenger, a passerby, or a police officer, any of whom may be intent on stopping the crime in progress. As we observed in Solomon, an encounter between the thief and such a person carries a serious risk of violent confrontation. See Solomon, 998 F.2d at 589. Once the thief drives away with the vehicle, he is unlawfully in possession of a potentially deadly or dangerous weapon. See United States v. Yates, 304 F.3d 818, 823 (8th Cir.2002). While he is absconding in the vehicle, with which he will probably be unfamiliar, the thief may be pursued or perceive a threat of pursuit. Under the stress and urgency which will naturally attend his situation, the thief will likely drive recklessly and turn any pursuit into a high-speed chase with the potential for serious harm to police or innocent bystanders. Under the precedents in our Circuit, these serious potential risks compel a holding that the theft or attempted theft of an operable vehicle is a crime of violence under section 4B1.2 of the guidelines. 23 The Supreme Court's decision in Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990), does not change our analysis. In Taylor, the Court was interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), a statute with language almost identical to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2. In so doing, the Court reasoned that the term burglary in 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) does not include crimes which involve breaking into an automobile. See Taylor, 495 U.S. at 599, 602, 110 S.Ct. 2143. The decision in Taylor, however, left the government free to argue that any offense — including offenses similar to generic burglary — should count toward enhancement as one that `otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another' under § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii). Id. at 600 n. 9, 110 S.Ct. 2143. Today we decide that vehicle theft meets the similar definition in section 4B1.2.