People v. Adame CA4/2

BACKGROUND

According to testimony at trial, police officers responded to a call in a large retail

parking lot in front of a department store that had been closed for years. When the

officers arrived, they approached Adame, who was sitting alone in the driver’s seat of a

white van that was parked with the engine running. The van was branded on both sides

with the Corona-Norco school district logo and the identification number M55. One

officer asked Adame to turn the vehicle off, but he was unable to do so.

Eventually, one officer recognized that the van’s ignition had been “punched.”

She arrested Adame and searched the van and a black backpack that was inside van, and

they did not find the van’s keys. In the backpack, they found a screwdriver and pliers,

which could sometimes be used to punch an ignition. After about 40 minutes, one officer

was able to use the pliers from the backpack to turn off the van’s engine.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney filed an information charging

Adame with receiving a stolen vehicle under section 496d and driving or taking a vehicle

without consent under Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a). The information

2 also…