Com. v. Bronshtein

• Decision Date: 25 March 1997
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Antuan BRONSHTEIN, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 907

691 A.2d 907

547 Pa. 460

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Antuan BRONSHTEIN, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Dec. 6, 1995.

Decided March 25, 1997.

[547 Pa. 468] John I. McMahon, Jr., Conshohockn, for A. Bronshtein.

Mary MacNeil Killinger, Robert A. Graci, Office of Attorney General, for Commonwealth.

Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, CAPPY and CASTILLE, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

CASTILLE, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from a sentence of death imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. ¹ Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of first

                degree murder, 2 robbery, 3 theft of movable property, 4 possession of an instrument of crime 5 and criminal conspiracy to commit murder. 6  The jury determined that the two aggravating circumstances it found outweighed the three mitigating circumstances established by the evidence and returned a sentence of [547 Pa. 469] death. 7  In addition to the court's imposition of the jury's verdict of death for the murder conviction, the trial court sentenced appellant to a consecutive term of ten to twenty years imprisonment on the robbery conviction, a concurrent term of five to ten years imprisonment on the conviction for criminal conspiracy and a concurrent term of two-and-a-half to five years imprisonment on the conviction for possessing an instrument of crime.  Post-sentence motions were denied
                

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Appellant first contends in this appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for first degree murder. The standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is whether the evidence admitted at trial and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, is sufficient to support all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Carpenter, 511 Pa. 429, 435, 515 A.2d 531, 533-34 (1986).

The evidence at trial established that on January 11, 1991, at approximately 4:45 p.m., Montgomery County police were called to the King of Prussia Shopping Center to investigate suspicious circumstances at a store called Jewelry by Alex. The manager of the shopping center had become concerned because, while touring the mall during regular business hours, he noticed that one of the jewelry cases in the store which was visible from outside the store was broken and that no one appeared to be in the store even though the store was supposed to be open for business. The manager also noticed that the store's security door was locked. ⁸ Police disabled the security lock and entered the store, where they observed that one of the four glass jewelry cases was broken and empty of all jewelry. They also noticed that there were empty display boxes scattered on the floor in front of the broken case. Further investigation revealed three fingerprints and a palmprint on one of the intact display cases. These prints were later determined to be those of appellant.

Police also observed the safe in the office in the rear of the store open and empty, with empty jewelry boxes scattered in front of it as well. An inventory later determined that approximately $60,000 worth of bracelets, diamonds and loose gemstones, as well as all lay-a-way and repair items, were missing from the store.

Upon further investigation, the police discovered the body of Alexander Gutman, the owner of the store, in the bathroom with two gunshot wounds to his face. The coroner determined that the fatal shots were fired from approximately five to eighteen inches away from the decedent. Police also determined that the gun which the decedent kept in his desk drawer was missing and found the empty holster on the decedent's desk. A ballistics expert determined that the bullets which killed the decedent and were from the box of ammunition found in the decedent's On February 27, 1991, appellant of his own volition contacted Philadelphia police investigators and stated that he wished to discuss the murder of another jeweler, Jerome Slobotkin, which had occurred in Philadelphia on February 19, 1991. Appellant told the police investigators that he was on his way to Florida to flee the country, but that he had changed his mind and decided to confess to the Slobotkin murder. After returning to Philadelphia from South Carolina, appellant waived his Miranda rights and gave a detailed written confession admitting to the Slobotkin murder. ¹⁰ Appellant was later convicted of the Slobotkin murder in February of 1992.

desk were fired from the same type of gun as that owned by the decedent. ⁹

However, on May 21, 1991, at appellant's request, police from Montgomery County met with appellant to discuss his knowledge of the Gutman murder. After being advised of his Miranda rights, appellant recanted his confession to the Slobotkin murder and told police that both Slobotkin and Gutman had been killed by a high-level member of what appellant referred to as the "Russian mafia." Appellant would only identify that person as "Mr. X." ¹¹ Appellant stated that he knew Gutman from when the decedent had been a dentist in the Russian-Jewish community and he also knew that the decedent now owned a jewelry store. However, he denied ever having been to the store and claimed that he did not know where either the store or the King of Prussia Shopping Center was located. He further claimed not to have seen the decedent in more than two years.

At trial, Laura Sechrist testified that she passed the Jewelry by Alex store at approximately noon and saw two men in the store talking to the decedent. Larry Bainbridge, the postal carrier whose route included the jewelry store, testified that he passed the store at 12:45 p.m. and that although he saw a man he did not recognize behind the counter, he did not see the decedent. Alexander Daniels testified that he passed the store at approximately 3:15 p.m. and saw a man standing outside the store. Notwithstanding appellant's denial of having been to the decedent's jewelry store, each of these witnesses later identified appellant from a photo array as having been at or in the decedent's store on the afternoon of the murder.

Wilson Perez testified at trial that sometime during January of 1991, after the Gutman murder but before the Slobotkin murder, he was riding in appellant's car in Philadelphia when appellant told him he had killed a guy in a jewelry store "out past the boulevard" and had taken his jewelry. ¹² Perez further testified that appellant had given unset gemstones, including diamonds, to Perez's brother.

Evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction for first degree murder where the Commonwealth establishes that the defendant acted with a specific intent to kill; that a human being was unlawfully killed; that the person accused did the killing; and that the killing was done with deliberation. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(d); Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 528 Pa. 546, 550, 599 A.2d 624, 626 (1991). Specific intent to kill can be inferred by the use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of the body. Commonwealth v. Butler, 446 Pa. 374, 378, 288 A.2d 800, 802 (1972). Furthermore, all co-conspirators to a murder can be found guilty of first degree murder, regardless of who actually inflicted the wound which Here, the evidence the Commonwealth presented sufficiently established that appellant and an unknown co-conspirator went to the decedent's store, shot him twice in the face at close range and stole from the store a substantial amount of jewelry. ¹³ Such evidence clearly demonstrated that the killing was committed with the malice aforethought sufficient to sustain appellant's conviction for first degree murder. Hence, no relief is warranted on this issue.

resulted in death. Commonwealth v. Jones, 542 Pa. 464, 482, 668 A.2d 491, 500 (1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 89, 136 L.Ed.2d 45 (1996), citing Commonwealth v. Joseph, 451 Pa. 440, 449, 304 A.2d 163, 168 (1973).

SUPPRESSION OF STATEMENTS

Next, appellant alleges that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress two statements which appellant made to the police investigators. In reviewing a ruling on a suppression motion, the standard of review is whether the factual findings and legal conclusions drawn therefrom are supported by the evidence. Commonwealth v. Bond, 539 Pa. 299, 306, 652 A.2d 308, 311 (1995).

The first statement which appellant contends should have been suppressed was his February 27, 1991, confession given to Philadelphia detectives regarding the Slobotkin murder. Appellant alleges that the detectives induced him to waive his Miranda rights by stating that:

We will do what we can for you ... [But] there is not much we can do for you when you are charged with murder."

The Commonwealth bears the burden of establishing whether a defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights. Commonwealth v. Hughes, 521 Pa. 423, 443, 555 A.2d 1264, 1274 (1989). In order to do so, the Commonwealth must establish that the warnings were given, and that the accused manifested an understanding of the warnings. Hughes, 521 Pa. at 443, 555 A.2d at 1274. However, a defendant's waiver of his Miranda rights must be free of an impermissible inducement by the police that the defendant would receive special treatment or a deal if he made a confession on the spot rather than waiting for his attorney. Commonwealth v. Gibbs, 520 Pa. 151, 553 A.2d 409 (1989).

Here, the trial court made findings of fact in denying the suppression of appellant's February 27, 1991 statement concerning his involvement in the Slobotkin murder. Specifically, the trial court found that on February 26, 1991, appellant began making a series of phone calls to the Philadelphia police expressing his desire to speak with someone about the Slobotkin murder. On February 27, 1991, appellant met a Philadelphia detective outside of the Philadelphia Police Administration building. The...