Com. v. Frisby

• Decision Date: 16 March 1973
• Citation: 451 Pa. 16,301 A.2d 610
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Ernest FRISBY, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 610

301 A.2d 610

451 Pa. 16

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Ernest FRISBY, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

March 16, 1973.

[451 Pa. 17] Ronald J. Klimas, Chester, for appellant.

Stephen J. McEwen, Jr., Dist. Atty., Ralph B. D'Iorio, Anna I. Vadino, Vram Nedurian, Jr., Asst. Dist. Attys., Media, for appellee.

Before JONES, C.J., and EAGEN, O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX and MANDERINO, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

O'BRIEN, Justice.

In July 9, 1970, at about 11:30 a.m., William Nowak, proprietor of a grocery store located at 631 Morton Avenue, in the city of Chester, was stabbed during the perpetration of a robbery. The victim told police that he was handed a robbery note, but before he could do anything, he was stabbed. Mr. Nowak was removed to a hospital and died on July 16, 1970.

Police officers investigating the incident obtained information that appellant was seen writing a note shortly before the robbery. Police then proceeded to Chester High School to obtain enrollment cards of various students, among them appellant. At the school, the officers compared the printed writing on the note found at the robbery with that of the enrollment cards. Based on information which the police obtained from informants, relating to appellant's plans to rob a store, and the officers' opinion that the handwriting on the note matched appellant's enrollment card, police obtained a juvenile petition from the Chester Juvenile Department charging appellant with the offense in question.

Appellant was then arrested, made an incriminating statement, and was certified to stand trial as an adult. Trial before a jury was held, and appellant was convicted of murder in the first degree, robbery and larceny. The jury imposed a life sentence.

Appellant first alleges that the court below did not have jurisdiction to try him for robbery and burglary since he was not above the age of fourteen. Appellant relies upon the Act of June 2, 1933, P.L. 1433, § 18, 11 P.S. § 260, which reads in part:

'Whenever any child, being above the age of fourteen years, has been held by any magistrate . . . the judge of the juvenile court having jurisdiction, if, in his opinion, the interests of the State require a prosecution of such case on an indictment, may certify the same to the district attorney of the county, who shall thereupon proceed with the case in the same manner as though the jurisdiction of the juvenile court never attached.'

At the time of the offense, appellant was fourteen years, nine and one-half months old. While appellant's argument is a novel one, we fail to perceive any merit in it. An individual who is past his fourteenth birthday is over the age of fourteen.

Appellant next contends that the court erred when it gave instructions relating to felony-murder. Appellant contends that the robbery or burglary as nothing more than an act of juvenile delinquency due to appellant's age and, therefore, not felonious, under the felony-murder rule. We do not agree. Once a juvenile is certified to adult court, he can and is treated in the same manner as an adult as far as capacity to commit a crime is concerned. Commonwealth v. Zietz, 364 Pa. 294, 72 A.2d 282 (1950).

Appellant next alleges that no probable cause existed for his arrest. The record indicates that the police had information from an informer that appellant had mentioned that he was thinking about robbing a store and that he was seen writing a note in the 'action center,' which was across the street from the store which was robbed. Police compared the handwriting on the robbery note with that of appellant and they matched. While some of this...