Com. v. Joseph

• Decision Date: 04 May 1973
• Citation: 304 A.2d 163,451 Pa. 440
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Carl JOSEPH, a/k/a Ronald Josephs, Appellant (two cases).
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 163

304 A.2d 163

451 Pa. 440

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Carl JOSEPH, a/k/a Ronald Josephs, Appellant (two cases).

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

May 4, 1973.

[451 Pa. 441] Samuel Dashiell, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Arlen Specter, Dist. Atty., Richard A. Sprague, First Asst. Dist. Atty., James D. Crawford, Deputy Dist. Atty., Milton M. Stein, Asst. Dist. Atty., Chief, Appeals Div., Linda W. Conley, Philadelphia, for appellee.

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

OPINION OF THE COURT

O'BRIEN, Justice.

On May 23, 1970, at about 1:30 p.m., eighty-four-year-old Edith Seal was knocked down and robbed of her pocketbook, while walking along the 2700 block of North Park Avenue in Philadelphia. As a result of being knocked down, Miss Seal sustained a fractured hip and complications developed which, according to the Commonwealth's expert testimony, ultimately led to her death on July 25, 1970.

Mrs. Rosa Wilson and her husband, who live at 2727 North Park Avenue, witnessed the crime. According to Mrs. Wilson, Miss Seal was knocked down by a single black male, who then took her pocketbook. After the purse was taken and Miss Seal was pushed to the ground, Mrs. Wilson saw a single male run through an alley which runs from Park Avenue to Thirteenth Street. Mrs. Wilson went to help the victim and asked Miss Seal whether she had her keys with her and, according to Mrs. Wilson, Miss Seal replied 'that he took her pocketbook.' According to Mrs. Wilson's testimony, neither she nor Miss Seal had seen more than the single assailant involved in the attack.

However, one Ulysses Osborne, who lived at 1221 West Silver Street, in the same neighborhood as the 2700 block of North Park Avenue, testified that he saw four boys leave the house at 1225 West Silver Street shortly before the purse snatching occurred, and he further testified that, shortly after the crime, he heard some-one shouting and saw the same four boys running back into the house. According to Mr. Osborne, one of the four boys was carrying a brown bag with what appeared to be a pocketbook sticking out of it when he went running back to the house. Soon afterward, Mr. Osborne saw one of the boys leave the house with the brown bag in his hand, go up toward Twelfth Street, turn in behind a church and garage there and then return empty-handed.

As a result of Mr. Osborne's tip, the police soon arrived at 1225 West Silver Street. Upon entering the building, they encountered appellant, eighteen-year-old Carl Joseph, who was wearing no shirt, was sweating profusely, and appeared to be breathing heavily. The police then arrested appellant and three other boys who were in the house. One of the police officers later recovered Miss Seal's pocketbook, which he found in the bushes behind a garage located in the alley directly opposite 1225 West Silver Street.

Later appellant gave the following statement to the police ¹:

'Q. Carl will you go on in your own works and tell us what you know concerning this incident?

'A. On Saturday 5--23--70 I went over to Norman Washingtons house on Colorodo St. it was about 7:30 a m we went out to see what we could find to make some big money. We walked around and then we went to my Grandfathers job at Marshal and Diamond St. I picked up a bag of Clothes from my Grandfather then we walked back to Germantown Av. then we went back to my crib on Silver St. and laid around for awhile. Then we went back out I left the clothes at the crib but took the bag with me. We went back up the Av. this was about 12.00 a.m. or 1:00 p m we met Steve Williams comming off Germantown Av. we met hi near Germantown and Lehigh Av. We all me, Norman and Steve were walkiing up Lehigh Av. when we met Bub this was around 11th and Lehigh Av. we stood and talked a couple minutes. This is when the old lady past us Bubles said he was going to snatch her pocket book.

Me and Norman said she did not have any money and Bub said I hit her before and got some money. We continued walking up Lehigh Av. and I cut off at 12th St. Bubles walked ahead of us following the old lady. Norman and Steve followed a little behind him. I went up the 1200 blk of Silver st and I could see Bubles through the yards on Lehigh Av. I saw Norman and Steve and asked them wheres Bubles Norman said he moving up I went up to 13th and Silver St and waited a few minutes and then Bub came through the alley off of Park Av. and he had the ladies pocketbook I opened the brown paper bag and he threw the pocketbook in the bag I droped the bag and kicked it under a car I walked about ten ft. and I saw some guy pick up the bag so I went back and got it I told him it was my brothers then Bub and I ran to the house Norman and Steve had come up 13th St. and we all went into the house. We went up to the second floor apartment and into the ded room I gave the bag to Bubles and he dumped it. There was $2.00 and twenty two cent in change in the little purse. I took the pocketbook and looked through it and did not see anything then I took the pocketbook and placed it in the paper bag and took it and threw it behind the garage across the street. It went back to the house and a few minutes later the Police arrived and locked us up.

'Q. What kind of paper bag was it.

'A. It was a brown shoping bag it had a name in red on it but I dont remember what the name was.

'Q. What happened to the $2.22?

'A. . . . I gave it back to Bub, and I don't know what he did with it. . . .

'Q. What did you mean when you told Norman you could get some big money.

'A. Our intentions was to get a car tape and put it in the bag.

'Q. What did you need the money for.

'A. For drugs.

'Q. When did you decide to help Bub get the Pocketbook.

'A. Whe I saw him come through the alley I decided to help him by letting him put the pocketbook in the papeerbag.

'Q. Was Norman and Steve look out for Bub.

'A. They did not say they were look outs they just followed him and did it with out saying anything.

'Q. Did you ever see the old women before?

'A. No.

'Q. Can you describe this women?

'A. She was a little taller than Bubles she was old and she was a white lady.

'Q. Did you see Bubles take the pocketbook?

'A. No.

'Q. What is Bubles real name and address.

'A. I dont know he about 17. . . .

'Q. Can you discribe the pocketbook that Bubles took from the old lady.

'A. It was brown and square.

'Q. Why did you take the brown paperbag with you when you left 1225 Silver St. with Norman Washington?

'A. I was going to use the bag for the car tape or something that I could get to put in it. . . .

'Q. Is there anything else you can add to this statement?

'A. No. . . .'

On the basis of appellant's statement and the aforementioned evidence, appellant was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. After denial of his post-trial motions, appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and to a term of ten to twenty years for aggravated robbery, to run consecutively to the sentence for murder.

In this appeal, appellant first argues that the evidence in this case is insufficient to link appellant to the robbery which resulted in Miss Seal's death. However, if the evidence was sufficient to establish that appellant was part of a plan to rob Miss Seal, he could be convicted under the well-known principle that that if one or more persons engage in the commission of, or in an attempt to commit, a robbery, and during the perpetration of that robbery or attempt, a victim is killed by one of the felons, all of the co-felons who were parties to the conspiracy are equally guilty of murder. See Commonwealth v. Eiland, 450 Pa. 566, 301 A.2d 651 (1973), Commonwealth v. Williams, 443 Pa. 85, 277 A.2d 781 (1971).

The law has traditionally defined a 'crime' in terms of an overt act committed with the requisite criminal intent. The principle by which a member of a conspiracy may be held criminally responsible for crimes which were actually committed by other members of the conspiracy stems from the belief that, in the case of each co-conspirator, since his knowing entry into the conspiracy is proof of his own criminal intent, it is perfectly fair and proper to hold him responsible for any crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. Thus, in the instant case, if appellant entered into a conspiracy to rob Miss Seal, the law will hold him responsible for her death which resulted from that robbery.

Appellant argues that there was no conspiracy to take Miss Seal's purse. Rather, according to appellant, the theft of the purse was simply the act of one individual, the appellant's friend, Bubbles, acting on his own. While appellant admits that the four boys had conspired 'to get some big money,' it is appellant's position that, with the exception of Bubbles, the boys had only agreed to commit property crimes, such as stealing tapes from automobiles, crimes which are significantly different from the crime which occurred here-- the robbery of an old woman--with its concomitant risk that death or serious bodily harm to the victim could result.

However, we believe that there was sufficient evidence in this case from which a jury could infer that appellant and his friends had conspired with Bubbles to commit the robbery of Miss Seal. Ulysses Osborne testified that he had seen the four boys together shortly before the robbery, which testimony was contrary to appellant's statement to the effect that he and Norman Washington just happened to meet Bubbles and Steve Williams on the street. Appellant admitted that he was standing conveniently nearby the scene of the robbery, so that his paper bag could be used to conceal the victim's purse.

Appellant's statement also indicated that the other two boys acted as lookouts, even though there was no oral agreement as to the roles they were to play in the robbery. Then after the robbery, the four boys were again seen running together back to the house, with...