Com. v. King

• Decision Date: 17 October 2008
• Docket Number: No. 3214 EDA 2006.,3214 EDA 2006.
• Citation: 2008 PA Super 243,959 A.2d 405
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Jerome KING, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

959 A.2d 405

2008 PA Super 243

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Jerome KING, Appellant.

No. 3214 EDA 2006.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted February 11, 2008.

Filed October 17, 2008.

Fortunato N. Perri, Jr., Philadelphia, for appellant.

Hugh J. Burns, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee.

BEFORE: ORIE MELVIN, BOWES and COLVILLE,^* JJ.

OPINION BY BOWES, J.:

¶ 1 Jerome King appeals the judgment of sentence that was entered after a jury convicted him of first degree murder, criminal conspiracy, and carrying a firearm on the public streets of Philadelphia. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment, a consecutive term of twenty to forty years imprisonment, and a concurrent term of twelve to sixty months imprisonment, respectively. After careful review, we affirm.

¶ 2 Appellant and Esheem Haskins were jointly tried before a jury from June 19 through June 23, 2006, for the February 2, 2005 shooting death of Nathaniel Giles. Mr. Giles was shot twice, once in the back of the head and once in the neck. The shooting was in retaliation for Mr. Giles's cooperation in connection with a criminal investigation of Appellant. Special Agent Charles Doerrer of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") testified that he had been investigating the ownership of a handgun that had been used in the Philadelphia County murder of Faheem Thomas-Childs. Special Agent Doerrer interviewed Mr. Giles, who had purchased the gun, and Mr. Giles informed the ATF agent that he had bought the gun for Appellant. The trial court aptly summarized the factual basis for Appellant's jury convictions:

On February 2, 2005, the defendant came up from behind Nathaniel Giles (hereinafter, the victim) and, without notice, shot him in the back of the head. Notes of Testimony (hereinafter, N.T.) at 6/19/06 at 190. Accompanying the defendant was Haskins, who encouraged the defendant to "Shoot him. Shoot him." Id. at 217. After the defendant shot the victim in the head, he stepped over the victim and shot him in the neck. Id. at 194. The bullet fired into the victim's head was shot from approximately one foot away and entered through the right ear, and ultimately lodged in the other side of the victim's skull. Id. at 129, 132. The second shot was fired approximately two feet from the victim's body. Id. at 133. This shot split the victim's cervical spine in two, and also ripped through the victim's jugular vein and carotid artery. Id. at 134. The victim was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital. Id. at 126.

On July 15, 2004, approximately six and a half months before he was murdered, the victim had gone to the Philadelphia Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to speak with Special Agent Doerrer about the purchase of a Ruger .45 caliber handgun that had been used to kill Faheem Thomas-Childs.⁴ N.T. 6/19/06 at 97-100. The victim was a straw purchaser for his neighbor, the defendant. Id. at 107, 118. The victim admitted to Doerrer that one of the guns he purchased for the defendant was a .45 caliber. Id. at 227. In his statement, the victim also admitted that he purchased the gun used to kill Faheem Thomas-Childs in May of 2003. Id. at 105. Subsequently, in March of 2006, the defendant admitted to a prison cell-mate, Craig Lindsey, that he had previously owned a gun used by Kennell Spady, one of the men arrested for the Faheem Thomas-Childs murder. N.T. 6/20/06 at 226-227. In fact, Faheem Thomas-Childs was killed by a bullet fired from a .45 caliber gun which was subsequently traced to Giles as the purchaser. Id. at 245.

⁴ This was a very high profile case in Philadelphia, involving the killing of a 10 year old child during his morning walk to school. Faheem Thomas-Childs was caught in the crossfire between warring drug dealers and was fatally struck by one of approximately 50 bullets fired that morning.

Earlier in the evening on February 2, 2005, at around 8:30 p.m., S.T. and F.J.⁵ entered a Chinese store on the corner of Stillman and Cambria Streets in Philadelphia. Id. at 176. Intending to carry out their food, the two girls had to wait as its preparation was not yet complete. Id. at 178. As they waited, Ms. T. exchanged pleasantries with the victim, whom she knew through another person. Id. at 180. Ms. T. then saw the victim leave the store on the corner of Stillman and Cambria Streets and begin to speak with another person, later identified as Khalief Alston. Id. at 181; 223. Ms. J. also witnessed the victim and Mr. Alston having a conversation outside the Chinese store. N.T. 6/20/06 at 37.

While waiting for their food, both Ms. T. and Ms. J. noticed a car drive up Stillman Street to the corner where it intersected with Cambria Street.⁶ After the car stopped for an unusually long time, the girls observed it make a left onto Cambria Street. N.T. 6/19/06 at 183-184; N.T. 6/20/06 at 34-37. Shortly thereafter, both Ms. T. and Ms. J. noticed two males approach the corner of Stillman and Cambria Streets in the direction from which the car they observed had just driven. Id. at 186; N.T. 6/20/06 at 39. Each identified these two men as the codefendants. Id. at 186; N.T. 6/20/06 at 40, 71.

⁵ At the time of trial, Ms. T. and Ms. J. were aged 14 and 16, respectively. N.T. 6/19/06 at 175; N.T. 6/20/06 at 28. Their full names appear in the certified record.

⁶ Crime scene investigators testified that both the Chinese store and the scene of the crime on the corner of Stillman and Cambria Streets were well lit. N.T. 6/19/06 at 162-163. It was possible to see both into the store, and out of it. N.T. 6/20/06 at 314-318.

As the co-defendants approached the victim from behind, [the defendant] shot him in the head. Id. at 188, 190; N.T. 6/20/06 at 39. [The defendant] fired at the victim from a distance close enough to reach out and touch him. N.T. 6/19/06 at 190. In the process of the shooting of the victim, Ms. T. was able to see Haskins'[s] entire face. N.T. 6/19/06 at 204. Ms. J. saw the defendant from the side. N.T. 6/20/06 at 49-50. She also noticed sparks come from the black or silver pistol type gun used by the defendant. N.T. 6/20/06 at 59-61. After being shot, the victim instantly fell over. N.T. 6/19/06 at 193; N.T. 6/20/06 at 41. Ms. J. then saw the victim being shot a second time, though she was not sure where this shot struck the victim. N.T. 6/20/06 at 62. As the defendant shot the victim, both girls saw Haskins standing nearby. N.T. 6/19/06 at 187; N.T. 6/20/06 at 71. Ms. T. heard him scream to the defendant, "Shoot him. Shoot him." N.T. 6/19/06 at 217. Though she witnessed only the defendant shoot the victim, Ms. J. saw Haskins with a gun.⁷ N.T. 6/20/06 at 75.

⁷ At the scene of the crime, police officers found a nine millimeter fired cartridge casing. N.T. 6/20/06 at 243. A nine millimeter, or .38 caliber, bullet specimen was also recovered by the medical examiner from the victim's head. Id.

After the shooting, everyone fled the scene of the crime. Ms. T. watched the co-defendants leave together in a car. N.T. 6/19/06 at 194, 209-210. Khalief Alston, with whom the victim was talking prior to being shot, ran up Stillman Street. N.T. 6/19/06 at 207. Startled and frightened for their lives, both witnesses also fled and headed to the home of Ms. T. N.T. 6/19/06 at 207; N.T. 6/20/06 at 47-48. Ms. T. recalled running past the victim and seeing him lying motionless, surrounded by a lot of blood. N.T. 6/19/06 at 208-209. Ms. J. related that Ms. T. had screamed in fear after seeing the shooting and continued to cry throughout the ordeal. [N.T.] 6/20/06 at 48. On their way to the home of Ms. T., the girls were almost hit by the car in which the [co-]defendants were fleeing. Id. at 52.

Immediately after the crime, Ms. J. went with her aunt to give a statement to Homicide detectives. Id. at 154. She also returned to Homicide on two subsequent occasions. On February 23, 2005, Ms. T. went with her mother to give a statement to Homicide detectives. She also returned to Homicide to provide additional information on two subsequent occasions.⁸

⁸ Ms. T. and Ms. J. both returned to the Homicide Division on March 14, 2005[,] and on April 16, 2005, to provide additional information about the murder they had witnessed. N.T. 6/22/06 at 22, 24, 26-27.

On April 9, 2005, Detective Ron Dove, then of the Central Detectives Division, was working on unrelated matters with his partner, Detective Jim Waring, in the neighborhood where the victim was murdered. Detective Dove spoke with the defendant. N.T. 6/20/06 at 170-171. Noticing his "black T-shirt with a red stop sign on it that said `Stop Snitching' across it", Detective Dove asked him if the T-shirt was a warning. Id. at 175. The defendant answered "Yes", and pointed at the top rear of his shirt which revealed a drawing of a tombstone with the letters R.I.P. on it. Id. Detective Dove asked him, "Is that what happens to people who snitch on you?" Id. He replied, "Yes." Id.

Approximately 20 minutes later, at another location in the neighborhood, Detective Dove saw Haskins, in the defendant's company, and wearing the same "Stop Snitching" T-shirt. Id. at 178-179.

Upon learning that the defendant and Haskins were wanted for murder, Detective Dove began looking for them in the neighborhood where the victim was killed. N.T. 6/22/06 at 180. He never again saw them there. Id. at 181. On May 6, 2005, based on information provided to the police, Detectives Dove and Waring learned that the co-defendants were staying together in room 312 of a Holiday Inn hotel on City Line Avenue. N.T. 6/20/06 at 182-183. The detectives found the two men in that room and arrested them for the murder of the victim. Id. at 184.

Trial Court Opinion, 7/18/07, at 1-5.

¶ 3 In this appeal, Appellant raises five issues for our review:

A. Were the guilty verdicts against the weight of the evidence because the eyewitness...