Com. v. Lloyd
Citation | 2005 PA Super 236,878 A.2d 867 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Marcus LLOYD, Appellant. |
Decision Date | 27 June 2005 |
Court | Superior Court of Pennsylvania |
Norman O. Scott, Philadelphia, for appellant.
Hugh J. Burns, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Before: BENDER, McCAFFERY, and POPOVICH, JJ.
OPINION BY McCAFFERY, J.:
¶ 1 Appellant, Marcus Lloyd, appeals from a judgment of sentence entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas after a jury found him guilty of two counts of murder in the first degree,1 one count each of robbery2 and criminal conspiracy,3 and sentenced him to death. As a result of his first appeal directly to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court challenging the imposition of his death sentences, Appellant was resentenced to consecutive life sentences. Now, Appellant specifically asks us to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain a first degree murder conviction when Appellant had not been physically present at the time of the murder, and whether the trial court erred in failing to make record findings of fact to support its denial of Appellant's motion for a new trial. Finally, Appellant asks us to determine whether two consecutive life sentences constitute a harsher sentence than two concurrent death sentences, which the sentencing court imposed in what Appellant characterizes as error. Upon careful review of the record and having given due consideration to Appellant's arguments, we hold that the trial court acted properly in the challenged instances and the sentencing court did not err. Thus, we affirm.
¶ 2 The facts of this case were set forth by the trial court as follows:
(Trial Court Supplemental Opinion filed January 20, 2004, at 2-4) (internal citations omitted). ¶ 3 Blakeney pled guilty to two counts of murder and agreed to testify at Appellant's trial in exchange for concurrent life sentences. The Honorable James F. Fitzgerald, III, presided over Appellant's jury trial and the subsequent penalty phase, after which the jury returned verdicts of death for each of Appellant's murder convictions. On December 20, 1999, the sentencing court formally imposed concurrent death penalty sentences for the murder convictions and imposed concurrent sentences of five (5) to twenty (20) years' imprisonment for the robbery conviction and twenty (20) to forty (40) years' imprisonment for the criminal conspiracy conviction.
¶ 4 Appellant's counsel filed post-sentence motions on December 28, 1999, requesting a judgment of acquittal and/or arrest of judgment. Therein, counsel alleged:
The evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict of first degree murder, the verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence and the verdict was contrary to the law. In support thereof, the sole evidence at trial was based upon Commonwealth witness Herbert Blakeney who admitted from the stand that he was a chronic liar. There was no physical evidence to support the verdict, and the statement of [Appellant] which was admitted into evidence supported [Appellant's] theory of the case that he did not have knowledge of the murders.
(Post-sentence motions, 12/28/99, ¶ 4).
¶ 5 Upon request, trial counsel was permitted to withdraw, and Richard E. Johnson, Esquire was appointed as replacement counsel. On August 23, 2000, Attorney Johnson filed amended post-sentence motions, the trial court heard oral argument thereon, and the court denied Appellant's motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment.
¶ 6 Appellant appealed his judgment of sentence to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and on May 29, 2002, the Court granted his petition to remand for resentencing and remanded for a new sentencing hearing.4 Thereafter, Attorney Johnson was permitted to withdraw and present counsel was appointed. On August 20, 2003, the Honorable Jane Cutler Greenspan conducted a sentencing hearing, following which she imposed consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the two murder convictions. The sentences for the robbery and criminal conspiracy convictions remained the same and were ordered to run concurrently with the life sentences. This timely appeal followed wherein Appellant raises the following issues:
¶ 7 Appellant first argues that the Commonwealth presented insufficient evidence to sustain the convictions for first degree murder. Specifically, he claims that the Commonwealth failed to prove that he had the specific intent to kill because he was not present when co-defendant Blakeney actually shot the two victims. Appellant contends that by leaving the scene, he successfully withdrew from any conspiracy. (Appellant's Brief at 11-12). This contention is totally without merit.
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