Com. v. Robinson
| Decision Date | 12 December 1995 |
| Citation | 543 Pa. 190,670 A.2d 616 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Ronald ROBINSON, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Robert E. Colville, District Attorney, Kemal A. Mericli, Assistant District Attorney, James R. Gilmore, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE and MONTEMURO, JJ.
Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court
Appellant claims he is entitled to a new trial because the trial court: (1) failed to give an adequate cautionary instruction after the arresting officer testified that appellant was initially "hesitant as far as cooperating" prior to his statement to police, and (2) erred in denying appellant's motion for mistrial after one of appellant's co-conspirators non-responsively testified that he and appellant's other co-conspirators all pleaded guilty to the same offenses for which appellant was being tried. For the following reasons, we hold that a new trial is not warranted and affirm the order of the Superior Court affirming appellant's judgment of sentence.
A summary of the evidence giving rise to appellant's criminal convictions, which included the testimony of numerous victims, eyewitnesses, police officers and appellant's statements to the police, established that on September 5, 1989, a spree of burglaries and attempted burglaries occurred in McCandless Township and in neighboring Pine Township. The first Commonwealth complaining witness testified that at approximately noon, a black car backed into her driveway and a white male, not appellant, exited the vehicle and banged on her front door calling for "Jim." The witness described the male as white with brownish, longer styled and feathered back hair, wearing a button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves. When the man moved away from the door, the witness went to a room located directly above the driveway and observed that the black car was a later model car and that the door was open with a second person's arm sticking out of the car. The witness could not see the second person's face but observed that the person wore a watch and a short-sleeved shirt. The witness then heard a third person walking on the driveway stones and believed it was another male who had exited the vehicle; thereafter, the first male began knocking on her front door again. The complainant was alone in the house and was caring for a nine-month-old baby and was understandably fearful to answer the door.
After ten to fifteen minutes passed, the car, with at least three people in the vehicle, sped off at a high rate of speed, at which time the witness went outside and discovered that someone had urinated on her front stoop. She then called the police and gave a description of the vehicle and the white male who banged on her door to Commonwealth witness Officer John S. Love of the Pine Township Police that at approximately noon on September 5, 1989. 1
The second Commonwealth complaining witness testified that she discovered that her home had been burglarized when she returned home at approximately 12:50 p.m. on this same date. She found both her first floor window and side door to her home open. Her house had been ransacked. A number of valuables were missing from her home, including: jewelry, a VCR, an Atari game machine, tapes, coins stored in cans, a sweeper, and a pillow case.
A third Commonwealth complaining witness testified that she returned home at approximately 2:30 p.m. on September 5, 1989, to find all the lights turned on in her house, all the doors open, the kitchen cabinets open Commonwealth witness Officer Kevin McCarthy of the Allegheny County Police testified that on September 5, 1989, he was on duty and that area police departments issued local broadcasts that they were searching for a black Monte Carlo connected to residential burglaries in the area. 2 At approximately 1:27 p.m., upon observing a speeding car matching the broadcast description, Officer McCarthy called for back-up and stopped the vehicle to investigate. Four white males, including appellant, occupied the vehicle. In plain view, Officer McCarthy observed jewelry, several sets of gloves and a large quantity of coins, which Officer McCarthy later learned were items reported as stolen from the second complainant's residence.
with food strewn about, drawers in the house dumped out, and a broken chiming mantle clock, which had been in working order that morning, showing the time of 12:30. Her side porch door was also shattered and twisted off its hinges and the windows in a dining room glass door were punched out. The third witness' missing valuables included: a cassette recorder, a portable black and white television, a small camera, two stuffed birds, some collectable spoons and a high school ring. All three Commonwealth complaining witnesses lived within several blocks of each other.
Responding to Officer McCarthy's back-up call, Officer Love arrived at the location of the black Monte Carlo, at which time he observed that the occupants of the vehicle and the vehicle matched the first complainant's and Prince's earlier descriptions. In plain view, Officer Love observed a white pillow case with floral design reportedly taken from the second complainant's home, as well as jewelry, coins, and several sets of brown gloves. Both the first complainant and Prince were brought to the scene of the vehicle stop where they positively identified the suspects and the vehicle. Officer Love also searched appellant and found two of the second complainant's earrings in his pants' pockets which had been reported taken from her residence. All four suspects were given their Miranda 3 rights and placed under arrest at the scene of the stop.
After the positive identifications by the first complainant and Prince, police secured the vehicle, towed it to the Pine Township Police Station, searched the vehicle and inventoried its contents. All the reported stolen items were discovered in the vehicle. The second complainant identified all her stolen property at the police station the next day while the third complainant identified her stolen property that same day at the police station. The suspects were given their Miranda rights a second time at the police station. Thereafter, appellant verbally and in writing waived his Miranda rights and admitted that he acted as the "lookout man" for the burglary conspiracy. N.T., 9/13/90, at pp. 119-20. He also gave the following written statement to police which Officer Love read into evidence:
Pete and I left our house around 10:30 a.m. We went to Troy's house at that time. We went to the North Park area. When we got there, Matt went up to some lady's door and knocked. She wasn't there. Troy and Matt both went into the house. Pete and I stayed out in the car waiting. I got out of the car to look down the road. We left that house and went to another house. The lady was sleeping. Matt went and knocked again, then went to the back of the house to see if there was a way in or not, I guess. A lady came to the window and said something to them. He has here in parenthesis, Troy and Matt, because they came running back to the car. I'm not sure what the lady said when they left that place. Then we went to another [sic] where they again went and knocked, no one was home. So, from my understanding, Troy went and punched the window (N.T., 9/13/90, pp. 121-122).
out, then went in. This is all I know. Then we got pulled over by the cops.
Peter Lyle, one of appellant's co-conspirators (who pleaded guilty to the charges), testified that appellant was definitely part of the conspiracy to burglarize the victims. Id. at 160. Lyle testified that prior to the actual burglaries, the four conspirators met, discussed each other's role, and agreed that appellant would act as their "lookout man." They jointly selected the area of town where they wanted to commit the burglaries, and then agreed that they would divide whatever items they were able to steal amongst the four of them. N.T., 9/14/90, at pp. 147-49. Lyle further testified that appellant wanted to participate in the crimes because he needed to get money in order to get his car repaired. N.T., 9/14/90 at p. 166.
After hearing this overwhelming evidence, the jury convicted appellant of four counts of receiving stolen property, 4 two counts each of burglary 5 and theft by unlawful taking, 6 and one count of criminal conspiracy. 7 Post-verdict motions were denied and appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of thirty-six (36) to seventy-two (72) months imprisonment, a consecutive term of two (2) years probation, and completion of a Drug and Alcohol Program. By order and Memorandum opinion, the Superior Court vacated the judgment of sentence and remanded the matter for a new trial holding that a mistrial was warranted because the co-conspirator's testimony regarding his and the other co-defendants' guilty pleas was so prejudicial as to deprive appellant of a fair trial. Upon the Commonwealth's Motion for Reconsideration, the Superior Court then by order and Memorandum opinion affirmed the original judgment of sentence by the trial court.
Appellant's first claim before this Court is whether the trial court committed reversible error because it failed to advise the jury that no inference may be drawn from an accused's silence after his arrest. Appellant claims that he was entitled to such an instruction after a Commonwealth police witness testified as follows regarding appellant's behavior preceding appellant's statement to police:
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