Com. v. Wallace
| Decision Date | 05 July 1989 |
| Citation | 522 Pa. 297,561 A.2d 719 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. William WALLACE, Jr., Appellant. 40 W.D. 1987 |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
John C. Pettit, Dist. Atty., Dennis M. Makel, Asst. Dist. Atty., Washington, for appellee.
Before NIX, C.J., and LARSEN, FLAHERTY, McDERMOTT, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and STOUT, JJ.
A jury found the appellant, William Wallace, Jr., guilty of murder in the first degree, 1 murder in the second degree, 2 robbery, 3 and criminal conspiracy to commit robbery and criminal homicide. 4 After further deliberation, that same jury rendered a verdict of death for the first degree murder conviction. 5 Post trial motions were denied and the judgment of sentence was entered on April 14, 1987. A consecutive sentence of life was imposed on the appellant for the second degree murder conviction. A concurrent sentence of five to ten years was entered on the conspiracy conviction. The robbery conviction was merged with the the second degree murder conviction and no sentence was imposed on that conviction. Appellant directly appeals the judgment of sentence. 6
The events giving rise to this action began on August 17, 1979, when at approximately 5:20 P.M., two men holding handguns, were observed running from Carl's Cleaners in Cannonsburg, Washington County, Pennsylvania. Moments later, Carl Luisi, Sr., the owner of Carl's Cleaners, and Tina Spalla, a fifteen (15) year old employee of Mr. Luisi, were found lying on the floor of the store. Both had been shot. Carl Luisi, Sr., had been shot twice, once in the stomach and once in the back. Tina Spalla, was shot once, through the heart. Both died, for a sum of $227.05 stolen that day.
An anonymous phone call was received by the Cannonsburg Police Department which provided a licence plate number and description of a vehicle seen leaving the crime. Several other witnesses gave statements confirming the presence of the same vehicle in the area. Based upon that information, the Cannonsburg Police Department issued a bulletin to other police departments to look for the vehicle. On August 20, 1979, members of the Wheeling, West Virginia, Police Department, located the vehicle in question and following a stake out, arrested the appellant. A second individual later identified as Henry Brown, the owner of the vehicle, was observed but eluded the police. Brown was subsequently arrested and eventually plead guilty to charges stemming from the robbery-murder.
This appeal represents appellant's third jury trial on the charges of first and second degree murder, robbery, and criminal conspiracy stemming from the robbery and murders. The first trial resulted in a mistrial due to the jury's inability to reach a verdict. The second trial resulted in the jury convicting the appellant of murder in the first degree for the death of Tina Spalla, murder in the second degree for the death of Carl Luisi, Sr., robbery and criminal conspiracy. The jury sentenced the appellant to death for the first degree murder conviction. Subsequently we reversed that jury's verdict and ordered a new trial. Commonwealth v. Wallace, 500 Pa. 270, 455 A.2d 1187 (1983). In the third trial, as noted above, the jury reached the same verdict reached by the jury in the second trial.
Before addressing the specific issues raised by the appellant, an independent review of the record 7 reveals that there is overwhelming evidence which if accepted by the jury, would establish with almost virtual certainty that the appellant not only participated in the robbery and killed Carl Luisi, Sr., but also that he intentionally killed fifteen (15) year old Tina Spalla to cover up his killing of Mr. Luisi and the robbery. At trial, five witnesses testified that they saw an automobile matching Brown's in the Cannonsburg area during the day in question, at the time of the robbery. Four of them later identified Brown's car as the one they saw that day, from a number of cars parked at the Washington State Police Barracks. Also, three gave descriptions of the two occupants of the car they saw which matched the general characteristics of the appellant and Brown. Two other witnesses testified that they had observed two individuals having the same general characteristics as the appellant and Brown, running from Carl's Cleaners right before the killings were discovered. Further, these witnesses testified that the individual matching the appellant, was wearing a tan knee-length trench coat, similar to the one owned by the appellant. 8 One of these witnesses also testified the individuals he saw running from the cleaners were carrying handguns.
Anita Johnson, the girlfriend of Brown, testified that Brown owned a .38 caliber handgun and the appellant owned a .32 caliber handgun. Further she testified that she was with both Brown and the appellant on the morning of August 17, 1979, and that at that time, they had their guns with them and that the appellant was wearing his trenchcoat. She also testified that the two left together that day in Brown's car and that she did not see either until Brown returned on the evening of August 20, 1979.
Ms. Johnson's testimony was significant because it was established through earlier testimony that both victims died as a result of being shot with a .32 caliber gun and the description of dress of the appellant on the day of the murders. Dr. Ernst L. Abernathy, the pathologist who performed the autopsies of the victims, testified that on August 18, 1979, he removed two bullet slugs from the body of Mr. Luisi and one from the body of Ms. Spalla and that he turned them over to Trooper Bivens, of the Pennsylvania State Police. Trooper Bivens testified he was present when the autopsies were performed and that when the bullet slugs were removed, they were turned over to him and that he took them to the Greensburg State Police (Crime) Laboratory. 9 Trooper Daryl Mayfield of the Greensburg State Police (Crime) Laboratory, who was admitted as an expert in ballistics, testified that he received three bullet slugs from Trooper Bivens and after examining each, determined all three to be .32 caliber bullet slugs and further that all three were fired from the same gun. Furthermore a .38 caliber handgun was introduced into evidence, and identified by Ms. Johnson as Brown's.
Any doubts the jury may have had as to the guilt of the appellant were, if believed, removed by the testimony of the last two Commonwealth witnesses, Brown and Olen Clay Gorby. Brown testified that around 1:00 P.M. on August 17, 1979, he and the appellant left Wheeling, West Virginia, in his car and headed towards Pittsburgh. He testified that on the way they spotted an exit for Cannonsburg and took it so they could "make a couple extra dollars." He testified he had a .38 caliber handgun and the appellant had a .32 caliber handgun and that the appellant was wearing a beige trenchcoat. He then testified that once inside Cannonsburg, they spotted a cleaners and after circling it and seeing only one girl working, they decided to park and go in. He testified that upon entering they asked for a price list and when the girl bent down they pulled out their guns. He stated further that the appellant went into the back to make sure no one else was there. He testified that while he was emptying the cash register he heard a gun shot and when he looked back, he saw an old man holding his stomach and then saw the appellant shoot him in the back, "before he could hit the ground." N.T., Third Trial, p. 613. He said that the appellant then came back, asked him to shot the girl and that he refused. He then testified, referring to the appellant, "at that point he didn't hesitate, he just shot...." N.T., Third Trial, p. 614. He testified they then left the cleaners, Brown first and the appellant following, and that they still had their guns out about half way down the street before they put them away.
Olen Clay Gorby testified that he was incarcerated with the appellant in the Washington County Jail during the summer of 1980 and that at that time, he had known the appellant for approximately seven years. He stated that during a conversation he had with the appellant while both were incarcerated, the appellant admitted that he robbed Carl's Cleaners and that he shot Mr. Luisi. 10 Further, Gorby testified that the appellant said he told Brown to shoot Ms. Spalla and when Brown refused, he did.
The evidence presented if believed, sufficiently established the appellant's guilt and in fact, left no room for doubt, with the credibilities accepted by the jury, the evidence is overwhelming. With this in mind we address the appellant's specific claims of error.
The first claim of error is the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial based upon a commonwealth witness' testimony which raised an inference of the appellant's past criminal record. At trial the prosecution asked Olen Gorby, "where did you meet the defendant Wallace" and Gorby replied, "I met him in the West Virginia Penitentiary, 1973." N.T., Third Trial, p. 722-23. The defense objected and moved for a mistrial. 11 The appellant's motion was denied and appellant refused an offer by the trial judge to give a cautionary instruction claiming that an instruction would only serve to further prejudice him. N.T., Third Trial, p. 738-749. 12
Appellant claims that the testimony was highly prejudicial because it created an inference of unrelated past criminal acts and because it was highlighted by an overnight recess directly after introduction. The prosecution argues that it was merely attempting to demonstrate that there was a relationship between the witness and the appellant, to establish that the appellant would confide in the witness. Further the prosecution argues that the statement did not relate to a...
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