Commonwealth v. Williams

• Decision Date: 02 October 1998
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Christopher WILLIAMS, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

720 A.2d 679

554 Pa. 1

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Christopher WILLIAMS, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued December 8, 1997.

Decided October 2, 1998.

David Rudenstein, Philadelphia, for Christopher Williams.

Catherine Marshall, Norman Gross, Philadelphia, for the Com.

Robert A. Graci, Harrisburg, for the Com. Office of Atty. Gen.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO and NEWMAN, JJ.

OPINION

CAPPY, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from the judgments of three sentences of death imposed on Christopher Williams ("Appellant").¹ For the reasons expressed in this opinion, we now affirm.

Appellant was charged with murder and related offenses in connection with the killings of Gavin Anderson, Kevin Anderson (collectively, "the Anderson brothers"), and Otis Reynolds.² The jury found Appellant guilty of three counts of first degree murder³, three counts of robbery,⁴ three counts of criminal conspiracy,⁵ corrupt organizations,⁶ and possessing an instrument of crime.⁷ At the penalty phase of the trial, the jury found that there were three aggravating circumstances: that the murders were committed during the commission of a felony (the felony being burglary);⁸ that defendant had a significant history of convictions of felonies involving the use of threat of violence against a person;⁹ and defendant had been convicted of another murder.¹⁰ The jury recognized "family considerations" as a mitigating factor.¹¹ Upon weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the jury fixed Appellant's penalty for each murder at death.

The first of Appellant's issues we will review is that the three first degree murder convictions were not supported by sufficient evidence. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, the test we apply is "whether the evidence, and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, are sufficient to establish all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt." Commonwealth v. Hughes, 536 Pa. 355, 639 A.2d 763, 766 (Pa.1994).

In order to prove murder of the first degree, the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant acted with a specific intent to kill. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(d). The Commonwealth must show that a human being was unlawfully killed, that the person accused did the killing, and that the killing was done in an intentional, deliberate, and premeditated manner. Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 528 Pa. 546, 599 A.2d 624 (Pa.1991). The element which distinguishes first degree murder from all other degrees of homicide is the presence of a premeditated, deliberate, and willful intent to kill. Commonwealth v. Moore, 473 Pa. 169, 373 A.2d 1101 (Pa.1977).

The evidence presented at trial established that Appellant was the leader of a gang that robbed, and would then kill, other drug dealers. N.T., 7/26/93, at 13-17. Early in September of 1989, Appellant went to New York City to meet the Anderson brothers, who were known drug traffickers. Appellant invited the Anderson brothers to Philadelphia under the pretext that he would sell them some weapons.

James White ("White"), who had been a member of Appellant's gang, testified for the Commonwealth that on September 24, 1989, Appellant told White that he needed a van for a "job". N.T., 7/26/93, at 49. The next day, White and co-defendant Bennett drove the van White had stolen to the Germantown section of Philadelphia where they met Appellant. Appellant explained to White that they were going to rob three New York drug dealers, who were meeting with Appellant as they believed that Appellant would sell them some guns. N.T. 7/26/93, at 48-52.

Co-defendant Wilson was responsible for bringing the three intended victims to the Germantown location. When Wilson called to say that they were on their way, Appellant passed out guns to his gang members. Appellant retained two guns for himself, and gave a shotgun to White, and a .357 automatic to co-defendant Bennett. N.T., 7/26/93, at 53.

After the victims arrived at the apartment, Appellant and the members of his gang drew their weapons and pointed them at the victims while Appellant demanded that the victims turn over their money. Appellant and other members of his gang eventually removed one of the victims from the apartment to retrieve more of the victims' money. After retrieving the cash, Appellant shot that victim. N.T., 7/26/93, at 62. Appellant and his gang members continued questioning the other two victims, asking them for more money. When they were not forthcoming with producing more money, Appellant shot the other two victims. N.T., 7/26/93, at 65-66.

Furthermore, the forensic evidence introduced at trial showed that Reynolds died due to two gunshot wounds to his face, one which was inflicted from a distance of no more than twelve inches. N.T., 7/28/93, at 146-148. Gavin Anderson was also shot twice in the face, once at close range; he also suffered a gun shot wound to the back of the neck. N.T., 7/28/93, at 150-151. Finally, the evidence established that Kevin Anderson died due to two gunshot wounds to the head. N.T., 7/29/93, at 4-6.

This evidence, when taken in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, established that Appellant concocted a plan to lure the victims to a place where he could interrogate them at his leisure, rob them of any available money and goods, and then shoot them. The evidence also shows that Appellant executed that plan, killing all three victims. The evidence of record is more than sufficient to establish that Appellant was guilty of three counts of first degree murder.

Appellant also contends that the verdicts were against the weight of the evidence. It is axiomatic that the weight of the evidence is exclusively for the finder of fact who is free to believe all, none or some of the evidence and to determine the credibility of the witnesses. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 542 Pa. 384, 668 A.2d 97, 101 (Pa.1995). Furthermore, an appellate court is restrained from substituting its judgment for that of the finder of fact. Id. Thus, we may reverse the decision of the lower court only where the defendant has shown that the factfinder overlooked such a preponderance of the evidence so that the verdict shocks the conscience. Commonwealth v. Walker, 540 Pa. 80, 656 A.2d 90, 97 (Pa.1995).

Appellant claims that the Commonwealth's case rested primarily on the testimony of White. He asserts that since White admitted to killing six people and was also shown on the witness stand to be a habitual liar, then any verdict based primarily on White's testimony ipso facto is against the weight of the evidence. In making this argument, Appellant does concede that this court has long stated that credibility is left to the fact finder. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Patton, 546 Pa. 562, 686 A.2d 1302, 1305 (Pa. 1997)

. Yet, he urges us to ignore that precept and independently determine White's credibility. We decline to do so. We believe that credibility determinations are properly left to the finder of fact, as it is that entity which has the opportunity to examine those tell-tale signs of credibility — such as the physical appearance, demeanor, and cadence of speech of the witness — which are unavailable to an appellate court on the face of a cold record.

Furthermore, a review of all of the evidence presented at trial leads us to the conclusion that Appellant's weight of the evidence claim must fail. The verdicts were consistent with the evidence presented at trial, and we find no basis on which to conclude that the verdicts were so contrary to the evidence that they shock the conscience. Walker, supra.

Next, Appellant contends that the trial court judge erred when he replaced two members of the jury with alternate jurors.¹² In one instance, Juror No. 11 failed to appear for duty one morning. The judge waited for fifteen minutes, and then requested that the court officer telephone the juror; there was no answer. N.T., 7/27/93, at 1-7. To prevent further delay, the judge dismissed Juror No. 11 and seated an alternate.

The trial court also replaced Juror No. 7. That juror had informed the court during voir dire that she had previously scheduled and paid for a trip that was to commence on August 7, 1993. The trial court judge declined to dismiss her for cause at that point, stating that "we should be done" by August 7. N.T., 7/20/93, at 73. The trial, however, did not proceed as quickly as the trial court judge had thought it would, and on August 4, 1993, when it was clear that the trial would not be over prior to August 7, 1993, the judge dismissed Juror No. 7 and seated an alternate in her place. N.T., 8/04/93, at 4.

Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1108(a), a trial court may seat an alternate juror whenever a principal juror becomes unable or disqualified to perform his duties. The standard of review for examining a trial court judge's decision to seat an alternate juror is abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Jacobs, 536 Pa. 402, 639 A.2d 786 (Pa.1994). Application of this standard to the facts at hand shows that in neither instance did the trial court judge abuse his discretion. As to Juror No. 11, the unexplained tardiness of one juror was delaying a complicated capital case in which three co-defendants were on trial. We cannot say that the trial court judge, under such circumstances, abused his discretion in dismissing Juror No. 11. We also cannot say that the trial court judge abused his discretion in dismissing Juror No. 7. The judge stated in voir dire that he was not going to strike Juror No. 7 for cause because he believed that the trial would be done prior to the date on which her vacation was to begin. Events did not unfold as the judge had anticipated they would, and in light of changed circumstances, he felt it incumbent upon himself to dismiss Juror No. 7. We believe that this was within the discretion of the judge, and see no reason to...