Com. of PA v. K.J. Alcibiade

CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 19, 2025
Docket377 C.D. 2024
StatusPublished

This text of Com. of PA v. K.J. Alcibiade (Com. of PA v. K.J. Alcibiade) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. of PA v. K.J. Alcibiade, (Pa. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania : : v. : No. 377 C.D. 2024 : Keith Jeffrey Alcibiade, : Submitted: April 8, 2025 Appellant :

BEFORE: HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Senior Judge

OPINION BY JUDGE McCULLOUGH FILED: May 19, 2025

Keith Jeffery Alcibiade (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Armstong County Court of Common Pleas (trial court) on February 29, 2024, following his summary conviction of violating 34 Pa. C.S. § 2308(a)(8) and 34 Pa. C.S. § 2307(a)1 of the Game and Wildlife Code, 34 Pa. C.S. §§

1 Section 2308, titled Unlawful Devices and Methods, provides in relevant part:

(a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this title, it is unlawful for any person to hunt or aid, abet, assist or conspire to hunt any game or wildlife through the use of:

* * *

(8) Any artificial or natural bait, hay, grain, fruit, nut, salt, chemical, mineral or other food as an enticement for game or wildlife, regardless of kind and quantity, or take advantage of any such area or food or bait prior to 30 days after the removal of such material and its residue. . . .

(Footnote continued on next page…) 101-2965 (Code). On appeal, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction and the trial court’s denial of his motions to suppress evidence. We affirm. Background The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. On October 2 and October 4, 2022, Appellant poured deer feed on the ground at the edge of a field located on a 350-acre rural property in Armstong County known as “Dunmire.” The Dunmire property is owned by the family business operated by Michael Snyder, who uses the land for private hunting (Property). Appellant worked as a caretaker for the Property and his duties included maintaining tree stands and game cameras and feeding the deer with minerals to stimulate antler growth. Appellant killed a buck on the Property on October 5, 2022, using a compound archery bow. After an investigation including the execution of search warrants on Appellant’s house and cell phone, the Commonwealth charged him with the above-stated summary offenses.2

34 Pa. C.S. § 2308(a)(8).

Section 2307(a), titled Unlawful Taking or Possession of Game or Wildlife, reads in pertinent part as follows:

(a) General rule.--It is unlawful for any person to aid, abet, attempt or conspire to hunt for or take or possess, use, transport or conceal any game or wildlife unlawfully taken or not properly marked or any part thereof, or to hunt for, trap, take, kill, transport, conceal, possess or use any game or wildlife contrary to the provisions of this title.

34 Pa. C.S. § 2307(a).

2 While the Commonwealth initially charged Appellant with a misdemeanor offense, it withdrew a tampering or fabricating evidence charge and moved for the case to be heard at a summary trial.

2 On July 11, 2023, Appellant filed an omnibus pretrial motion seeking to suppress certain evidence obtained by the Commonwealth during its investigation. The Commonwealth filed a motion to quash the suppression motion, which the trial court granted because the case involved summary charges only.3 The trial court stated in its order that any pretrial issues would be disposed of during the summary trial. The trial court held a two-day trial on September 21 and December 19, 2023. At the outset, defense counsel made oral motions seeking to suppress evidence of all trail camera photographs taken at the Property, as well as the evidence seized from Appellant’s residence and cell phone. (Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 348a-52a.) Counsel maintained the Commonwealth withheld evidence from the defense in the form of additional trail camera photographs, depriving him of the opportunity to review them for exculpatory evidence, thereby committing a Brady4 violation. The Commonwealth responded that it provided the defense with all the evidence it received from the Pennsylvania Game Commission (Commission), which was saved to a flash drive prepared by Christopher Bence, the state game warden (Officer Bence), and that all of the evidence it intended to introduce at trial was disclosed. (R.R. at 349a-50a.) Defense counsel also challenged the search warrants issued for Appellant’s residence and cell phone by arguing the affidavits of probable cause failed to provide a factual

3 The Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure governing omnibus pretrial motions are not applicable in summary proceedings. See Commonwealth v. Marcus, 690 A.2d 842, 845 n.4 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1997).

4 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963).

3 basis for the Commonwealth’s averment that he had committed a crime.5 The trial court took the suppression motions under advisement and proceeded to trial.

5 The affidavits of probable cause were prepared by Officer Bence, and the affidavit relating to Appellant’s home read in relevant part:

2. The following information was given to me by a reputable confidential informant. The confidential informant reported to me that [Appellant] had unlawfully killed, possessed and transported an 8 point antlered white-tailed deer.

3. Evidence was found that [Appellant] unlawfully harvested a white- tailed deer contrary to provisions of Pa.C.S.#34 (Title #34 GAME AND WILDLIFE CODE).

4. Photos and texts were sent from [Appellant’s] phone [] to Aaron Klingensmith [] and Michael D. Snyder [] of [Appellant] in hunting attire posing with the aforementioned dead deer. [Appellant] also showed Klingensmith a video on his phone of [Appellant] possessing the aforementioned dead deer.

5. Evidence shows the aforementioned deer was taken to Solinger’s taxidermy (752 Girty Rd, Shelocta, Pa. 15774). Solinger’s records show that on October 9th, 2022, [Appellant] contacted Solinger from his phone to schedule a drop off time. Solinger’s records indicate that on October 23rd, 2022, [Appellant] dropped off the head and hide from the aforementioned deer and gave a monetary cash deposit for taxidermy.

6. [Appellant] contacted Solinger’s via his phone to notify him he wanted to pick up the antlers until the mount was ready to be assembled. The antlers were picked up from Solinger’s taxidermy by Sean P. Lichanec [] between the dates of October 24th 2022, and November 9th 2022. Solinger called [Appellant] on his phone to verify Lichanec was in fact picking the antlers up for [Appellant]. Arrangements were made by Solinger for [Appellant] to retain the antlers and bring them back when he was prepared to assemble the complete mount.

7. Based on the statements and observations above, [Officer] Bence believes there is sufficient probable cause that there is evidence of the unlawful taking [of the] aforementioned 8 point white-tailed deer in [Appellant’s] residence, vehicle and outbuildings. [Officer] Bence also (Footnote continued on next page…)

4 believes there will be evidence of the unlawful taking on [Appellant’s] phone in the form of time, date and location stamped photos, text messages, call logs and phone records, since it is known that [Appellant] communicated about and sent pictures of the deer on said phone. Since a reasonable person would store antlers, meat or other evidence of the big game in their house it would be reasonable to think there is evidence of such contraband in the subject’s house. Hunting implements, weapons, equipment and gear used in the commission of the crime would also be stored in a hunter’s vehicle or residence.

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Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Commonwealth v. Spontarelli
791 A.2d 1254 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
Commonwealth v. Sellinger
763 A.2d 525 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Dickerson v. Commonwealth
587 A.2d 379 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Commonwealth, Aplt. v. Hopkins, L., Jr.
164 A.3d 1133 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Marcus
690 A.2d 842 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
Com. of PA v. K.J. Alcibiade, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-of-pa-v-kj-alcibiade-pacommwct-2025.