Com. v. Anderson, R.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided September 6, 2017·No. Com. v. Anderson, R. No. 1236 EDA 2016·Unpublished

Opinion

J-S44015-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellant

v.

RASHI ANDERSON,

Appellee No. 1236 EDA 2016

Appeal from the Order Entered April 4, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0000878-2012

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., SHOGAN, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.: FILED SEPTEMBER 06, 2017

The Commonwealth appeals from the suppression court’s order,

granting Appellee’s, Rashi Anderson, pretrial motion to suppress two out-of-

court photo array identifications made by the victims in this case. After

careful review, we affirm.

The suppression court summarized the facts adduced from the

suppression hearing as follows:

Michael Cordrey testified that on September 25, 2011, he and Nicholas Meiring were walking along Spruce Street toward 42nd Street at approximately 1:30 a.m. Upon reaching the … corner of 42nd Street, they were held up from behind by two persons. One of the persons put a gun to Mr. Cordrey's left hip and ordered him to walk down a nearby alleyway. He could not recall whether he saw the person's face at this point. He followed the order and then went down to the ground in a fetal position. The person proceeded to go through Mr. Cordrey's pockets and took his phone, wallet, and cash. Both persons then quickly left the scene by running down 42nd Street. Mr. Cordrey J-S44015-17

and Mr. Meiring left immediately afterwards to attempt to find a police officer in the area.

After flagging down a police officer, Mr. Cordrey gave a statement around 2:50 a.m. to Detective Gregg Rodham of the University of Pennsylvania Police Department ("Penn Police"). Mr. Cordrey described the perpetrator who held a gun to his hip as a black male, 5'10" (five feet, ten inches) in height, weighing 180 (one hundred eighty) pounds, aged late thirties or early forties, medium build, a bald/shaved head, dark complexion, and wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. He described the gun used by the perpetrator as a black semi-automatic [handgun], not a revolver. He had given a nearly identical description to the initial officer he flagged down right after the incident.

On October 14th, Detective Rodham called Mr. Cordrey about viewing a photo array to possibly identify one of the perpetrators. At the time Mr. Cordrey was visiting friends in Princeton, New Jersey, which led Detective Rodham to email the photo array to him instead of presenting the array in-person. Mr. Cordrey identified [Appellee] as the perpetrator who he believed held the gun to his back and robbed him, although he was not completely positive at the time. He again later identified [Appellee], this time in-court at the preliminary hearing on January 20, 2012.

On cross-examination, Mr. Cordrey testified that he had three to four alcoholic beverages on the evening before the robbery. He saw the perpetrator holding the gun to his left hip for about three to four seconds before being led into the alleyway. The sky was dark but there was some artificial lighting provided by the street lights at the intersection. He did not recall ever looking back at the perpetrator holding the gun as he walked in front of them into the alleyway. He was also uncertain as to whether he saw either of the perpetrators' faces as they ran away from the scene. It then took several minutes for him and Mr. Meiring to find a police officer. They were then transported to the Penn Police Station, where Mr. Cordrey gave another description of the robber.

Three weeks later, Officer Rodham contacted Mr. Cordrey about viewing the photo array over email. Both Mr. Meiring and Mr. Cordrey were visiting friends and staying together in the same dorm room/common area. Mr. Cordrey testified that he did not recall whether or not he was present when Detective

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Rodham also contacted Mr. Meiring about viewing the same photo array.

[Defense Counsel] Q. Mr. Cordrey, were you present when Mr. Rodman (sic) called Mr. Meiring?

[Mr. Cordrey] A. I don't know.

[Defense Counsel] Q. You don't remember?

[Mr. Cordrey] A. No.

[Defense Counsel] Q. Is it possible that you don't remember?

[Mr. Cordrey] A. Yes, it's possible. I don't recall, though.

[N.T. Suppression, 4/1/16, [at] 35.]

He doubted but was "not really sure" whether he and Mr. Meiring used the same computer to view the photo array. [Id.] Mr. Cordrey had "no idea" whether he was on the phone with Detective Rodham while viewing the photo array. [Id. at 35-36.] Nor did he recall how long the conversation lasted or if he received the photo array before Detective Rodham initially called him.

Mr. Cordrey could neither give an approximation of how long he had access to the photo array before faxing it back to Detective Rodham. He could not recall whether he left the room when Mr. Meiring viewed the photo array for his own identification.

[Defense Counsel] Q. Mr. Cordrey, do you recall leaving the room so that Mr. Meiring could look at the photo array or vice versa?

[Defense Counsel] Q. You don't recall?

[Mr. Cordrey] A. I know I did mine by myself and then I might have walked away, while he did his.

[Id. at 38.]

Mr. Cordrey testified that the photo array remained in his email sent folder until it was automatically deleted at some unknown future date. He also testified that during the two-and-

-3- J-S44015-17

a-half hours between receiving the photo array and faxing back a potential identification, he spent a "considerable portion of that time" looking it over. [Id. at 41-42.] On redirect examination, Mr. Cordrey then testified that he did not believe he was on the phone with Detective Rodham while viewing the photo array. He also testified that he had no reason to go back and look at the photo array that remained archived in his email after he identified [Appellee].

On direct examination, Mr. Meiring testified that he and Mr. Cordrey were walking along Spruce Street toward 42nd Street at approximately 1:30 a.m. The two perpetrators approached them at the corner of 42nd Street and one of them stuck a gun in his back. The perpetrators told them both to "put your hands down, just stay silent, and walk around the corner." [Id. at 45.] Once around the corner, the perpetrators took Mr. Meiring's cell phone, wallet, a credit card, ID, and some cash. Mr. Meiring remained standing throughout the ordeal but could not recall what Mr. Cordrey was doing at the time. Mr. Meiring had consumed a couple alcoholic beverages earlier in the evening, but testified that he did not feel under the influence at the time. As the robbers fled the scene, he only saw their faces for a couple of seconds.

Mr. Meiring and Mr. Cordrey ran the opposite way from the perpetrators, trying to find anyone with a phone. They found a police officer after traveling a few blocks. They both provided a description of the perpetrators. The officer then took them to the Penn Police Station, where they gave statements to Detective Rodham. Mr. Meiring gave a description of one of the perpetrators as a black male, around 5'10" (five feet, ten inches), and in his late thirties or early forties. He could not recall for which of the two perpetrators he provided this description.

On cross-examination, Mr. Meiring testified that he had consumed four or five alcoholic beverages earlier in the evening. He kept his eyes forward during the robbery and only saw the faces of the perpetrators for a couple of seconds as they turned back and looked at him and Mr. Cordrey. He could not recall whether there were any lights on in the alleyway during the robbery.

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