Com. v. Barosh, C.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 7, 2014
Docket1103 EDA 2013
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Barosh, C. (Com. v. Barosh, C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior 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. v. Barosh, C., (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

J. S28015/14

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA v. : : CHRISTOPHER BAROSH, : No. 1103 EDA 2013 : Appellant :

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence, February 11, 2013, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No. CP-51-CR-0008461-2010

BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., LAZARUS AND PLATT,* JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.: FILED OCTOBER 07, 2014

Christopher Barosh set fire to a home owned by his girlfriend just

before an insurance policy taken out for the property was about to be

cancelled. Following a jury trial in the Court of Common Pleas of

Philadelphia, appellant was convicted of arson, endangering persons, and

insurance fraud.1 Following careful review, we affirm.

The facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. In July of

2005, appellant purchased a home at 1148 South 54th Street in Philadelphia

on behalf of his girlfriend, Jill Wezorek.2 On the deed to the property,

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. 1 Appellant was found not guilty of conspiracy. 2 J. S28015/14

Wezorek was listed as the buyer and appellant was listed as possessing a

signature appeared on a tax document with the deed.

On September 9, 2005, ap

Allstate Insurance Company regarding the aforementioned property. The

policy had coverage limits of $126,533 for the dwelling, $12,653 for other

structures, and $94,000 for personal property. (Notes of testimony,

12/5/12 at 16-17.) In order to obtain this policy, the property was to be

occupied by the owner, and the home must be under 45 years old. (Id. at

17.) Additionally, appellant needed to provide proof of insurance from July

2005 to September 2005, the date of the application. The application

submitted indicated the property was purchased in September 2005 and

would be owner occupied.

e premises be

owner-occupied, appellant rented the house to Yolanda Dingle, who planned

to live there with five children. (Id. at 17-18, 29-30.) Appellant had agreed

child, and he took $2,000 from Ms. Dingle to cover the costs. (Id. at 29.)

Appellant, however, did not make any of the promised renovations, and

Ms. Dingle filed a police report. (Id. at 31.)

-2- J. S28015/14

Approximately a month after she moved into the 1148 South 54 th

Street property, appellant forcefully evicted Ms. Dingle. Ms. Dingle testified

that as she was putting her key into the front door, appellant approached

her from behind, grabbed the key, went inside by himself, and locked her

out. (Id. at 33.) She was not able to remove her personal property from

the house. (Id. at 34.)

On September 16, 2005, Allstate, having discovered several reasons

why the house did not qualify for the Deluxe Plus Policy,3 sent Wezorek a

letter notifying her that the insurance policy would be cancelled effective

October 27, 2005. (Id. at 19.) Appellant did not deny receiving the letter;

rather, he claimed he thought the cancellation had already taken effect at

the time he read the letter.

At approximately 11:00 p.m. on October 25, 2005, approximately

set on fire. Doris House, who lived directly next door at 1150 South 54 th

Street, heard her fire alarm go off and noticed a lot of smoke coming from

the wall of her residence shared with 1148 South 54th Street. (Id. at 55-

57.) Ms. House lived with her son, her 11-year-old nephew, and

2 grandchildren who were approximately 4 and 5 years old. (Id. at 55-56.)

Ms. House woke the children and got them out of the home to safety.

3 Specifically, the house was not owner occupied, was purchased in July of 2005 as opposed to September 2005, and was over 45 years old.

-3- J. S28015/14

Ms. House then contacted Ms. Dingle. Ms. House testified that there was

smoke damage to her home and personal items, and she no longer is able to

live in the home. (Id. at 60.)

Ms. Dingle testified that she received a phone call from a neighbor,

Ms. House,4 who informed her of the fire, knowing her belongings were

inside. (Id. at 35.) Upon arrival, Ms. Dingle met with Ms. House, who was

Id. at 36.) Ms. House told her that she saw

appellant coming from the back of the house when the fire started. (Id. at

37.) Ms. Dingle testified that she observed appellant across the street in the

Wilson. (Id. at 38-39.)

Lieutenant Bordes Ramseur of the Philadelphia Fire Department, an

expert in the area of determining the causes and origin of fires, investigated

this matter. He determined that the fire had been intentionally set in the

basement area and that an ignitable liquid had been used. Louis Gahagan, a

private fire investigator hired by Allstate, also testified as an expert who

subsequently conducted his own investigation and reached the same

conclusion; a fire began in the basement, was incendiary, and an ignitable

fluid was used to accelerate the fire. (Notes of testimony, 12/6/12 at 13-16,

20, 43, 55-58.)

4 Ms. House died before trial. (Id. at 37.)

-4- J. S28015/14

After the fire, appellant made two separate admissions of guilt.

argument about a property in New Hope Pennsylvania, and appellant

Id. at 72.) Bryan further testified that appellant stated he

. . . or use a flammable liquid or kerosene gas, whatever you use to remove

Id. at 73.) Appellant also attempted to

pay David Tarmin, an acquaintance and former tenant at another property,

to provide him an alibi for the arson. During that conversation, appellant

admitted to Mr. Tarmin that he had set fire to the house in order to collect

the insurance proceeds. (Id. at 91.)

Appellant testified that he left 1148 South 54th Street between

6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and went to watch a baseball game near the

University of Pennsylvania. (Id. at 40-41.) Upon his return, he thought the

to do. (Id. at 43.) Appellant left and stayed overnight in a nearby hotel.

Appellant also stated that Dingle was a squatter and he had to have her

evicted. (Id. at 35-36.) He also denied laughing with Wilson at the time of

the fire. (Id. at 47.) In fact, he stated that he did not get along with Wilson

and would not be in his company. Appellant averred that House mistrusted

-5- J. S28015/14

him and believed he wanted to steal houses in the neighborhood. (Id. at

48.)

A jury trial was held and on December 11, 2012, appellant was

convicted of arson and insurance fraud. At the February 11, 2013

sentencing hearing, the trial court read into the record a letter he received

not to appear at trial and, when that failed, threatened to kill him. (Notes of

testimony, 2/11/13 at 22-23.) The Honorable Chris R. Wogan sentenced

arson and 6 months to 3 years for insurance fraud. Additionally, he ordered

appellant to pay restitution for the damage caused by the fire.

On February 18, 2013, appellant filed a post-sentence motion seeking

reconsideration of his sentence; the motion was denied after a hearing on

March 15, 2013. On April 2, 2013, a timely notice of appeal was filed. On

April 11, 2013, the trial court ordered appellant to file a concise statement of

errors complained of on appeal within 21 days pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.,

Rule 1925(b), 42 Pa.C.S.A. A Rule 1925(b) statement was filed on

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