Com. v. Beech, T.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 13, 2017
DocketCom. v. Beech, T. No. 628 EDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Beech, T. (Com. v. Beech, T.) 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. Beech, T., (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

J-S88012-16

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

THOMAS BEECH,

Appellant No. 628 EDA 2016

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence of January 22, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-09-CR-0000676-2015, CP-09-CR-0003138-2015 and CP-09-CR-0006115-2014

BEFORE: OLSON, RANSOM AND STRASSBURGER,* JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY OLSON, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 13, 2017

Appellant, Thomas Beech, appeals from the judgment of sentence

entered on January 22, 2016. We affirm.

The trial court accurately summarized the factual background of this

case as follows:

On July 2, 2014, Constance Rondeau [(“Rondeau”)]. . . arrived home [in Montgomery County] to find a blue Ford Focus parked in her driveway. She waited in her car for her daughter to arrive, as she did not know whose car was in her driveway or if someone was in her home. Thereupon, Rondeau witnessed a “slim natured man with dark hair and his arm wrapped up” exit her home and enter the car and drive off. When Rondeau’s daughter arrived, the two of them walked to the back of the house and “saw the disaster.” Rondeau noticed that a bench from her deck was moved towards her back window, and that her back window was broken. Upon entering her house, Rondeau observed “blood all over” the bathroom that was connected to the broken rear window, and “blood all throughout the different portions of the house, even the upstairs.” The DNA

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court J-S88012-16

extracted from the blood in Rondeau’s house matched Appellant’s DNA. Further, the Commonwealth’s expert on cellular technology and forensics, using Appellant’s cell phone records, offered evidence showing that Appellant’s cell phone was “in the vicinity of the victim’s residence” surrounding the time of the burglary.

On July 26, 2014, Marybell Melendez [(“Melendez”)], a resident of [Bucks County] encountered Appellant “trying to get into her back door.” While in her home cleaning her bathroom, Melendez heard a knock at her back door, and went and looked out her window and saw Appellant looking around. After losing sight of Appellant and returning to continue to clean her bathroom, Melendez heard scratching, and then stopped what she was doing and approached her back door where she witnessed Appellant trying to break the screen on her back outer door. Melendez then approached Appellant at the back door and engaged in a face to face confrontation with him. When she noticed he was wearing gloves, she indicated that she was going to call the police, at which point Appellant left. . . .

On August 12, 2014, Amanda Paley [(“Paley”)], a resident of [Bucks County], came home with her 10-month[-]old son, and upon entering her home saw that a window and her bathroom cabinets were left open. She initially thought her husband was responsible for opening them before he left the house. She proceeded to take a shower, and upon finishing, entered her bedroom and noticed that her [closet] door was open, and some of her belongings, including an empty jewelry box, were strewn across the floor. Upon noticing this scene, Paley grabbed her son, exited the house, got in her car, and called 911. Shortly after Paley called 911, a park ranger from the adjacent Bensalem Community Park, Kenneth Buckalew [(“Buckalew”)], arrived and told Paley he would take a walk around the house to check things out. While walking around the house, Buckalew saw Appellant climb out of Paley’s window holding a bag. After Buckalew arrived and proceeded to walk around the house, Paley witnessed Appellant come around the side of her house, carrying “the type of bag they normally give a patient in the hospital.” Paley got out of her car and started yelling at Appellant, at which point he started running towards the nearby park. Moments later, Paley observed Appellant “pull out of the driveway of the park in a car,” which was a blue Ford Focus. Prior to Buckalew being aware of the incident at Paley’s residence, he took a

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photograph of a blue Ford Focus parked in the Bensalem Community Park parking lot because he found it suspicious, and at trial Paley identified the car in the photograph as the car in which she saw Appellant drive away. Paley also subsequently identified Appellant’s vehicle that was impounded by police as the vehicle in which Appellant fled. Once again, the Commonwealth’s expert on cellular technology and forensics, based on Appellant’s cell phone records, proffered evidence indicating that Appellant’s cell phone was used in close proximity to [Paley’s] residence . . . during the time surrounding the burglary of said residence.

Trial Court Opinion, 5/20/16, at 4-6 (honorifics, headings, internal

alterations, ellipses, footnote and internal citations omitted).

On August 28, 2014, Officer Steven Bailey stopped Appellant as he

drove behind a Target store in an area that was posted no trespassing.

After a brief investigation, Officer Bailey arrested Appellant for the burglary

of Paley’s residence. Subsequently, Melendez, Paley, and Buckalew

identified Appellant via photo arrays. Appellant was not provided counsel

during these photo arrays.

The procedural history of this case is as follows. The Commonwealth

charged Appellant, via three separate criminal informations, with two counts

of burglary,1 two counts of trespass,2 attempted burglary,3 attempted

trespass,4 criminal mischief,5 theft by unlawful taking,6 attempted theft by

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3502(a)(1). 2 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3503(a)(1)(ii). 3 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 901, 3502. 4 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 901, 3503.

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unlawful taking,7 receiving stolen property,8 and attempted receiving stolen

property.9

On March 30, 2015, Appellant filed a suppression motion. On July 22,

2015, the Commonwealth filed a motion to consolidate the three criminal

informations for a single trial. Prior to trial, the trial court conducted a

combined pre-trial motions hearing. During the hearing, the trial court

granted the Commonwealth’s consolidation motion and granted in part and

denied in part Appellant’s suppression motion.

On October 9, 2015, Appellant was convicted of all 11 charges. On

January 22, 2016, the trial court sentenced him to an aggregate term of 8 to

20 years’ imprisonment. This timely appeal followed.10

Appellant presents two issues for our review:

1. Did the trial court err in consolidating for trial two burglaries and one attempted burglary where the incidents were

5 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3304(a)(5). 6 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3921(a). 7 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 901, 3921. 8 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3925(a). 9 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 901, 3925. 10 On February 24, 2016, the trial court ordered Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal (“concise statement”). See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). On April 13, 2016, Appellant filed his concise statement. On May 20, 2016, the trial court issued its Rule 1925(a) opinion. Both issues raised on appeal were included in Appellant’s concise statement.

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factually distinct, occurred in different jurisdictions[,] and occurred over a six-week period?

2. Did the trial court err in failing to grant Appellant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained following: (1) a stop of Appellant’s car that was not supported by reasonable suspicion; (2) an arrest of Appellant that was not supported by probable cause; and (3) the denial of counsel to Appellant at a post-arrest photo display?

Appellant’s Brief at 5 (complete capitalization omitted).

In his first issue, Appellant argues that the trial court erred by

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