Com. v. Blair, D.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 1, 2021
Docket741 WDA 2020
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Blair, D. (Com. v. Blair, D.) 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. Blair, D., (Pa. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

J-S15026-21

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : DYLAN CHRISTOPHER BLAIR : : Appellant : No. 741 WDA 2020

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 18, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-65-CR-0002833-2017

BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., MURRAY, J., and COLINS, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED: JULY 1, 2021

Dylan Christopher Blair (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of

sentence imposed after a jury found him guilty of drug delivery resulting in

death and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.1 We affirm.

The trial court detailed the underlying facts and procedural history as

follows: The instant case arises out of the death of Michele Spillar on December 25, 2016 in Derry, Westmoreland County. The evidence presented at trial established that on December 25, 2016, Ms. Spillar was found deceased as a result of a drug overdose. During trial, Dr. Cyril Wecht, who was admitted a[s] an expert in the field of forensic pathology, testified that in his opinion, Ms. Spillar died as a result of fentanyl toxicity. Dr. Wecht confirmed that other medications, including Diphenhydramine and Citalopram, were present in Ms. Spillar’s blood; however, in his opinion, those levels did not have any influence on her death. ____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2506(a) and 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30). J-S15026-21

During trial, Agent Thomas Klawinski, formerly employed as a detective with the Westmoreland County Detective Bureau, testified relative to his involvement with this case. Agent Klawinski stated that in December of 2016, while working as a forensic detective, he responded to the scene of the suspected overdose to take photographs. Agent Klawinski testified that upon arrival, he observed a woman deceased, lying prone in her bedroom next to her bed with a Crown Royal bag lying near her, which contained identification, several pill bottles, credit cards, suspected heroin, and drug paraphernalia. Agent Klawinski indicated that he also observed and photographed three stamp bags labeled “Head Games” with the picture of a skull—one being opened and empty and two appearing full and folded up.

Jeffrey Wayne Houser testified that in December of 2016, he was residing in Derry with his girlfriend, brother-in-law, and Ms. Spillar. On December 24, 2016, Mr. Houser indicated that Ms. Spillar borrowed his vehicle and then returned home later that night. Mr. Houser stated that on the following day, Ms. Spillar walked the dog before returning home for the rest of the day. After falling asleep on December 25, 2016, Mr. Houser indicated that he did not see or hear Ms. Spillar come out of her room, nor did he see her come out of her bedroom the following day. Mr. Houser testified that on December 26, 2016, he discovered Ms. Spillar unresponsive, lying on the floor in front of the closed bedroom door, and he proceeded to call 9-1-1.

Tyler Robert Klapchar testified that on December 24, 2016, he texted [Appellant] requesting heroin, and then later that evening he walked to meet [Appellant] at a nearby sidewalk where he paid [Appellant] a hundred dollars for eleven stamp bags. Mr. Klapchar described the stamp bags as being preprinted with the name “Head Games” and a picture of a skull, with the top of the skull containing a soccer ball design. After purchasing the drugs, Mr. Klapchar testified that he and [Appellant] walked to [Appellant’s] friend’s house where he injected some of the drugs that he just purchased and subsequently overdosed on them. Presumably in an effort to reverse the suspected overdose, Mr. Klapchar stated that he awoke wet, in the shower surrounded by [Appellant] and his friend, and then he accompanied [Appellant] as [Appellant] walked to meet Ms. Spillar. Mr. Klapchar testified that “[i]t was very apparent to me that there was a drug deal happening.” Mr. Klapchar indicated that he observed [Appellant] hand Ms. Spillar something, which he believed came from a box

-2- J-S15026-21

in which [Appellant] generally kept his drugs, paraphernalia, and money, and he observed Ms. Spillar hand [Appellant] money. Mr. Klapchar indicated that before parting ways, he warned Ms. Spillar to be careful if she was going to use because he had just overdosed. According to Mr. Klapchar he used the one-and-a-half stamp bags that he had remaining, while at a friend’s residence on Christmas evening, and he overdosed again and was revived with Narcan. The following day, Mr. Klapchar stated that he tried to purchase more stamp bags off of [Appellant]; however, [Appellant] refused and told him that he “was too much of a liability.”

Ayla Mae Binion testified that she first met [Appellant] in 2016 and began staying at the same residence where he was staying in Saltsburg in early 2017, which she described as a “trap house.” On one occasion i[n] early 2017, while both [she] and [Appellant were] at the residence, Ms. Binion stated that while sitting in the living room, [Appellant’s] cell phone rang, he walked out of the room, and when he returned, he was “upset about the phone call.” Ms. Binion indicated that [Appellant] informed her and the other people in the living room that, “it was a detective looking into a lady’s overdose death from Derry, Pennsylvania.” Ms. Binion stated [Appellant] was “upset” by the phone call and appeared nervous. Further, Ms. Binion testified that after informing the occupants in the living room about who called, [Appellant] also expressed concern that “they were going to charge him with a murder or manslaughter charge of some sort.” Ms. Binion testified [Appellant] informed her that he sold drugs to the victim. During the June 2017 Preliminary Hearing in this matter, Ms. Binion previously stated [Appellant] told her that, “he sold the drugs that killed [the deceased].”

Sarah Kinner, who is employed by the Pennsylvania State Police as a Drug Section Supervisor in the Drug Identification Section and who was admitted as an expert in drug identification, testified that she examined the powder substance contained within the two glassine bags marked as “Head Games” and the residue from the empty stamp bag. Based upon her testing and examination, Ms. Kinner stated that the powder and residue from the stamp bags contained fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.

Devyin Michael Spillar, the son of the deceased, testified that two or three days prior to Christmas of 2016, he went to the

-3- J-S15026-21

residence where [Appellant] was staying and told him to stop selling drugs to his mother. Additionally, Mr. Spillar confirmed his mother’s cell phone number on the record.

Westmoreland County Detective Randall Lee Gardner also testified relative to his involvement with this case. Detective Gardner testified that through his investigation, he prepared a search warrant for the incoming and outgoing phone calls and text messages from the cell phone number provided by Mr. Spillar and subsequently retrieved phone records from Ms. Spillar’s cellphone. See Commonwealth’s Exhibit 9. Detective Gardner testified that upon a review of the incoming and outgoing phone calls and text messages on December 24 and 25, 2016, there were multiple communications between Ms. Spillar’s cellphone number and the number he had associated with [Appellant]. Specifically, on December 24, 2016, Detective Gardner testified that there were twenty-eight communications between Ms. Spillar’s and [Appellant’s] cellphones, beginning at 11:20 a.m. and ending at 5:45 p.m. Additionally, Detective Gardner indicated that there were two text messages between Ms.

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Bluebook (online)
Com. v. Blair, D., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-blair-d-pasuperct-2021.