Com. v. Brooks, J.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 10, 2026
Docket225 EDA 2025
StatusUnpublished
AuthorMcLaughlin

This text of Com. v. Brooks, J. (Com. v. Brooks, J.) 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. Brooks, J., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

J-S38007-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : JAMES BROOKS : : Appellant : No. 225 EDA 2025

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered August 19, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-46-CR-0000390-2023

BEFORE: McLAUGHLIN, J., KING, J., and BENDER, P.J.E.

MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 10, 2026

James Brooks appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed following

his conviction for persons not to possess firearms.1 Brooks challenges the

court’s denial of his motion to suppress and the sufficiency of the evidence.

We affirm.

The trial court accurately summarized the facts at the suppression

hearing as follows:

On November 11, 2022, at approximately 2:11 a.m., Pennsylvania Stale Troopers Reginald Washington and Seth Heffner were on patrol on US Route 422 westbound between the Collegeville and Oaks exits when they observed a vehicle approach from the rear with its high beams illuminated to the extent they were obstructing the troopers’ vision. [N.T. Suppression, 1/29/24, at 10-11, 35-36]. The vehicle subsequently passed the patrol vehicle and the troopers were able to determine that the subject vehicle was traveling 67 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone. [Id. ____________________________________________

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6105(a)(1). J-S38007-25

at 12-13, 36, 39]. Following these observations, the troopers proceeded to effectuate a traffic stop of the subject vehicle. [Id. at 14].

Trooper Washington approached the passenger side of the subject vehicle and observed the vehicle’s sole occupant, later identified as [Brooks], engaging in a great deal of movement which involved moving from side to side and lifting some objects. [Id. at 14-17]. When Trooper Washington made contact with [Brooks], the trooper noted that he was constantly moving[. Id. at 16-17] . . . [W]hen Trooper Washington asked him what he was looking for, [Brooks] responded his identification or his wallet. [Id. at 16]. Trooper Washington also observed that [Brooks’s] pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. [Id. at 17]. Trooper Washington proceeded to instruct [Brooks] to place his hands on the steering wheel in order to calm him down. [Id.].

Trooper Heffner subsequently walked to the front driver’s side window of the subject vehicle and observed [Brooks’s] pants were unzipped, situated around his thighs and the belt had been undone. [Id. at 40, 43]. Trooper Heffner proceeded to look inside the rear driver’s side window and observed a firearm [in plain view] underneath the driver’s seat. [Id. at 44, 64]. Following this observation, Trooper Heffner instructed [Brooks] to exit the vehicle. [Id. at 43- 44] . . . Trooper Heffner subsequently retrieved the firearm from the vehicle, removed the magazine and opened the chamber in order to render the firearm safe. [Id. at 46, 66]. While retrieving the firearm, Trooper Heffner also observed a wallet which was located immediately adjacent to the firearm. [Id. at 46, 65]. [Brooks] eventually consented to Trooper Heffner retrieving his identification from inside the wallet. [Id. at 48].

Trooper Heffner subsequently returned to his vehicle with [Brooks’s] identification and ran an inquiry which revealed that [Brooks] did not possess a license to carry a concealed firearm and had prior felony convictions which did not allow him to possess a firearm. [Id. at 53]. Trooper Heffner also [learned that Brooks’s driver’s license had been suspended. Id. at 51] . . . Trooper Heffner eventually placed [Brooks] under arrest and contacted a towing company in order to remove the subject vehicle from the scene. [Id. at 54].

-2- J-S38007-25

Trial Court Opinion, filed 4/14/25, at 1-2.

The Commonwealth charged Brooks with persons not to possess

firearms and various traffic offenses. Brooks filed a motion to suppress the

firearm obtained from his vehicle during the traffic stop. The court held a

suppression hearing and denied the motion. Brooks proceeded with a jury

trial, at which the jury was hung, and the court declared a mistrial. The

Commonwealth retried Brooks.

At the retrial, Troopers Washington and Heffer testified consistently with

their testimony at the suppression hearing. Trooper Washington additionally

testified that Brooks “related that the firearm was his wife’s and that she had

a license to carry but he did not, and also that she had some other firearms

as well.” N.T. Trial, 5/23/24, at 74. Trooper Washington also testified that

Brooks told him that his vehicle was a rental vehicle in his wife’s name. Id. at

92. Brooks further told Trooper Washington that his pants were undone

because he was returning home to Pottstown after visiting “a girl’s house

around the corner from his grandma’s in Philadelphia[.]” Id. at 96.

Trooper Heffner additionally testified at trial that when he informed

Brooks of the presence of a firearm in his vehicle, Brooks did not seem “upset

or shocked.” Id. at 113, 142. He also stated that, after an investigation, it

was determined that the recovered firearm was originally purchased by a

person who resided in West Virginia. Id. at 127.

The Commonwealth presented evidence that after Brooks’s arrest,

authorities obtained DNA samples from his mouth using buccal swabs.

-3- J-S38007-25

Brooks’s samples and the firearm were then sent to the Pennsylvania State

Police for analysis. There was “an insufficient quality of DNA” on the firearm

so no comparison could be made to the DNA samples obtained from Brooks.

Id. at 166.

The Commonwealth presented the testimony of Cesar Ojeda, an

employee of the rental car company that the subject vehicle was rented from.

The trial court accurately summarized his testimony as follows:

[Ojeda] testified that whenever a rental vehicle is returned, an agency employee will conduct an external inspection of the vehicle in addition to an internal inspection. (Id. at 197- 98). Mr. Ojeda further testified that during the internal inspection, the employee will search for any personal items which the previous renter may have left inside the vehicle. (Id. at 198-199). Mr. Ojeda indicated that in the event any personal items are found, they are returned to the previous renter. (Id. at 199). Following the inspection, the vehicle is washed, vacuumed and locked and parked within the agency’s lot. (Id. at 199-200). The keys for the rental vehicles are placed into a lock box which is only accessible to the agency’s service writers. (Id. at 200). When a vehicle is ready to be rented by another customer, the agency performs an external and internal inspection in the customer’s presence. (Id. at 200-01). In the event any personal items are found during this inspection, they are removed from the vehicle and the service desk contacts the last renter on file regarding the discovery. (Id. at 201 ). Mr. Ojeda testified that if a firearm was discovered during one of these inspections, the agency would contact law enforcement. (Id.).

Trial Ct. Op. at 15-16.

The Commonwealth presented the testimony of Brooks’s ex-wife,

Khadijah Berrios. At time of the incident in question, Berrios was married to

Brooks. The trial court accurately summarized Berrios’s testimony as follows:

-4- J-S38007-25

Ms. Berrios testified that she never owned a gun in her life and [Brooks’s] statement to police regarding the firearm was incorrect. (N.T. Trial by Jury Volume 2, 5/24/24, at 14- 15). Ms.

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Bluebook (online)
Com. v. Brooks, J., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-brooks-j-pasuperct-2026.