Com. v. Copeland, O.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 17, 2018
Docket2244 EDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Copeland, O. (Com. v. Copeland, O.) 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. Copeland, O., (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

J-S76021-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

OMAR COPELAND

Appellant No. 2244 EDA 2016

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence imposed June 10, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No: CP-51-CR-013639-2013

BEFORE: PANELLA, STABILE, and PLATT,* JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY STABILE, J.: FILED APRIL 17, 2018

Appellant, Omar Copeland, appeals from his judgment of sentence in

the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas of 1-2 years’ imprisonment for

persons not to possess firearms.1 Appellant argues that the trial court erred

in denying his pretrial motion to suppress and motion to dismiss his case under

Pa.R.Crim.P. 600. We affirm.

On September 3, 2013, Appellant was arrested and charged with several

weapons offenses. Through counsel, Appellant filed a motion to suppress the

evidence relating to his arrest, including the seizure of a gun that he discarded

while fleeing from Philadelphia Police Officer McAllister. On May 16, 2014, the

____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6105. J-S76021-17

suppression court denied Appellant’s motion to suppress after a hearing.

Subsequently, Appellant waived his right to counsel and demanded a jury trial

(which he had previously waived). In April 2016, after multiple continuances,

the case proceeded to a jury trial on all charges except persons not to possess

firearms, for which the trial court ordered a separate trial. On April 12, 2016,

the court entered a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Trial

immediately began on the charge of persons not to possess firearms. The

parties stipulated that Appellant’s prior criminal convictions prohibited him

from possessing a gun. The jury found Appellant guilty of this charge.

On June 10, 2016, the trial court imposed the sentence of 1-2 years’

imprisonment. On June 16, 2016, the Commonwealth filed a motion for

reconsideration of sentence alleging that the trial court deviated from the

Sentencing Guidelines. On July 1, 2016, Appellant filed a notice of appeal.

On September 13, 2016, the trial court denied the Commonwealth’s motion

for reconsideration. The Commonwealth did not appeal to this Court. Both

Appellant and the trial court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.2

2Technically, Appellant’s appeal was premature, because he filed his notice of appeal while the Commonwealth’s motion for reconsideration awaited a decision. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 720(A)(4). Nevertheless, we will treat Appellant’s appeal as timely under Pa.R.A.P. 905(a)(5), which prescribes: “A notice of appeal filed after the announcement of a determination but before the entry of an appealable order shall be treated as filed after such entry and on the day thereof.”

-2- J-S76021-17

Appellant, who continues to represent himself pro se, failed to include a

Statement of Questions Presented in his brief on appeal. Nevertheless, based

on his argument section, we discern that his brief includes three issues: (1)

whether the trial court erred in denying Appellant’s motion to suppress; (2)

whether the trial court erred in overruling Appellant’s objection to the

testimony of Officer Morales, the first officer to encounter Appellant on the

evening of his arrest; and (3) whether the trial court erred in denying

Appellant’s pretrial motion to dismiss the charges under Rule 600.

We first address whether the trial court properly denied Appellant’s

motion to suppress. Our standard of review for the denial of a suppression

motion is well established:

[The] standard of review in addressing a challenge to a trial court’s denial of a suppression motion is whether the factual findings are supported by the record and whether the legal conclusions drawn from those facts are correct. When reviewing such a ruling by the suppression court, we must consider only the evidence of the prosecution and so much of the evidence of the defense as remains uncontradicted when read in the context of the record . . . Where the record supports the findings of the suppression court, we are bound by those facts and may reverse only if legal conclusions drawn therefrom are in error.

Commonwealth v. Bush, 166 A.3d 1278, 1282 (Pa. Super. 2017). Our

scope of review in suppression matters is limited to the suppression hearing

record, and excludes any evidence elicited at trial. In re L.J., 79 A.3d 1073,

1085 (Pa. 2013).

The trial court summarized the evidence adduced during the

suppression hearing as follows:

-3- J-S76021-17

On direct examination, Officer Morales of the Philadelphia Police . . . testified that he responded to a “person with a gun” call while on duty in the area of 412 Saunders Avenue around 10:30 p.m. on September 3, 2013. The Commonwealth questioned Officer Morales on what brought him to that location. After referring to his notes, Officer Morales testified to the following:

I was responding to “person with a gun” call at that location. I met with a complainant later identified as Anthony DiDonato. And he explained to me that he was walking his dog on his leash. He saw a male in an empty lot. And he approached the male . . . And he was wondering why—he said, What are you doing there? And the male stated to him, get your dog away from me or I’ll . . . blow its head off, pointing a firearm at the dog’s direction. Officer Morales then proceeded to patrol the area and advised the police over radio that the male was possibly armed and dangerous.

Officer Morales testified that while he was not present for the actual stop of the male, he was present when Mr. DiDonato was taken to the location where the male was being held. Officer Morales testified that the location was 3909 Willow Street, only a couple of blocks from the scene of the complaint. Mr. DiDonato was taken to the location within ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes after having originally spoken to Officer Morales. Officer Morales testified that when he got to the location holding the male he saw [Appellant], Omar Copeland. Officer Morales testified that at this location Mr. DiDonato positively identified [Appellant] as the male with the firearm.

On cross-examination, Officer Morales testified that he was the first officer on the scene to respond to the “person with a gun” call. Officer Morales testified that he could not recall whether he was solo at the time, but he believed he was. Officer Morales testified that the descriptive information he received was provided by Mr. DiDonato. Officer Morales testified that he then provided the descriptive information to the police radio. Officer Morales testified that [Appellant] was already in custody with other officers when he first saw [Appellant].

On direct examination, Officer Sean McAllister of the Philadelphia Police . . . testified that he was on duty in the area of 3900 Baring Street around 10:30 p.m. on September 3, 2013. Officer

-4- J-S76021-17

McAllister testified that upon reaching that area[,] he saw [Appellant]. He described that in relation to 412 Saunders Avenue, 3900 Baring Street is just one block away.

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Com. v. Copeland, O., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-copeland-o-pasuperct-2018.