Com. v. Goshorn, J.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 13, 2026
Docket782 MDA 2025
StatusUnpublished
AuthorNeuman

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

Opinion

J-A07033-26

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : JASON M. GOSHORN : : Appellant : No. 782 MDA 2025

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 5, 2025 In the Court of Common Pleas of Perry County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-50-CR-0000302-2024

BEFORE: BOWES, J., DUBOW, J., and NEUMAN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY NEUMAN, J.: FILED: APRIL 13, 2026

Appellant, Jason M. Goshorn, appeals from the judgment of sentence of

10 to 23 months’ incarceration followed by 3 years’ probation, imposed after

he was convicted of, inter alia, Criminal Trespass - Enter Structure, 18 Pa.C.S.

§ 3503(a)(1)(i), and Simple Assault, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(a)(2). We affirm.

The trial court summarized the facts of this case as set forth at trial, as

follows:

In their case-in-chief, the Commonwealth provided the testimony of the victim, and landlord, Bradford Shover, who testified that he owns and operates numerous mobile home parks, including the subject lot rented by Appellant at 43 Bailey Run Street, Newport, Perry County, Pennsylvania. Appellant, along with his wife, Ashely Zellers, owned the trailer, and Mr. Shover owned the lot [on] which it sat. It was typical for Appellant and Ms. Zellers to be late [with] their rent. Further, this was not the first time that Mr. Shover had to initiate proceedings against Appellant for failure to pay their rent[;] in fact, in January of 2024, a full eviction process occurred where Appellant and Ms. Zellers did not leave the property, and after they eventually came up with the proper J-A07033-26

amount of money, Mr. Shover allowed them to move back onto the property.

On May 28, 2024, Mr. Shover filed an eviction action against Appellant and … [Ms.] Zellers, with the Magisterial District Court 41-3-03, and on or about June 10, 2024, a hearing was held before The Honorable Richard Gibney, where judgment was entered in Mr. Shover’s favor in the amount of back rent which equaled $2,463.55. On June 26, 2024, after nonpayment, and no appeal filed by Appellant, Mr. Shover then filed for possession of the property, which was then granted by [Magistrate] Judge Gibney.

… Appellant and [Ms. Zellers] were served with a Notice to Vacate the Property, which had a vacate date of July 8, 2024, by 10:00 a.m., if no payment of the judgment issued on June 10, 2024, was made. On July 8, 2024, Mr. Shover stated that … Appellant and [Ms. Zellers] were still on the property past 10:00 a.m. Mr. Shover testified that he, along with a constable, arrived [at] the property at around 9:30 a.m. on July 8, 2024, and was told by Appellant that [Ms. Zellers] left the property in order to go and retrieve the funds necessary to pay the $2,463.55 judg[]ment by the 10:00 a.m. deadline. Later that morning, after the 10:00 a.m. deadline, Mr. Shover and the [c]onstable arrived back at the subject property [where] they were greeted by Appellant and [Ms. Zellers,] who informed Mr. Shover that they were unable to acquire all the money necessary to pay the judg[]ment. Mr. Shover then left the property, as the constable informed him he would finish up with the eviction process. After such, Mr. Shover never received a call from the constable that the eviction was successful. On July 11, 2024, Mr. Shover returned to the property and found that Appellant and Ms. Zellers were still occupying the property. At this point in time, Mr. Shover called the Pennsylvania State Police who came out to the property, spoke to Appellant and Ms. Zellers, and came up with a resolution. Mr. Shover was to give Appellant and Ms. Zellers another day to leave the property. The next day, on July 12, 2024, Mr. Shover arrived back at the property around 8:00 a.m. [where] he was greeted by Appellant. Mr. Shover told Appellant he had until 4:00 p[.]m[.] that day to collect his belongings and vacate the property[. A]t that point in time, Appellant began to raise his voice and become agitated by using threatening language toward Mr. Shover. Mr. Shover then left the property[] and did not return until July 17, 2024. On July 17, 2024, Mr. Shover went to the property[] and had three (3) Pennsylvania State Troopers with him. While at the property,

-2- J-A07033-26

after unsuccessful attempts at announcing and knocking on the trailer door, Troopers were unable to find Appellant and Ms. Zellers; it was then assumed that they had vacated the property. Subsequently, Mr. Shover arranged with a[n individual named] Skylar Turpin to assist him in changing the locks to the mobile home. Since the front door to the mobile home was locked, Mr. Shover decided to enter the mobile home through a window unit air conditioner that was in place on the side of the residence. [1] While attempting to pull the air conditioner out of the window, Appellant and Ms. Zellers came running towards Mr. Shover, Appellant carrying a sledgehammer, and Ms. Zellers carrying a screwdriver. Mr. Shover stated that he believed he was hit over the head with the sledgehammer, and then later hit in the eye with the screwdriver. Overall, Mr. Shover suffered a broken finger, along with several cuts to the top of his head, stab wounds above his right eye, and a few puncture marks on his back.

Further, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Pennsylvania State Troopers who corroborated Mr. Shover’s retelling[,] in that Troopers were out to the property numerous times before the altercation, and that Appellant was well aware that he was to leave the property. The Troopers had a reasonable belief at the time that Appellant and his wife had left the property as of July 17, 2024, when they attempted to knock on the door of the trailer with no response.

During their case-in-chief, Defense offered the testimony of[]… [Ms.] Zellers, who testified that she was made aware[,] by a camera at their trailer[,] that on July 17, 2024, someone was on the porch of the trailer. Ms. Zellers further testified that due to past experiences of theft and vandalism to their trailer, [she] and Appellant went and stepped onto the property in order to check out what was going on. They returned to their trailer, and became aware of individuals attempting to enter the trailer through the window air conditioning unit. Individuals who just so happened to be Mr. Shover, the owner and possessor of the property. Believing that they had a right to protect their personal property, Ms. Zellers and Appellant attempted to defend their property, causing the injuries to Mr. Shover. Ms. Zellers was under the same impression as Appellant that they were still allowed on the property under the ____________________________________________

1 As discussed infra, Appellant testified he and Ms. Zellers were present in

the trailer when Mr. Shovers was on the porch and discovered the door was locked.

-3- J-A07033-26

“Mobile Home and Landlord Tenant Acts.” Ms. Zellers claimed that they attempted to contact Mr. Shover numerous times in order to pack up and retrieve all of their personal property. Yet, Ms. Zellers acknowledged, and did not refute[,] that the eviction took place on July 8, 202[4].

Appellant himself testified that from the date of the eviction until the July 17, 2024 incident, he was not residing within the trailer, and that he was sleeping at either his mother’s or his friends’ residences. Appellant believed that under the “Mobile Home Act” and/or the “Landlord Tenant Act” that he was allowed to come back to the property to retrieve his personal property. Appellant also acknowledged[,] and did not refute[,] that the eviction date was July 8, 202[4], and that on July 17, 202[4], his physical being was on the property.

Trial Court Opinion (“TCO”), 9/2/25, at 3-7 (internal citations to the record

omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

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