Com. v. King, D.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 5, 2018
Docket789 WDA 2017
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. King, D. (Com. v. King, 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. King, D., (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

J-S08017-18

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

DAVID M. KING,

Appellant No. 789 WDA 2017

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence entered May 1, 2017, in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Criminal Division, at No(s): CP-11-CR-0000233-2015.

BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY KUNSELMAN, J.: FILED APRIL 5, 2018

David M. King appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed after a

jury convicted him of multiple sex crimes. After careful review, we affirm.

The pertinent facts and procedural history are as follows. On

December 29, 2014, the Commonwealth charged King with 58 crimes arising

out of illegal sex acts that he allegedly perpetrated upon his minor son over

a period of ten years. Prior to trial, King filed multiple motions, including a

motion for a psychological examination of the victim, a motion in limine to

exclude his prior bad acts, and a motion for a change of venue. The trial

court denied the first, denied the second as premature, and denied the third

without prejudice to King’s ability to re-raise it during jury selection.

The trial court denied the Commonwealth’s attempt to supplement its

expert’s report on the eve of trial, and after the parties had already selected

*Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. J-S08017-18

a jury. The Commonwealth filed an interlocutory appeal to this Court, in

which it certified that the trial court’s denial of the motion substantially

handicapped its ability to prosecute King. In an unpublished memorandum

filed on December 13, 2016, this Court affirmed the trial court’s order.

Commonwealth v. D.K., No. 1661 WDA 2015 (Pa. Super. 2016).

At the conclusion of a two-day trial on February 7, 2017, the jury

convicted King of 54 of the 58 charges. On May 1, 2017, the trial court

imposed an aggregate sentence of 55 to 110 years in prison. This timely

appeal follows the denial of King’s post-sentence motion. Both King and the

trial court have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.

King raises the following issues on appeal:

I. Whether the Trial Court erred in entering an illegal and unconstitutional mandatory sentence against [King] in light of the holding in Alleyne v. United States[, 133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013)]?

II. Whether the Trial Court erred in denying [King’s] post-sentence motion that [his] conviction was against the sufficiency of the evidence?

III. Whether the Trial Court erred in denying [King’s] post-sentence motion seeking a new trial on the basis the court erred in permitting the prejudicial testimony of [his] former paramour, in denying [his] request for a change of venue, and for denying [his] request for a mental health evaluation of the alleged victim?

IV. Whether the Trial Court erred in denying [King’s] post-sentence motion requesting a dismissal of his charges per [Pa.R.Crim.P.] 600(a)(2)(a)?

King’s Brief at 8.

-2- J-S08017-18

Because, if meritorious, Appellant’s sufficiency challenge would result

in discharge, we consider it first. Commonwealth v. Toritto, 67 A.3d 29,

33 (Pa. Super. 2013) (en banc). Our standard of review is well settled:

The standard we apply in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is whether viewing all the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, there is sufficient evidence to enable a fact-finder to find every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In applying [the above] test, we may not weigh the evidence and substitute our judgment for the fact-finder. In addition, we note that the facts and circumstances established by the Commonwealth need not preclude every possibility of innocence. Any doubts regarding a defendant’s guilt may be resolved by the fact-finder unless the evidence is so weak and inconclusive that as a matter of law no probability of fact may be drawn from the combined circumstances. The Commonwealth may sustain its burden of proving every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt by means of wholly circumstantial evidence. Moreover, in applying the above test, the entire record must be evaluated and all evidence actually received must be considered. Finally, the [trier] of fact while passing upon the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced, is free to believe all, part or none of the evidence. Commonwealth v. Hansley, 24 A.3d 410, 416 (Pa. Super. 2011) (citations

omitted). “In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, we do not review a

diminished record. Rather, the law is clear that we are required to consider

all the evidence that was actually received, without consideration as to the

admissibility of that evidence or whether the trial court’s evidentiary rulings

are correct.” Commonwealth v. Gray, 867 A.2d 560, 567 (Pa. Super.

2005) (citation omitted).

-3- J-S08017-18

In support of his sufficiency challenge, King does not challenge any

particular element of any crime of which the jury convicted him. Rather, he

argues the following as to all of the offenses:

The Commonwealth failed to present any eye-witnesses to the alleged crimes but for the [victim] himself whose testimony was suspect; the Commonwealth failed to present DNA evidence or medical evidence (but for a medical report indicating that the [victim] had a scar on his back side, yet there was no conclusion as to what caused said scar; the [victim] testified that despite the alleged sexual assaults perpetuated upon him by [King], that he still returned to [King’s] residence after informing his mother of the alleged sexual assaults. [King] respectively avers that the above-particulars caused him to have an unfair trial in violation of his [c]onstitutional rights under both the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions.

King’s Brief at 18-19.

The trial court found no merit to Appellant’s sufficiency challenge:

Regarding the legal sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s evidence, the Court determined that the evidence of record supported the charges, and accordingly, allowed all of the charges to go to the jury for deliberation. [King] is now critical of the Commonwealth’s failure to present any eye- witnesses; however, we believe that the record, as discussed above, indicates the contrary, given both the extensive testimony of [the victim], as well as Ms. Stuller’s observations of [the victim] and [King] naked together in the small shower and in bed. [King] also asserts the absence of DNA or medical evidence; however, the Commonwealth noted the lack of DNA evidence at trial given [the victim’s] delay in disclosure. Relative to the alleged absence of medical evidence, we believe that [King] is simply incorrect, as the Commonwealth presented Dr. Kupchella’s report, which describes [the victim’s] anal scarring.

-4- J-S08017-18

Trial Court Opinion, 6/1/17, at 9. The trial court further noted that King’s

allegation regarding the victim’s decision to return to King’s residence after

informing his mother of the alleged sexual abuse questions the weight

accorded the vicitm’s testimony rather than its sufficiency. See id. at 10.

Our review of the record supports the trial court’s conclusions.

Initially, it is well settled that the testimony of the victim of a sex offense, if

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Related

Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Alleyne v. United States
133 S. Ct. 2151 (Supreme Court, 2013)
Commonwealth v. Harris
884 A.2d 920 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Commonwealth v. Gray
867 A.2d 560 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Commonwealth v. Matis
710 A.2d 12 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1998)
Commonwealth v. Drumheller
808 A.2d 893 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
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Commonwealth v. Boczkowski
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Commonwealth v. Dugger
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Commonwealth v. Dixon
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Blumer v. Ford Motor Co.
20 A.3d 1222 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2011)
Commonwealth v. Houck
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Commonwealth v. Watson
140 A.3d 696 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)
Commonwealth, Aplt. v. Wolfe, M.
140 A.3d 651 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)
Commonwealth v. McGriff
160 A.3d 863 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Monarch
165 A.3d 945 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Hansley
24 A.3d 410 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2011)
Commonwealth v. Toritto
67 A.3d 29 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)

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