Com. v. Kruskie, L.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided January 28, 2021·No. 660 MDA 2020·Unpublished

Opinion

J-S41033-20

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellee : : v. : : LISA MARIE KRUSKIE, : : Appellant : No. 660 MDA 2020

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered April 6, 2020 in the Court of Common Pleas of Snyder County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-55-CR-0000031-2018

BEFORE: KUNSELMAN, J., McLAUGHLIN, J. and STRASSBURGER, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED JANUARY 28, 2021

Lisa Marie Kruskie (Appellant) appeals from her April 6, 2020

judgment of sentence of 28 to 90 days of incarceration followed by one year

of probation for criminal mischief and harassment. We affirm.

In this case, the Commonwealth charged Appellant with criminal

mischief and various summary offenses, based on an October 12, 2017

incident between Appellant and Brian Farrell, who was Appellant’s landlord at

the time. Briefly, Farrell, accompanied by his friend Dorothy Megan

Westveer, had driven a car to the property Appellant rented for the purpose

of serving Appellant with an eviction notice. They encountered Appellant

outside of the property. During the encounter, Appellant punched Farrell in

the groin. After Farrell re-entered the car he had driven to the property,

*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S41033-20

Appellant scraped the driver’s side door with her keys, leaving long

scratches.

At Appellant’s simultaneous jury and bench trial, the Commonwealth

presented the testimony of Farrell, Westveer, a cell phone video of the

incident taken by Westveer, and two photographs depicting the scratch

damage. See Commonwealth’s Exhibits 1-3.

Because Appellant was charged with criminal mischief as a

misdemeanor of the third degree, the Commonwealth was required to prove

that the damage to the vehicle exceeded $500, but was less than $1000. 18

Pa.C.S. § 3304(b) (providing that criminal mischief is graded as a

“misdemeanor of the third degree if [the actor] intentionally or recklessly

causes pecuniary loss in excess of $500” but less than $1,000);

Commonwealth v. Kearney, 225 A.3d 590, 595 (Pa. Super. 2019)

(vacating judgment of sentence because Commonwealth failed to produce

damages evidence sufficient to establish damages between $500 and $1,000

as required to support third-degree misdemeanor criminal mischief

conviction); cf. Commonwealth v. Battiato, 619 A.2d 359, 363 (Pa.

Super. 1993) (holding proof of monetary damage is not required under the

statute to convict a defendant of criminal mischief as a summary offense).

Initially, the Commonwealth sought to introduce evidence of the

damage amount through Farrell’s testimony. Farrell testified that he

obtained an estimate to repair the damage to his car at Keller’s Auto Body.

-2- J-S41033-20

N.T., 1/24/2020, at 30. When shown Commonwealth’s Exhibit 4, Farrell

identified it as the estimate that he had obtained. Id. at 30-31. Ultimately,

Farrell opted not to repair the damage to the car. Id. at 34. When Farrell

testified that Keller’s Auto Body estimated the damage to be $806.66,

Appellant objected on the basis that the estimate lacked authentication

because no one from the auto body shop was present to verify the amount.

Id. The trial court took a half-hour break to research the issue. Upon its

return, the trial court sustained the objection, ruling that the content of the

estimate was hearsay and unauthenticated without someone from the body

shop to testify as to the estimate. Id. at 31-33.

In response, the Commonwealth stated that it planned to present the

testimony of Cody Keller, an employee of the body shop, who had not been

present at trial but was en route to the courthouse. Appellant objected to the

Commonwealth’s calling of Keller, arguing that Keller was not the person

who prepared the estimate. Id. at 38. The trial court declined to rule until

Keller was on the stand, but informed the jury “to disregard any testimony

by [Farrell] regarding any estimates he’s received at this point or any

estimates of – that he may have testified to as far at the amounts.” Id. at

34.

Farrell’s testimony resumed. The Commonwealth asked Farrell without

objection whether he went to Keller’s Auto Body to get an estimate to repair

the damage and whether Commonwealth’s Exhibit 4 was the estimate he

-3- J-S41033-20

received from Keller’s Auto Body, and Farrell responded affirmatively. Id. at

Before Keller took the stand, Appellant again objected to the

Commonwealth’s presentation of Keller. This time Appellant expanded upon

the previous objection, explaining that the written estimate indicated that it

was prepared by someone named Josh.1 Appellant also based the objection

upon Keller’s not being present at the beginning of trial and the delay of trial

for over an hour due to the Commonwealth’s decision to call him as a

witness. The trial court again deferred its ruling until it heard from Keller,

and disagreed with Appellant that the delay was due to the Commonwealth’s

presentation of Keller as opposed to the trial court’s break for research. Id.

at 48-49.

When Keller took the stand, he indicated he was employed by Keller’s

Auto Body, and he prepared and filed estimates as part of his duties. 2 Id. at

50. According to Keller, Keller’s Auto Body retains estimates for

approximately one year as a normal course of its business duties. Id. at 54.

When shown Commonwealth’s Exhibit 4, Keller testified he recognized the

“letterhead and … the estimate itself.” Id. at 51. He confirmed the estimate

1 On the estimate, the name “Josh” is handwritten on the line following the typewritten words “ORDER WRITTEN BY.” Commonwealth’s Exhibit 4.

2 Although the district attorney represented to the trial court that Keller was the president of Keller’s Auto Body, he did not ask Keller to provide his title in his sworn testimony.

-4- J-S41033-20

was on the standard form of Keller’s Auto Body and explained that estimates

typically are not signed until the work is approved. Id. at 54. Keller

interpreted the “numbers and tallies” and abbreviations on the form,

explaining that the total came to $806.66 to remove, paint, and reinstall the

door handle, mirror, and keypad, to repair and paint the front driver’s side

door, and to blend the paint into the rear door. Id. at 53-55. When asked on

cross-examination if the auto body shop still had the estimate on file, Keller

responded, “[p]robably not.” Id. at 54.

Following Keller’s testimony, Appellant objected to the admission of

the Commonwealth’s Exhibit 4 on authentication grounds because Keller did

not personally prepare the estimate, the estimate was not signed, and

Keller’s Auto Body no longer possessed a copy of the 2017 estimate due to

its age. Id. at 56. The trial court overruled the objection, stating that the

estimate was hearsay, but the Commonwealth established the business

records exception to the hearsay rule set forth in Pa.R.E. 803(6) through

Keller’s testimony. Id. at 57. Appellant also objected to admission of the

estimate because it was a copy. After hearing the district attorney’s

argument that the best evidence rule permits copies, the trial court

overruled the objection. Id.

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