Com. v. Lavon, Z.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 1, 2015
Docket620 EDA 2014
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Lavon, Z. (Com. v. Lavon, Z.) 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. Lavon, Z., (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

J-S30034-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

ZAVON LAVON

Appellant No. 620 EDA 2014

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence January 29, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0007006-2011

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., and JENKINS, J.

MEMORANDUM BY JENKINS, J.: FILED JULY 01, 2015

Appellant Zavon Lavon appeals from the judgment of sentence entered

on January 29, 2014, in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

following his jury trial convictions for robbery1 and possession of a small

amount of marijuana.2 We affirm.

On May 26, 2011, when the victim exited a small grocery store,

Appellant offered him marijuana, which the victim declined. N.T.,

6/19/2013, at 17-23; Opinion, 11/7/2014, at 2. Appellant then held a gun

to the side of the victim’s stomach and told the victim to “give [him]

everything that [he] had.” N.T., 6/19/2013, at 24; Opinion, 11/7/2014, at

____________________________________________

1 18 P.S. § 3701(a)(1). 2 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(31). J-S30034-15

2. The victim gave Appellant approximately $675.00. N.T., 6/19/2013, at

19-20, 27. Appellant began to run away, and the victim pursued him. Id.

at 28. As the victim chased Appellant, he called the Philadelphia Police

Department and saw Appellant throw something under a vehicle. N.T.,

6/19/2013, at 28-29; Opinion, 11/7/2014, at 2. Police officers later

retrieved a gun at this location. N.T., 6/19/2013, at 95-96; Opinion,

11/7/2014, at 2.

Philadelphia police officers arrived and chased Appellant. Opinion,

11/7/2014, at 2. Two police officers testified that they saw Appellant throw

a large amount of money on the sidewalk. N.T., 6/19/2013, at 90; N.T.,

6/20/2013, at 48.3 The officers apprehended Appellant and placed him

under arrest. N.T., 6/19/2013, at 93-95; N.T., 6/20/2013, at 49; Opinion,

11/7/2014, at 3. The victim’s money was not recovered. N.T., 6/19/2013,

at 93; N.T., 6/20/2013, at 49; Opinion, 11/7/2014, at 3.

On June 24, 2013, a jury found Appellant guilty of possession of a

small amount of marijuana and robbery. N.T., 6/24/2013, at 4.4 On ____________________________________________

3 The trial court opinion stated that one officer observed Appellant throw money. Opinion, 11/7/2014, at 2. At trial, however, both officers testified that they observed Appellant throw money. N.T., 6/19/2013, at 90; N.T., 6/20/2013, at 48. 4 The jury found Appellant not guilty of firearms not to be carried without a license, carrying a firearm on public streets or public property in Philadelphia, and altering or obliterating marks of identification. 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 6106(a)(1); 6108; 6117(a), respectively.

-2- J-S30034-15

January 29, 2014, the trial court sentenced Appellant to four-to-ten years’

incarceration for robbery. Appellant received no further penalty for the

possession charge.

On February 12, 2014, Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. Both

Appellant and the trial court complied with Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate

Procedure 1925.5

Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:

1. Did not the court err by allowing the detective to testify indirectly regarding [Appellant’s] discharged robbery cases in rebuttal of proposed defense testimony of good reputation for peacefulness causing the defense not to adduce evidence of his good character?

2. Did not the court err by disallowing impeachment of the complainant with his prior conviction for conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance?

Appellant’s Brief at 2.

Appellant’s issues challenge the trial court’s evidentiary rulings. The

admissibility of evidence is a matter solely within the discretion of the trial

court, and we will reverse an evidentiary ruling only if an abuse of discretion

has occurred. Commonwealth v. Nypaver, 69 A.3d 708, 716

(Pa.Super.2013) (quoting Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 39 A.3d 406

5 With his Rule 1925(b) statement, Appellant filed a motion for an extension of time to file an amended Rule 1925(b) statement. The trial court granted the motion. Counsel subsequently informed the court he would not file an amended statement.

-3- J-S30034-15

(Pa.Super.2012)). “An abuse of discretion may not be found merely

because an appellate court might have reached a different conclusion, but

requires a result of manifest unreasonableness, or partiality, prejudice, bias,

or ill-will, or such lack of support so as to be clearly erroneous.”

Commonwealth v. Dillon, 925 A.2d 131, 136 (Pa.2007) (quoting Grady v.

Frito–Lay, Inc., 839 A.2d 1038, 1046 (Pa.2003)).

Appellant’s first issue maintains the trial court erred when it ruled that

if Appellant introduced evidence of his reputation for peacefulness, then “a

detective could testify that [Appellant] had a bad reputation for peacefulness

based on [the detective’s] conversations with [two] putative robbery

complainants from cases that had been dismissed.” Appellant’s Brief at 8.

Appellant claims this error caused him to not present evidence of his good

character. Id. at 6-7. Appellant concludes two alleged robbery victims are

not a “community” and the trial court’s ruling would have permitted the

Commonwealth to indirectly introduce evidence of Appellant’s alleged prior

bad acts to show he acted in accordance therewith. Id. at 11-12.

The Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence provides:

(a) By Reputation. When evidence of a person’s character or character trait is admissible, it may be proved by testimony about the person’s reputation. Testimony about the witness’s opinion as to the character or character trait of the person is not admissible.

(1) On cross-examination of the character witness, the court may allow an inquiry into relevant specific instances of the person’s conduct probative of the character trait in question.

-4- J-S30034-15

(2) In a criminal case, on cross-examination of a character witness, inquiry into allegations of other criminal conduct by the defendant, not resulting in conviction, is not permissible.

Pa.R.Evid. 405(a). If a defendant offers evidence of his good reputation, the

Commonwealth is permitted to offer evidence of his bad reputation on

rebuttal. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 615 A.2d 1322, 1331

(Pa.Super.1992). Reputation testimony “must relate to a period at or about

the time the offense was committed, and must be established by testimony

of witnesses as to the community opinion of the individual in question, not

through specific acts or mere rumor.” Commonwealth v. Johnson, 27

A.3d 244, 248 (Pa.Super.2011) (quoting Commonwealth v. Luther, 463

A.2d 1073, 1077–78 (1983)) (emphasis deleted). Further, pursuant to Rule

404(b), which governs the admission of crimes, wrongs, and other acts:

“Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a

person’s character in order to show that on a particular occasion the person

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Commonwealth v. Petrakovich
329 A.2d 844 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Commonwealth v. Smith
467 A.2d 1120 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Commonwealth v. Lewis
885 A.2d 51 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Grady v. Frito-Lay, Inc.
839 A.2d 1038 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Commonwealth v. Dillon
925 A.2d 131 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Commonwealth v. Johnson
615 A.2d 1322 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Commonwealth v. Mullins
665 A.2d 1275 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Commonwealth v. Bozyk
987 A.2d 753 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)
Commonwealth v. Johnson
27 A.3d 244 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2011)
Commonwealth v. Hernandez
862 A.2d 647 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2004)
Commonwealth v. Luther
463 A.2d 1073 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Commonwealth v. Trignani
483 A.2d 862 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)
Commonwealth v. Story
383 A.2d 155 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth v. Noel, H., Aplt.
104 A.3d 1156 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Commonwealth v. Hernandez
39 A.3d 406 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
Commonwealth v. Nypaver
69 A.3d 708 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Com. v. Lavon, Z., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-lavon-z-pasuperct-2015.