Com. v. Levenberg, F.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 23, 2019
Docket2680 EDA 2018
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Levenberg, F. (Com. v. Levenberg, F.) 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. Levenberg, F., (Pa. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

J-S32040-19

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : FRANK LEVENBERG : : Appellant : No. 2680 EDA 2018

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered December 19, 2017 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0002146-2016

BEFORE: SHOGAN, J., NICHOLS, J., and MURRAY, J.

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED JULY 23, 2019

Frank Levenberg (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence

imposed following revocation of his probation. Upon review, we affirm in part

and vacate in part, and remand to the trial court for re-sentencing.

The trial court detailed the underlying facts:

On January 1, 2016 at approximately 3:15 A.M., [Appellant] approached his ex-wife, [the Victim], outside a bar located in Philadelphia. The Victim had an active Protection from Abuse Order against [Appellant] at the time. The Victim complained that [Appellant] grabbed her by the arm and attempted to pull her away from her then-boyfriend. An altercation ensued before the Victim and her boyfriend fled in a cab. [Appellant] was arrested and charged with contempt for violation of an order or agreement, simple assault, stalking, and harassment.

On August 7, 2017, [Appellant] entered a negotiated no contest plea on the charges of simple assault and stalking by repeatedly committing acts to cause fear, which was accepted by the Honorable Pamela Pryor Dembe. [Appellant] received a sentence of 11½ to 23 months [of] incarceration on the charge of simple assault and 7 years [of] reporting probation on the charge of stalking. All other charges were dropped. [Appellant] was J-S32040-19

released immediately on probation. On August 21, 2017, [Appellant] filed a Motion for Reconsideration. On October 6, 2017, Judge Dembe denied [Appellant’s] Motion for Reconsideration.

On December 19, 2017, a Violation of Probation Hearing was held before Judge Dembe. . . . Erika Levenberg (“E. Levenberg”) [Appellant’s] adult daughter, testified for the Commonwealth. E. Levenberg testified that she received calls through Facebook messenger from [Appellant] in which he ranted that the Victim had better return his possessions “or it won’t end pretty.” She testified that on August 15, 2016, approximately 8 days after [Appellant] entered into the negotiated guilty plea, E. Levenberg discovered sugar in the gas tank of her car. The car E. Levenberg was driving was registered in the name of her mother, [the Victim]. E. Levenberg testified that [Appellant] reached out to her soon thereafter and told her “soon your mom won’t have a car at all” and that [Appellant] did not believe E. Levenberg when she told him that she was the person regularly driving the car. E. Levenberg stated that she spent $270 to drain the gas tank and that she was without a car for two or three days. E. Levenberg testified that two or three days later, [Appellant] called her and told her that he knew where she and her mother lived. E. Levenberg testified that she and her mother moved twice since he was arrested “[j]ust because of harassment. He kept coming breaking my mom[’s] car windows, admitting it but there was not proof for cops to arrest him so we just had to keep moving.” E. Levenberg testified that, to the best of her knowledge, [Appellant] did not know where they lived at the time of the hearing.

Next, the Victim testified. The Victim also testified that sugar was found in the gas tank of the car on August 15, 2016. She testified that the sugar was not present in the gas tank on August 14, 2016 and stated that it looked like a 5-pound bag was used to fill the tank. [The Victim] testified [Appellant] constantly told her previously that “bad things happen in the rain.” [The Victim] testified that [Appellant] had a pattern of damaging her cars when it rained as follows:

Bad things happen in the rain are his words. Every time any vehicle was touched, it was raining. It was raining the 14th [into] the 15th overnight. Didn’t get out and go check the car at three o’clock in the afternoon. You know, go to the gas station, there’s sugar in the gas tank. Automatic bell

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rings off. I’ve had no issues with anybody or anything the whole time [that [Appellant] was incarcerated].

[The Victim] further testified that “none of my stuff has ever been touched before by anybody except for him. I have him on video previously. I’m just tired of it. I want to live my life in peace without any problems from him.” [The Victim] testified that she contacted [Appellant]’s probation officer a few days later in order to report the incident. [The Victim] testified that she does not speak to [Appellant] outside of [c]ourt and never informed [Appellant] where she was living while he was incarcerated.

Next, Defense Counsel highlighted information from [Appellant]’s probation report for the [c]ourt. Defense Counsel stated that [Appellant] was reporting to probation bi-weekly, which is extremely restrictive. He stated that [Appellant] has been taking his medication and tested negative on all of his drug tests.

Next, [Appellant] testified that he was never questioned by the police or arrested for criminal activity related to the incident described by E. Levenberg and [the Victim]. [Appellant] testified that his probation officer was the only person to question him related to this incident. [Appellant] denied coming into contact with an automobile driven by E. Levenberg or [the Victim]. He testified that he was living with a friend at the time this occurred and his roommate did not have a job at the time. [Appellant] stated that he did not want to know from the probation officer on what date the incident occurred but offered to obtain a statement from his roommate that he was at home at the time. [Appellant] testified that E. Levenberg was lying because of [the Victim]. He testified that he and E. Levenberg called each other back and forth on Facebook messenger and talked about property he inherited from his mother that had to be returned. [Appellant] further testified that [the Victim] received $10,000 from fraudulently stating that she was in an accident and told E. Levenberg that the money, along with any possessions purchased with the money, had to be returned. [Appellant] testified that he has a Protection From Abuse Order against [the Victim]. [Appellant] testified that [the Victim] has his mother’s ashes and urn, that his mother is being denied a proper Jewish burial as a result, and that he is still angry at [the Victim] for that.

-3- J-S32040-19

Next, Nicole Miller (“Miller”) testified for [Appellant]. Miller testified that she is [Appellant]’s fiancé and that he has was living with her from sometime in August when he was released from custody until the time of the VOP Hearing. Miller testified that she and [Appellant] do a lot of things together, that [Appellant] is home a lot, and that she has never been suspicious about where he was. Miller testified that she goes with [Appellant] to the doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, and probation office. Miller testified that [Appellant] has been taking his medication.

Next, Probation Officer Shawn Kearse (“Kearse”) of the Adult Probation Mental Health Unit testified. Kearse testified that [Appellant] was compliant with probation. He testified that [Appellant] informed him that he was concerned about his daughter and wife making accusations and that he was going to file a criminal report against them.

The [trial court] found E. Levenberg and the Victim “very credible.” The [c]ourt found [Appellant] in technical violation of parole/probation and imposed a sentence of 2 to 7 years [of] incarceration on the charge of stalking followed by 2 years [of] reporting probation on the charge of simple assault.

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Bluebook (online)
Com. v. Levenberg, F., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-levenberg-f-pasuperct-2019.