Com. v. Lima, E.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 20, 2021
Docket536 MDA 2020
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Lima, E. (Com. v. Lima, E.) 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. Lima, E., (Pa. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

J-S08006-21

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.0.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee Vv. EINSTEIN LIMA Appellant No. 536 MDA 2020

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered November 14, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County Criminal Division at No.: CP-40-CR-0000805-2019

BEFORE: STABILE, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.* MEMORANDUM BY STABILE, J.: FILED MAY 20, 2021

Appellant Einstein Lima appeals from the November 14, 2019 judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County (“trial court”), following his jury convictions for criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment, and simple assault and a bench conviction for summary harassment.! Upon review, we affirm.

The facts and procedural history of this case are undisputed. As

recounted by the trial court:

The charges here arose from events that occurred on the afternoon of November 19, 2018. The victim, thirteen-year-old L.Q., was walking on Charles Street in Wilkes-Barre on her way home from school. She testified that, as she was walking, a man in a black SUV with New York license plates drove by and asked her for her name. When the driver stopped to speak to her, she

“ Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. 118 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 901(a), 2701(a)(3), and 2709(a)(1), respectively. J-S08006-21

was about one car’s length away from him. She didn’t respond and kept walking. She said he then drove around the block, came back on Charles Street, and parked across the street. She turned around, saw it was “the exact same car” and continued walking. She testified that, as she continued walking, he then acted as if he were going into the house across the street but instead came around behind her and grabbed her under her arms. She said that there was no one else on the street and that she was scared that she would not have the strength to fight back. She said that she thought that something bad was going to end up happening to her and that she thought that she might get killed.

After he grabbed her, she said she elbowed him, he let go of her, and she ran directly to her home less than a block away. She described her assailant as a black male with dreads, wearing all dark clothes. She said that he smelled like marijuana and that she also had smelled marijuana coming from the inside of his car during the first contact. In addition, she saw a red hat on the dashboard of the SUV. After arriving at home, she told her stepmother what happened and her father called 911.

Officer James Sheridan of the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department was assigned to a patrol zone in south Wilkes-Barre on the day in question. He was dispatched to Charles Street, a one-way street running south with parking on both sides of the street, in order to meet with L.Q. at her home. Upon arriving at the victim’s home, Officer Sheridan testified that the victim was “shaking,” “very nervous, very scared, [and] very upset.” When Officer Sheridan asked her what happened, she described the incident to him. She said she was walking home from school when a large black SUV with New York license plates passed her and the male driver asked her name. The victim kept walking. The SUV circled around the block and passed her again, this time pulling over. The same driver exited the car and it appeared as if he was going to go into another house. Officer Sheridan testified that the victim told him that the man came up behind her instead and grabbed her under the arms in a “bear hug” type grab. He testified that she said she elbowed the man, causing him to fall, and ran home. Officer Sheridan said that she described the man as a black male with long dreadlocks wearing dark clothes and that he smelled like marijuana. The officer also said that the victim told him she was able to smell the marijuana both on the man’s person and coming from the compartment of the vehicle. Officer Sheridan testified that the victim said she could see a red beanie cap on the SUV's

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dashboard. During Officer Sheridan’s testimony, it was established that the victim weighed 145 pounds and [Appellant] weighed approximately 175 pounds.

After speaking with the victim, Officer Sheridan searched the area. As he proceeded south on Charles Street, he saw a black Chevy SUV with a New York license plate and the engine running near the intersection of Charles and Academy streets. Officer Sheridan activated his lights and when a passenger exited the SUV, he identified himself as police and told him to get back in the car. [Appellant], who was the driver of the car, stepped out of the vehicle and was immediately recognizable to Officer Sheridan as fitting the description the victim had given minutes earlier. The officer described [Appellant] as a black male with long dreadlocks, wearing blue jeans, a light sweater, and a red beanie cap. The officer also said that he could smell marijuana both coming from the driver’s compartment as well as from [Appellant] himself. The officer testified that he had encountered marijuana several times through the routine course of his employment as a police officer.

After detaining [Appellant], Officer Sheridan drove his patrol car back to the victim’s home and returned with her to the scene, asking her to let him know if she saw a vehicle or anything recognizable. The victim immediately identified [Appellant’s] vehicle. Officer Sheridan testified that [Appellant] was in the middle of the road and the victim identified him as her assailant. She testified that, at the time of her identification, [Appellant] was wearing a different shirt than he had been wearing at the time of the incident. Officer Sheridan testified that there were no police cars or police officers around [Appellant’s] vehicle while the victim identified it. The victim testified that there were police cars and/or police officers near the vehicle.

The officer said that he asked if she was sure that she was identifying her assailant and the victim replied, “absolutely.” The victim testified that no one tried to influence her identification of either the vehicle or [Appellant]. Officer Sheridan then returned the victim to her home and asked her to provide a written statement. In her statement, the victim indicated that at the time he grabbed her, the assailant was wearing a black beanie hat and had a gold chain and all black clothes on. She also wrote that when she elbowed her assailant after he grabbed her, he fell.

Officer Sheridan also testified that he searched the SUV and found two golf ball sized bags of what he believed to be marijuana in

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plastic bags in the center console. He found a navy blue winter- type coat that appeared to be black on the passenger seat. Officer Sheridan specifically testified that the navy jacket found on the passenger seat was dark enough that a person could have construed it as being black. [Appellant] was arrested after the identification and search of the vehicle.

[Appellant] testified on his own behalf. He indicated that he had seen the victim walking on Charles Street on the afternoon in question when he was on the way to visit his cousin. As he was driving and on his phone, [Appellant] said he saw L.Q. walking in the street. He testified that he said to her, “Are you crazy, are you looking for a case?” He explained that in New York City, many times people will walk on the street and tell a driver “if you hit me with your car I will sue.” He denied that he ever got out of his car or even stopped it at any point when he was near her.

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Com. v. Lima, E., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-lima-e-pasuperct-2021.