Com. v. Linder, S.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 11, 2020
Docket1180 EDA 2018
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Linder, S. (Com. v. Linder, S.) 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. Linder, S., (Pa. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

J-A19007-19

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : SHRON LINDER : : Appellant : No. 1180 EDA 2018

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered March 5, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-46-CR-0001350-2017, CP-46-CR-0006389-2016

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

MEMORANDUM BY PANELLA, P.J.: FILED FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Shron Linder challenges the judgment of sentence entered in the

Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, following his convictions for

corrupt organizations, attempted burglary, and conspiracy to commit

burglary. On appeal, Linder argues the court erred in denying his pre-trial

motions to suppress and his motion to dismiss pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 600.

He also claims insufficient evidence supported his conviction, and the

Commonwealth withheld exculpatory evidence. After careful review, we

affirm.

Linder was one of five co-conspirators in a sophisticated criminal

enterprise responsible for committing a string of burglaries in Montgomery,

____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. J-A19007-19

Chester, and Delaware counties.1 This large-scale burglary ring targeted

affluent homes, stealing high value and easily transportable items such as

jewelry, designer purses, and cash. The police were able to link Linder and his

confederates to the burglaries through cellular phone records, surveillance

videos, DNA evidence, and stolen property.

The Commonwealth charged Linder and the other members of the

criminal enterprise with several counts of corrupt organizations and conspiracy

to commit burglary. Linder filed pre-trial motions, challenging (a) seizures of

his person following car stops in Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania and Cherry

Hill, New Jersey; (b) a search warrant issued by a Delaware court; (c) an

alleged violation of the speedy trial rule; and (d) an alleged failure to preserve

and disclose exculpatory evidence. The court addressed these motions during

a three-day suppression hearing.

At the suppression hearing, the Commonwealth presented evidence of

the contested car stops. First, Sergeant Peter Benedetti of the Cherry Hill, New

Jersey Police Department testified he responded to an attempted home

invasion and thereafter conducted a search of the neighborhood for suspicious

vehicles. During the canvass, Sergeant Benedetti encountered a parked

vehicle—with its lights off—in a dead-end area of the neighborhood, a quarter

mile from where the attempted burglary occurred. ____________________________________________

1 The other co-conspirators involved in the criminal enterprise were Jerrel Jaynes, Kebbie Ramseur, Ralph Mayrant, and Wasim Shazad. See Affidavit of Probable Cause.

-2- J-A19007-19

As he approached the vehicle, Sergeant Benedetti observed Ralph

Mayrant in the driver’s seat and Linder in the front passenger seat. During the

encounter, neither of the men could explain their presence in the

neighborhood, and so Sergeant Benedetti asked them to step out of the car.

He then ran criminal background checks on the men and discovered that

Linder had an active arrest warrant. Sergeant Benedetti then placed Linder

under arrest. Thereafter, he entered the vehicle and, in plain view, noticed

several high-end watches in the center console and passenger compartments.

Officer Benedetti confiscated the watches and impounded the car.

Next, Officer Francis Rippert of the Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania

Police Department testified he responded to a report of three shadowy figures

in a housing development with flashlights. Following his arrival, he observed

a parked car in the development, with its lights on. Officer Rippert, without

activating his emergency lights, pulled alongside the vehicle.

Officer Rippert testified that he stopped merely to inquire if the

occupants were lost. However, as the encounter continued, the driver, Kebbie

Ramseur, and his passengers, Jerrel Jaynes and Linder, exhibited signs of

nervousness and provided conflicting explanations for being in the

development. Officer Rippert also noticed that Linder had reached down under

the seat in an attempt to remove a police scanner and two-way radios from a

bag. This suspicious activity, coupled with Linder’s refusal to hand over the

bag, led Officer Rippert to believe there might be a weapon inside. He then

had Linder removed from the car, handcuffed, and detained near the vehicle.

-3- J-A19007-19

Following his removal from the car, Linder was frisked by Officer Rippert

for weapons, but none were found on him. The encounter eventually ended

with the arrest of Ramseur and Jaynes for outstanding warrants. Linder on the

other hand was free to leave.

In addition, the suppression court addressed Linder’s claim that the

Delaware search warrants were invalid, as they pertained to crimes committed

outside of Delaware’s jurisdiction. Moreover, Linder disputed that he had any

involvement in the alleged burglaries in Delaware. He also argued, and the

Commonwealth denied, that the criminal complaint was refiled to circumvent

the speedy trial rule.

The court denied Linder’s motions. Immediately after the denial of his

motions, Linder proceeded to a stipulated bench trial in which the

Commonwealth incorporated the affidavits of probable cause for each docket.

On Docket 1350-2017, the court found Linder guilty of one count of corrupt

organizations and five counts of conspiracy to commit burglary.2 On Docket

6389-2016, Linder was found guilty of one count of attempted burglary and

one count of conspiracy to commit burglary.3 The court sentenced Linder to

an aggregate sentence of 8 ½ to 17 years’ imprisonment on both dockets in

addition to restitution. This appeal is now properly before us.

2 See 18 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 911(b)(3), 3502(a)(2), and 903.

3 See 18 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 3502(a)(2), 901(a), and 903.

-4- J-A19007-19

On appeal, Ramseur presents six issues for our review:

1. [Whether] the [] Suppression Court err[ed] in denying [Linder’s] motion to suppress fruits of Delaware search warrants seeking cellular telephone records allegedly associated with [Linder], where the affidavit of probable cause failed to establish a nexus between the phone records sought and the Delaware burglaries investigated [;] those search warrants lacked probable cause that [Linder] was involved in any criminal activity in the state of Delaware, and the Delaware detective lacked jurisdiction to investigate criminal activity in Pennsylvania?

2.[Whether] the [] Trial Court err[ed] in denying [Linder’s] motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 600 for the offenses originally charged in Delaware County where the Commonwealth failed to put forth a good-faith reason for the delay between the initial charging in Delaware County [;] the Commonwealth took no steps to prosecute those charges for a six-month period [;] and where the withdrawal of those charges and refiling in Montgomery County was done for the sole purpose of evading the Commonwealth’s duty to bring [Linder] to trial within 365 days of filing criminal charges?

3.

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