Com. v. Melograna, F.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 9, 2015
Docket3170 EDA 2014
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Melograna, F. (Com. v. Melograna, 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. Melograna, F., (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

J-A24022-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

FRANK DAVID MELOGRANA, JR.

Appellant No. 3170 EDA 2014

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence of October 20, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Criminal Division at No.: CP-46-CR-0005737-2013

BEFORE: PANELLA, J., WECHT, J., and STRASSBURGER, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY WECHT, J.: FILED NOVEMBER 09, 2015

Frank Melograna, Jr. appeals the October 20, 2014 judgment of

sentence, which the trial court imposed following Melograna’s conviction of

driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”), 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(2).

Herein, Melograna challenges, inter alia, the trial court’s denial of his pre-

trial suppression motion, as well as the sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s

evidence against him. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the

judgment of sentence.

The trial court has summarized the factual history of this case as

follows:

On April 16, 2013, Officer William Lion (“Officer Lion”) of the Upper Dublin Police Department was on duty, in full uniform, ____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-A24022-15

driving a marked patrol car. At approximately 12:51 P.M., Officer Lion observed a Ford pick-up truck, operated by [Melograna], stopped in the middle of a two-lane public roadway on Susquehanna Road in Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Although the truck was stopped, the truck was not disabled. The truck’s brake lights were on, which indicated that [Melograna’s] foot was on the brake and the truck was still running with the key in the ignition. As Officer Lion approached the driver[’s] side of the vehicle, he observed a semiconscious [Melograna] shaking in a manner similar to a seizure with his eyes open. [Melograna] was unresponsive to Officer Lion’s questions. Because [Melograna] appeared incapable of turning off his truck, Officer Lion attempted to turn off the truck but was dragged backwards when the truck began rolling in reverse. Officer Lion eventually managed to employ the emergency brakes and turn off the vehicle.

Officer Lion requested Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) to aid [Melograna]. Officer Lion monitored [Melograna] until EMS arrived at the scene. When EMS transported [Melograna] inside the ambulance, Officer Lion noticed three prescription medication bottles inside [Melograna’s] car in plain view. Officer Lion inspected the medication bottles. The medication labels listed the three prescription bottles as: (1) Soma; (2) Percocet (trade name Oxycodone and Acetaminophen); and (3) Alprazolam (trade name Xanax). Officer Lion noticed that [Melograna’s] Percocet prescription for 120 pills was filled on April 1, 2013, fifteen days prior, but the bottle only contained 1.5 pills. Upon Officer Lion’s inspection of the Alprazolam prescription, he noticed that the bottle contained two differently colored pills. Although [Melograna] was not placed under arrest at the scene, Officer Lion followed [Melograna] to Abington Hospital for the purpose of administering a blood test based on his belief that [Melograna] was driving under the influence of the three prescribed medications to a degree which rendered [Melograna] incapable of safe driving.

[Melograna] arrived at Abington Hospital via EMS at approximately 1:32 P.M. Officer Lion noticed that [Melograna] was now able to respond to the hospital staff’s questions. However, his responses were delayed, mumbled and unclear. Officer Lion read the O’Connell Warnings1 to [Melograna], who nodded his head in a manner that Officer Lion deemed as his consent to undergo a chemical blood test. [Melograna] never signed the DL-26 Implied Consent Form. Officer Lion indicated

-2- J-A24022-15

that [Melograna] was “unable to sign the form due to the fact that [Melograna] was shaking.” [Melograna’s] medical report evidences that at about 1:50 P.M., [Melograna’s] blood was drawn by a hospital technician at the direction and request of Officer Lion. At about 1:54 P.M., [Melograna’s] medical report shows that [Melograna] was cognizant enough to respond to the medical staff’s questions by providing them with accurate and coherent information regarding his name and birthdate. [Melograna] was later charged with [DUI]. 1 The phrase “O’Connell Warnings” means the officer must specifically inform a motorist that his driving privileges will be suspended for one year if he refuses chemical testing and that the rights provided by the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), do not apply to chemical testing. See Commonwealth, Dept. of Transp., Bureau of Traffic Safety v. O’Connell, 555 A.2d 873, 877-78 (Pa. 1989); see also Commonwealth, Dept. of Transp. v. Ingram, 648 A.2d 285, 290 (Pa. 1994); Commonwealth, Dept. of Transp. v. Scott, 684 A.2d 539, 540-41 (Pa. 1996).

Trial Court Opinion (“T.C.O.”), 1/22/2015, at 1-3 (some citations modified).

The blood tests revealed the presence of the prescription medications in

higher than expected amounts in Melograna’s bloodstream.

Prior to trial, Melograna filed a motion seeking, inter alia, the

suppression of the evidence resulting from what Melograna contended was

an unconstitutional blood draw. On July 1, 2014, following a suppression

hearing, the trial court denied the motion. On September 3, 2014, following

a bench trial, the trial court convicted Melograna of DUI. On October 20,

2014, the trial court sentenced Melograna to seven days to six months in

jail.

Thereafter, Melograna filed a notice of appeal, prompting the trial

court to issue an order directing Melograna to file a concise statement of

-3- J-A24022-15

errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). On

November 24, 2014, Melograna timely complied with the court’s directive.

On January 22, 2015, the trial court issued an opinion pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.

1925(a).

Melograna raises the following three questions for our review:

I. Whether the trial court erred in denying [Melograna’s] motion to suppress where police drew [Melograna’s] blood, in contravention to the dictates of the Constitutions of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without [Melograna’s] consent, without obtaining a warrant, and without exigent circumstances?

II. Whether the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove [Melograna] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt where the substances found in [Melograna’s] blood were medications prescribed to him at stable, chronic doses and the forensic toxicologist for the Commonwealth’s witnesses testified only that there was a possibility that [Melograna] was unable to safely drive, operate, or be in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle?

III. Whether 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(2) is unconstitutionally void for vagueness as it criminalizes the taking of prescribed medication in the manner in which they were prescribed?

Brief for Melograna at 4 (some capitalization and punctuation altered for

consistency and clarity).

In his first issue, Melograna challenges the trial court’s denial of his

suppression motion. Our standard of review for such claims is as follows:

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