Com. v. Ortiz, A.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided July 12, 2017·No. Com. v. Ortiz, A. No. 1590 MDA 2016·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

ALAN ORTIZ,

Appellant No. 1590 MDA 2016

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered August 8, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-06-CR-0005948-2014

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., OTT, J., and STRASSBURGER, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.: FILED JULY 12, 2017

Appellant, Alan Ortiz, appeals from the judgment of sentence of an

aggregate term of 60 to 120 years’ imprisonment, imposed after he was

convicted of three counts each of assault of a law enforcement officer (18

Pa.C.S. § 2702.1(a)), aggravated assault (18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(2)), and

aggravated assault (18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(4)), and one count each of

possessing an instrument of crime (18 Pa.C.S. § 907(1)), and recklessly

endangering another person (18 Pa.C.S. § 2705)). Appellant challenges the

sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions and asserts that his

sentence is manifestly excessive. After careful review, we affirm.

*

Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

The trial court provided the following summary of events that led to

Appellant’s convictions in its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion:

In the case at bar, on November 14, 2014, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Sergeant David Liggett (hereinafter referred to as “Sergeant Liggett”), Officer Charles Federico (hereinafter referred to as “Officer Federico”)[,] and Officer Eric Neimsyk (hereinafter referred to as “Officer Neimsyk”)[,] of the Reading Police Department[,] responded to a disturbance on the 800 block of Walnut Street, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The officers were all in full uniform. Upon arrival at the 800 block of Walnut Street, there were multiple individuals in front of 823 Walnut Street. Appellant was present on scene and was requested to provide identification by Officer Federico and Officer Neimsyk. Appellant responded and stated that he didn’t have his identification. Appellant then ran from the scene and was chased by Sergeant Liggett, Officer Neimsyk[,] and Officer Federico. All three officers were chasing [] Appellant and yelling at him to stop. Sergeant Liggett was the lead officer in the pursuit and, at one point prior to the discharge of Appellant’s firearm, was approximately 10 feet from the Appellant informing him that he would be tased if he did not stop. During the chase, Appellant was in possession of and discharged a revolver one time at the three pursuing police officers. The officers then continued to chase [] Appellant and discharged their firearms at him until Appellant was taken into custody.

Trial Court Opinion (“TCO”), 12/19/16, at 3 (citations to record omitted).

Based on the evidence presented at a jury-trial on July 18-21, 2016,

Appellant was found guilty of the crimes stated supra, and was sentenced by

the court to 60 to 120 years’ incarceration on August 8, 2016. Appellant

filed a timely post-sentence motion requesting reconsideration and

modification of his sentence,1 which was denied by the trial court on

1 The trial court granted Appellant leave by order of court dated August 17, 2016, to file a post-sentence motion nunc pro tunc. See Trial Court Order, (Footnote Continued Next Page)

September 1, 2016. Appellant subsequently filed a timely notice of appeal

on September 26, 2016. On November 28, 2016, Appellant filed a timely,

court-ordered concise statement of errors complained of on appeal in

accordance with Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b).2

Appellant now presents the following issues for our review:

a. Even when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, was the evidence lacking as a matter of law to sustain the convictions for Assault of Law Enforcement Officer (18 Pa.C.S.[] [§] 2702.1(a)), Aggravated Assault (18 Pa.C.S.[] [§] 2702(a)(2)), and Aggravated Assault (18 Pa.C.S.[] [§] 2702(a)(4)), as the evidence demonstrated that one gunshot was fired in the direction of two individuals without any resulting injury?

b. Did the court err at sentencing by failing to consider Appellant’s rehabilitative needs as required by 42 Pa.C.S.[] [§] 9721(b) and by sentencing Appellant to consecutive sentences, effectively a lifetime of incarceration, resulting in a manifestly unreasonable sentence?

Appellant’s Brief at 5.

To begin, we note our standard of review of a challenge to the

sufficiency of the evidence:

In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we must determine whether the evidence admitted at trial, as well as all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in the light

(Footnote Continued)

8/17/16, at 1. Accordingly, Appellant’s post-sentence motion filed on August 26, 2016, was considered timely. 2 Appellant was granted an enlargement of time by the trial court to file his Rule 1925(b) statement, due to a delay with the trial transcripts. See Trial Court Order, 10/24/16, at 1.

most favorable to the verdict winner, are sufficient to support all elements of the offense. Additionally, we may not reweigh the evidence or substitute our own judgment for that of the fact finder. The evidence may be entirely circumstantial as long as it links the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Commonwealth v. Koch, 39 A.3d 996, 1001 (Pa. Super. 2011) (citations

omitted).

Here, Appellant argues that the evidence presented at trial was

insufficient to sustain his convictions of the aforementioned crimes. More

specifically, Appellant avers that to sustain these convictions, “the reviewing

court must be able to find of record evidence demonstrating a specific intent

to harm the three individual officers. The evidence presented [-] a single

gunshot [-] cannot sustain the convictions and must be reversed.”

Appellant’s Brief at 11.

In response to Appellant’s assertion, the trial court stated: “The

holdings of Commonwealth v. Frisbie, 485 A.2d 1098 (Pa. 1984), and

Commonwealth v. Yates, 562 A.2d 908 (Pa. Super. 1989), compel this

[c]ourt to engage in an examination of the specific language contained

within each statute to determine whether [] Appellant’s single act of

discharging his firearm at three uniformed police officers can form the basis

of multiple injuries and offenses.” TCO at 5. The court further opined:

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Com. v. Ortiz, A., (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

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