Com. v. Pone, C.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided March 26, 2021·No. 1439 EDA 2019·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

CLARENCE M. PONE Appellant No. 1439 EDA 2019

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence imposed December 18, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No: CP-51-CR-0011148-2013

BEFORE: STABILE, J., NICHOLS, J., and COLINS, J.* MEMORANDUM BY STABILE, J.: FILED: MARCH 26, 2021 Appellant, Clarence M. Pone (hereinafter, “Appellant” or “Pone”), appeals from the judgment of sentence the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County imposed on December 18, 2018. On appeal, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions for second degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy. Upon review, we affirm.

The relevant factual and procedural background can be summarized as follows. The victim, Thomas Watson, lived above a Häagen-Dazs ice cream store at 242 South Street in Philadelphia. He worked across town as a DJ at the Copabanana Club at 40th and Spruce Streets. At about 2:00 a.m. on May 11, 2013, after finishing work at the Copabanana, the victim texted James

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

Weisbrod, who drove an unlicensed cab in Philadelphia, and asked Weisbrod for a ride. Weisbrod picked up the victim and another man, co-defendant Ronnie Robinson,1 who worked as a security guard at the Copabanana. Weisbrod drove Robinson to an address in North Philadelphia. Weisbrod and the victim then stopped at a restaurant before driving to the victim’s apartment. N.T. Trial 10/10/18, at 94-97.

Weisbrod parked his Lincoln Town Car on American Street and then helped the victim unload his DJ equipment outside his apartment. The victim entered the closed Häagen-Dazs store, through which he had to walk in order to get to his second floor apartment. As Weisbrod was about to leave the area, he noticed that the victim had not moved his DJ equipment, which was still outside in the rain. Concerned, he returned to South Street and opened the door to the Häagen-Dazs store. Appellant blocked Weisbrod’s path and told him, “Get the fuck out of here.” Id. at 98, 101-02. Weisbrod got into his car, but instead of leaving the area, he circled the block and parked his car in front of the Häagen-Dazs store. When he heard two gunshots, Weisbrod got out of his car and walked into the store. As he entered, co-defendant Josephe Murray left the store. Weisbrod saw the victim lying on the ground behind the counter and called 911. Id. at 102-04.

At approximately 3:00 a.m., Philadelphia Police Officers Corson and

Duffy were on patrol when they received a radio call for a robbery in progress

1 Ronnie Robinson is also known as “Lonnie Robinson,” but for purposes of this appeal we shall refer to him only as “Ronnie Robinson”.

at the Häagen-Dazs store. The officers entered the store and discovered the victim’s body behind the ice cream counter. Officer Corson observed wounds to the victim’s chest and head. While on the premises, the officers noticed signs of a struggle and heard a cell phone ringing, but they could not locate the phone. Id. at 75-79; N.T. Trial, 10/11/18, at 25-28.

Philadelphia Police Officer Coleman also heard the radio call for the Häagen-Dazs store robbery and learned that the suspects were last seen running down American Street wearing dark clothing. As he drove north on American Street, he noticed a discarded black hoodie and glove lying on the sidewalk. Officer Coleman covered the items with a heavy paper bag to protect them from the elements and turned them over to a crime scene investigator. Forensic testing later demonstrated that victim’s DNA was on the upper back portion of the hoodie. N.T. Trial, 10/11/18, at 53, 65, 68; N.T. Trial, 10/22/18, at 208.

Police officers reviewed camera footage from inside and outside the Häagen-Dazs store depicting the final moments of the victim’s life. The video showed that one hour before the murder, two vehicles, a Honda and a green Ford Explorer, parked along the 200 block of South Street, where the drivers and occupants waited until Weisbrod and the victim arrived in Weisbrod’s vehicle. As the victim entered the store, two men followed him inside and one produced a large handgun. The victim struggled with the two men, who kicked and beat him with the handgun. The video showed that Weisbrod attempted to enter the store but was stopped by an individual blocking his path. The

victim was then shot. Weisbrod returned to the store, where a man with a bloodstained hoodie ran past him in the doorway and ran down the street. N.T. Trial, 10/11/18, at 159; N.T. Trial, 10/15/18, at 162-63, 168-79.

On May 12, 2013, one day after the shooting, Detective John Harkins recovered a Samsung TracFone (a pre-paid cellphone) from inside the store that had fallen underneath an ice cream machine. The officers submitted an exigent circumstances request for information to T-Mobile and learned that the phone had been shipped to a woman named Carmen Melton, who lived at 5718 Reedland Street. The officers reviewed the call logs to see if they could learn any information about the identities of individuals attempting to contact the phone. One telephone number was associated with a woman named Cheneka Jones, who lived at 5706 Reedland Street. The officers used a search database to determine who else was associated with that address. They saw a photo of Murray and realized that he was one of the individuals in the video camera footage inside the Häagen-Dazs store. Detective Joseph Bamberski assembled a photo array that included Murray’s photograph and showed it to Weisbrod, who positively identified Murray as the individual who had come to the door of the Häagen-Dazs store at the time of the shooting. N.T. Trial, 10/10/18, at 112, 116; N.T. Trial, 10/11/18, at 161-62; N.T. Trial, 10/15/18, at 81-87; N.T. Trial, 10/22/18, at 47.

On May 12, 2013, Detective Theodore Hagan interviewed co-defendant Robinson, the man who rode with victim in Weisbrod’s vehicle. Robinson told

the detective that he had left the Copabanana Club after work with the victim, who dropped him off at his house in North Philadelphia at approximately 2:45 a.m. Robinson also told Detective Hagan that the victim had been in a fight with someone on South Street. N.T. Trial, 10/15/18, at 43, 44, 49, 56.

Meanwhile, detectives continued to examine call records from Murray’s cell phone and learned that he had been in communication sixteen times on the night of the murder with a phone registered to co-defendant Nelson. N.T. Trial, 10/15/18, at 89.

Detective Bamberski prepared warrants to arrest Murray and search his residence at 5706 Reedland Street. On the morning of May 15, 2013, Murray was arrested at his home. Police officers recovered a pair of camouflage shorts that looked like the ones worn by the shooter in the video and proof of residency from the house. Id. at 90-92.

After receiving Miranda2 warnings, Murray gave an inculpatory statement to Detective Bamberski (redacted for trial) in which he admitted shooting and killing the victim.3 Murray explained that he owed a guy $5,000 for marijuana, so he agreed to rob the victim, who was known to have drugs in his apartment. Murray and Pone waited for the victim to arrive at the Häagen-Dazs store. When Weisbrod dropped the victim off at the store,

2 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

3 As discussed infra, Appellant’s trial testimony allowed the Commonwealth to connect all co-defendants to the victim’s murder.

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