Com. v. Santiago, J.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 29, 2017
DocketCom. v. Santiago, J. No. 1459 EDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Santiago, J. (Com. v. Santiago, J.) 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. Santiago, J., (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

J-S18028-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

JOSE ANTONIO SANTIAGO

Appellant No. 1459 EDA 2016

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence dated April 4, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-39-CR-0001744-2015 CP-39-CR-0001949-2015 CP-39-CR-0002374-2009 CP-39-CR-0002522-2009

BEFORE: PANELLA, J., SOLANO, J., and FITZGERALD, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY SOLANO, J.: FILED JUNE 29, 2017

Appellant Jose Antonio Santiago appeals from the judgments of

sentence imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County after he

pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of

alcohol (DUI), aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, and DUI – high rate

of alcohol1 at Docket No. CP-39-CR-0001744-2015, and two counts of

delivery of a controlled substance2 at Docket No. CP-39-CR-0001949-2015.

Appellant also appeals from the judgments of sentence imposed after his

____________________________________________ * Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. 1 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3735(a), 3735.1(a), and 3802(b). 2 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30). J-S18028-17

probation was revoked (as a result of the above charges) in two prior cases,

Docket Nos. CP-39-CR-0002374-2009 and CP-39-CR-0002522-2009. We

affirm.

Factual Background

The following summary is based on the facts provided by the

Commonwealth and admitted by Appellant when he pleaded guilty.

The Charges at Docket No. 1744-2015

At approximately 8:57 p.m. on March 15, 2015, Trooper Eileen Sodano

of the Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem responded to the area of 1791

Airport Road for a hit and run crash involving two pedestrians. When

Trooper Sodano arrived, one pedestrian, Anna Lewis, was deceased. Ms.

Lewis’ body had been severed in two locations: just above the knees and at

mid-torso. The other pedestrian, Rosalie Carlo, was injured and was taken

to the hospital. Ms. Carlo had severely injured her right wrist, and, as a

result, lost the ability to use her right arm. The striking vehicle was not at

the scene of the crash. Police began to canvas the area. N.T., 1/25/16, at

8-9.

At approximately 10:24 p.m., Trooper Chad Burray found a silver 2003

Saab 9-5 parked in front of 1812 Cloverdale Road in Bethlehem. The Saab,

which was unoccupied, was registered to Appellant and had front end

damage. Specifically, the right front bumper light array was damaged, the

front emblem was missing, and the right side windshield had collapsed.

-2- J-S18028-17

Body parts — which ultimately were determined to be from Ms. Lewis’ body

— were found inside the car. N.T., 1/25/16, at 9-10.

About two hours later, at approximately 12:30 a.m. on March 16,

Appellant approached Trooper Robert Griffin at a location near where the car

was found. Appellant identified himself and asked if there had been a crash

on Airport Road. Appellant said he had heard about the accident on a local

television station and said that he did not hit anyone. He also said he had

been coming from an establishment called “Stooges,” where he had

consumed a few alcoholic beverages. Trooper Griffin noticed body matter on

Appellant’s right leg and detained him. N.T., 1/25/16, at 10.

Trooper Michael Everk was called to the scene and arrived at 12:50

a.m. He gave Miranda3 warnings to Appellant and asked him about the

crash. During that conversation, both Trooper Everk and Trooper Griffin

smelled alcohol on Appellant’s person and breath. Appellant was taken into

custody, and keys to the Saab were found in his jacket pocket. N.T.,

1/25/16, at 10-11.

After the troopers obtained a warrant, Appellant’s blood was drawn at

4:17 a.m. on March 16. Appellant’s blood alcohol concentration more than

seven hours after the collision was 0.11, and his blood tested positive for

marijuana. N.T., 1/25/16, at 11.

____________________________________________ 3 See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

-3- J-S18028-17

On March 17, 2015, Lindsey Perkins, who lived at 1812 Cloverdale

Road, went to the police barracks and reported that she had been dating

Appellant. She said that at approximately 8:00 p.m. on the night of the

crash, Appellant called her to say he was coming to her house. He sounded

drunk on the phone and Ms. Perkins told him not to come. Appellant arrived

at Ms. Perkins’ house anyway, and when he did so, he was “demolished.”

He could barely stand up, and he stumbled into her house and passed out on

the couch. When the police were canvassing the area where the Saab was

found, they knocked on Ms. Perkins’ door. She did not answer because she

was afraid, but she kicked Appellant out of her house. That was several

minutes before Appellant approached Trooper Griffin. While Appellant was

at Ms. Perkins house, he did not drink anything. Based on having seen

drunk people before, Ms. Perkins opined that Appellant was intoxicated and

incapable of safe driving. N.T., 1/25/16, at 11-13.

An external camera at an emergency center in the area of the crash

captured the incident. The video shows Ms. Lewis and Ms. Carlo walking on

the shoulder of Airport Road. A number of vehicles passed them without

incident. A silver vehicle then hit both women. Based on the video, an

accident reconstructionist opined that Appellant’s car was traveling at a

speed of 66 miles per hour just before impact. At the time of impact or

shortly thereafter, Appellant’s car was traveling at approximately 72 miles

-4- J-S18028-17

per hour. A tire track mark showed that Appellant’s car drove onto the

gravel shoulder of the road. N.T., 1/25/16, at 13-15.

Blood on Appellant’s jacket and pant leg was tested and determined to

contain Ms. Lewis’ DNA. N.T., 1/25/16, at 15.

An autopsy showed that the cause of Ms. Lewis’ death was being hit by

Appellant’s car. The accident reconstructionist and the coroner opined that

in order to cause traumatic amputation, a body must be struck by a vehicle

going at least 66 miles per hour. N.T., 1/25/16, at 15.

The Charges at Docket No. 1949-2015

These cases involved two drug sales to an undercover drug task force

agent. On December 16, 2014, Appellant sold the agent approximately one

ounce of marijuana for $330. On January 5, 2015, Appellant sold the agent

approximately one ounce of marijuana for $320. N.T., 1/25/16, at 16-17.

Procedural History

On May 21, 2015, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 582, the Commonwealth

provided written notice of its intent to try Appellant for the offenses charged

at Nos. 1744-2015 and 1949-2015 in a single joint trial. Appellant did not

object to the joinder. On January 25, 2016, Appellant pleaded guilty to the

charges on both dockets. The plea agreement provided that the sentences

for the drug charges at No. 1949-2015 would be in the standard sentencing

guidelines range and would run concurrently with each other. There was no

agreement with regard to the sentences for the charges at No. 1744-2015.

-5- J-S18028-17

N.T., 1/25/16, at 2-3. At the plea hearing, Appellant acknowledged that his

guilty pleas would result in violations of his probation at Nos. 2522-2009 and

2374-2009. Id.

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Com. v. Santiago, J., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-santiago-j-pasuperct-2017.