Com. v. Smith, L.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided July 15, 2026·No. 3347 EDA 2024·Published·Murray

Opinion

J-A14030-26 2026 PA Super 151

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

LOUIS SMITH :

:

Appellant : No. 3347 EDA 2024

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered November 21, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0006865-2023

BEFORE: DUBOW, J., NICHOLS, J., and MURRAY, J. OPINION BY MURRAY, J.: FILED JULY 15, 2026 Louis Smith (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed following his nonjury convictions of one count each of persons not to possess firearms, possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer’s number, and possession of a controlled substance (PCS).1 Appellant raises a sole challenge to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress physical evidence. After careful review, we affirm.

On June 30, 2023, Philadelphia law enforcement recovered from Appellant a firearm and illegal controlled substances. The Commonwealth subsequently charged Appellant with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (PWID), conspiracy to commit PWID, carrying a firearm

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6105(a)(1), 6110.2(a); 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16).

without a license, carrying a firearm on public streets in Philadelphia, possessing an instrument of crime (PIC), 2 and the above-described offenses. Following a preliminary hearing, a municipal court judge dismissed the charges of PIC, PCS, conspiracy, and PWID, and held the remaining charges for court. The Commonwealth refiled the criminal complaint relative to the dismissed charges and, following a hearing, a common pleas court judge held all charges for court.

On March 7, 2024, Appellant filed a boilerplate omnibus pretrial motion (OPTM) seeking suppression of “physical evidence” and “anything said by [Appellant.]” OPTM, 3/7/24, at 1. Following procedure not relevant to this appeal, the matter proceeded to a suppression hearing on September 4, 2024. See N.T., 9/4/24, at 6-7 (Appellant’s counsel stating the grounds for suppression were that police (1) “lacked reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop, seize, arrest, frisk[,] or search [Appellant,]” and (2) questioned Appellant without first providing Miranda3 warnings).

The trial court summarized the pertinent facts adduced at the suppression hearing:

2 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30); 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 903(c), 6106(a)(1), 6108, 907(a).

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

Special Agent Mike Guillaume [(Officer Guillaume) 4] testified that on June 30, 2023, he was on duty as a Philadelphia Police Officer with the Narcotics Enforcement Team and participated in an investigation at the 1500 block of Market Street in Philadelphia.

N.T., 9/4/24, at 8, 27. At that point, [Officer] Guillame had been with the Philadelphia Police for almost [five] years. Id. at 20.

During his time with the … Narcotics Enforcement Team, [Officer]

Guillaume’s unit averaged [75] cases a year. Id. at 21. [Officer]

Guillaume arrived in the area of 1500 Market Street around 11[:00 a.m.] on June 30, 2023. Id. at 28. [Officer] Guillaume was not familiar with the area, as he was normally assigned to the 22 nd district. Id. at 27-28.5 Around 1[:00 p.m.], a confidential informant (“CI”) was provided [with] pre-recorded “buy” money and instructed to purchase narcotics. Id. at 10-11, 32-33.

[Officer] Guillaume observed the CI approach Appellant, who was with a male (later identified as [Rahmaire] Hayes [(Mr. Hayes)])

and another male who was never identified[ (unknown male)].

Id. at 11-12. Appellant directed the CI to Mr. Hayes by “kind of point[ing] his finger.” Id. at 13. The CI spoke to Mr. Hayes while Appellant spoke to a male later identified as [Risheem] Campbell[ (Mr. Campbell)]. Appellant and Mr. Campbell then returned to the CI and Mr. Hayes. Id. at 12. The CI handed the pre-recorded “buy” money to the unknown male, and Mr. Hayes handed the CI a clear jar. Appellant was standing less than [five] feet from Mr.

Hayes at that time. Id. at 14-15. There was an exchange between Mr. Campbell and the unknown male, which [Officer]

Guillaume believed was U.S. currency. The CI then reported back to officers at a predetermined location. Id. at 12. [Officer]

Guillaume observed these interactions from a distance. He was able to see the men involved, but could not hear their conversations. Id. at 31. Officers searched the CI and recovered one clear jar containing what appeared to be marijuana and $13 in U.S. currency. Id. at 12.

4 Officer Guillaume testified that, on the date of the suppression hearing, he

was employed by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. N.T., 9/4/24, at 20. As Officer Guillaume acted in his capacity as a Philadelphia Police officer at all times relevant to this appeal, we refer to him as such throughout.

5 At the suppression hearing, Officer Guillaume agreed that 1500 Market Street is not a “high crime area.” N.T., 9/4/24, at 21.

Trial Court Opinion, 5/22/25, at 1-2 (citations and punctuation modified; footnotes added).

The trial court summarized Officer Guillaume’s testimony concerning what next transpired:

[Officer] Guillaume, along with [five] other officers, approached Appellant’s group and stopped Appellant, Mr. Hayes, and Mr.

Campbell. N.T., 9/4/24, at 12-13, 16. [Officer] Guillaume approached Appellant and placed his hands on [Appellant] to stop him, at which point Appellant briefly struggled, “[k]ind of like a ‘get off me’ kind of thing.” Id. at 16, 36. Appellant quickly became compliant with [Officer] Guillaume. [Officer] Guillaume placed Appellant in handcuffs, frisked him, … removed the handcuffs to take off Appellant’s backpack[, and then rehandcuffed Appellant]. Id. at 16-17, 37. [Officer] Guillaume informed Appellant that he was going to search his backpack and asked if there was anything in his bag that might hurt [law enforcement]. Appellant informed [Officer Guillaume] that there was a firearm in his bag. [Officer] Guillaume opened the bag and recovered a loaded .38 revolver with an obliterated serial number.

Id. at 17, 37. Also recovered from Appellant’s bag were multiple flip-top containers of an off-white, chalky substance suspected to be crack cocaine, and a Ziplock bag containing what appeared to be marijuana. Id. at 17. After searching the backpack, [Officer]

Guillaume placed Appellant, who was still in handcuffs, in the back of a patrol car. Id. at 38. Drugs and U.S. currency were also recovered from Mr. Hayes and Mr. Campbell. Id. at 24 ([Mr.]

Hayes), 24-25 ([Mr.] Campbell). [Officer] Guillaume testified that, based on his experience and his observations, he believed that Appellant and the other men were working together to sell drugs. Id. at 23. [Officer Guillaume] did not observe any exchanges between Appellant and the other men, any drugs or paraphernalia with them, or Appellant reaching into his backpack prior to the CI’s approach. Id. at 32.

Trial Court Opinion, 5/22/25, at 2-3 (citations and punctuation modified).

At the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the trial court denied Appellant’s motion to suppress the physical evidence, but granted his motion

to suppress his statement to police regarding the firearm. N.T., 9/4/24, at 59-60. The matter immediately proceeded to a bench trial, after which the trial court convicted Appellant of the above-referenced charges. Id. at 74.6 The trial court deferred sentencing for the preparation of a presentence investigation report and a mental health evaluation.

On November 21, 2024, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate 2½ to 5 years in prison. Appellant did not file post-sentence motions. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. Both Appellant and the trial court have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.

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