Com. v. Thomas, J.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided August 2, 2019·No. 1531 MDA 2018·Unpublished

Opinion

J-S33013-19

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : JAMES FLEETRO THOMAS : : Appellant : No. 1531 MDA 2018

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 20, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-36-CR-0000599-2017

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : JAMES FLEETRO THOMAS : : Appellant : No. 1532 MDA 2018

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 20, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-36-CR-0000600-2017

BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., OTT, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED AUGUST 02, 2019

James Fleetro Thomas appeals from the judgments of sentence, entered

in the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County, after a jury convicted him

of one count each of burglary1 and recklessly endangering another person2

____________________________________________

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3502(a)(1)(ii). J-S33013-19

(REAP), and three counts of receiving stolen property3 (RSP).4 Upon careful

review, we affirm in part and vacate in part.

On January 17, 2017, Kennith Cauler awoke at his home, 15 Susquaw

Place, to discover his back door open, his drawers rifled through, and his blue

Subaru Forester (“the Subaru”) missing. Cauler reported to the police an

Xbox, an Xbox controller, an antique glass bowl with change, an iPad, and an

iPhone 6 had been taken from his house, and a Gibson guitar and an iPhone

4 were inside the stolen Subaru.

The Manheim Township Police Department suspected Thomas’

involvement with the break-in at 15 Susquaw Place and sent detectives to

surveil 1343 Glen Moore Circle, which they believed to be Thomas’ residence.5 ____________________________________________

2 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2705.

3 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3925(a).

4 Thomas’ trial encompassed charges filed under docket numbers CP-36-CR- 0000599-2017 and CP-36-CR-0000600. In addition to the five above mentioned convictions, the jury found Thomas not guilty of one count of burglary under docket number CP-36-CR-0000600. Thomas also pleaded guilty to burglary, theft, and criminal mischief under docket number CP-36- CR-0001651-2017, for a negotiated sentence of two to five years’ incarceration running concurrent to the sentences imposed on the two above- mentioned docket numbers.

5 The trial testimony, the parties’ briefs, and the trial court’s opinions all fail to mention why Thomas was a suspect or why 1343 Glen Moore Circle was under surveillance. It appears Manheim Township Detectives Brent Shultz and Brian Freysz were investigating a series of local thefts, and noticed similarities to a series of thefts in 2014 for which the two detectives had arrested Thomas. See Affidavit of Probable Cause, 1/18/17, at 5. A records search revealed Thomas was, at the time, under the supervision of Lancaster

-2- J-S33013-19

On January 18, 2017, around 1:00 a.m., Detective Steven Newman observed

a blue Subaru park in front of 1343 Glen Moore Circle, and watched as Thomas

exited the car, opened the back of the vehicle, and took a large flat-screen

television into the house. The detectives then determined from the license

plate that the Subaru was the car stolen from 15 Susquaw Place the previous

day. Thomas got back in the Subaru and headed west on Fruitville Pike.

Shortly thereafter, an officer attempted to pull Thomas over. Instead

of stopping, Thomas slowed down, leapt from the Subaru, and fled on foot.

Meanwhile, the Subaru rolled down Fruitville Pike, heading toward the lanes

designated for oncoming traffic. Detective Newman pursued Thomas on foot

and eventually took him into custody. Officer John Donnelly ran the Subaru

down on foot, managing to jump into the moving vehicle and put it in park

after it had rolled approximately fifty feet.

Following Thomas’ arrest in the early morning of January 18, 2017,

Officers searched the Subaru and found an iPhone charger belonging to

Cauler, as well as a purse and checkbook belonging to Lynn Niehaus. Soon

after, officers executed a search warrant on 1343 Glen Moore Circle,

discovering two iPhones and an iPad belonging to Cauler. The officers also

discovered a flat-screen television, a laptop computer, and a key fob.

County Adult Probation, and in a relationship with a woman living at 1343 Glen Moore Circle. Id. Three detectives then proceeded to surveil the property in the early morning of January 18, 2017. Id.

-3- J-S33013-19

At 5:10 a.m. that same day, Adam Fry awoke at his 103 Red Oak Road

home, along with Niehaus, his girlfriend. Fry noticed the back door was open,

and his flat-screen television, his laptop, two sets of car keys, and Niehaus’

iPad were missing. Niehaus discovered her purse, which contained makeup,

a laser measure, a tape measure, and a checkbook, was missing. These items

were all discovered in Thomas’ possession following searches of his person,

the stolen Subaru, and 1343 Glen Moore Circle. Prior to trial, the parties

stipulated that no fingerprint, DNA, or trace evidence linked Thomas to the

crimes committed at 103 Red Oak Road or 15 Susquaw Place, and that there

were no witnesses that could link him with either location.

On March 13, 2018, following a two day trial before the Honorable

Donald R. Totaro, the jury rendered the following verdict: on docket number

CP-36-CR-0000599-2017,6 guilty of one count of burglary and one count of

RSP; on docket number CP-36-CR-0000600-2017,7 guilty of two counts of

receiving stolen property and one count of REAP, and not guilty of burglary.

On June 20, 2018, the court sentenced Thomas as follows: ten to twenty

years’ incarceration for burglary, with RSP merging for sentencing purposes

on docket number CP-36-CR-0000599-2017; and three to seven years’

incarceration for both counts of RSP and one to two years’ incarceration for

6The Commonwealth prosecuted charges connected to events at 103 Red Oak Road under docket number CP-36-CR-0000599-2017.

7 The Commonwealth prosecuted charges connected to events at 15 Susquaw Place under docket number CP-36-CR-0000600-2017.

-4- J-S33013-19

REAP, set to run concurrently on docket number CP-36-CR-0000600-2017,

but consecutively to Thomas’ sentence for burglary on docket number CP-36-

CR-0000599-2017.

On June 27, 2018, Thomas filed post-sentence motions challenging the

sufficiency of the evidence, which the court denied on August 17, 2018.

Thomas timely filed notices of appeal,8 followed by a court-ordered concise

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

He raises the following issues for our review:

1) Was the evidence presented by the Commonwealth insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [] Thomas committed [the] burglary of 103 Red Oak Road, where there was no evidence that [] Thomas entered 103 Red Oak Road?

2) Was the evidence presented by the Commonwealth insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [] Thomas received more than $2000 in stolen property from 15 Susquaw Place; thus, on [docket number CP-36-CR-0000600-2017], should [Thomas] have been convicted of receiving stolen property graded as a first[-]degree misdemeanor?

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