Commonwealth v. Cody

584 A.2d 992, 401 Pa. Super. 85, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 4, 1991
Docket00468
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 584 A.2d 992 (Commonwealth v. Cody) 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
Commonwealth v. Cody, 584 A.2d 992, 401 Pa. Super. 85, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4 (Pa. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

HUDOCK, Judge:

This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence imposed upon Appellant after he was found guilty, at the conclusion of a jury trial, of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. Timely filed post-verdict motions were denied by the trial court and Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of five to ten years incarceration. This direct appeal followed.

Appellant’s convictions were the result of an incident that took place on February 13,1987 at the Waffle King Restaurant in the City of Altoona. This restaurant was owned by Appellant, and Sherri Ann Knox (the victim) worked there as a hostess. Prior to closing, the victim was told to go to the basement in order to replenish the cookies used at the restaurant. The victim was followed by the Appellant, who then sexually assaulted her there.

The first claim raised by Appellant is whether the evidence introduced by the Commonwealth was sufficient to prove Appellant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to review this claim, we must accept all evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom, upon which the fact-finder could have based the verdict, in order to determine whether the Commonwealth’s evidence was legally sufficient to support the verdict. Only where the evidence, when so viewed, is insufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as to the crimes charged is relief granted. [89]*89Commonwealth v. Robinson, 351 Pa.Super. 309, 505 A.2d 997 (1986).

In a prosecution for sex offenses, a verdict may rest on the uncorroborated testimony of the victim. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3106; Commonwealth v. Smith, 280 Pa.Super. 222, 421 A.2d 693 (1980). Thus, in the present case, the victim’s testimony alone provided sufficient evidence to establish the crimes, with which Appellant was convicted, beyond a reasonable doubt. The discrepancies alleged by Appellant at trial, as to the victim’s description of the assault, and in prior proceedings and reports of medical personnel, are not significant and cannot be said to render the evidence insufficient. Therefore, this claim is without merit.1

Appellant next claims that he was denied a fair trial when his pre-trial motion to obtain the police reports and statements of all witnesses was denied. More specifically, Appellant claims that he was denied the statement of Sally Schmidt, an alibi witness, whose statement was later used by the Commonwealth during the presentation of its case in chief. While this claim, as stated, has some appeal, a close examination of the record reveals that it is without merit.

In the present case, Appellant filed a notice of an alibi defense and identified several alibi witnesses, including Sally Schmidt. Pa.R.Crim.P., Rule 305(C)(1)(a), 42 Pa.C.S.A. The Commonwealth did not file, as required by rule, the names and addresses of any persons who would be called as witnesses to disprove the alibi defense. Pa.R.Crim.P., Rule 305(C)(1)(c), 42 Pa.C.S.A. At trial, Sally Schmidt was called by the Commonwealth and a request was made that she be declared a hostile witness. This request was granted by the trial court.

Appellant claims that he should have received the statements made by Ms. Schmidt, since she was called by the [90]*90Commonwealth to rebut his alibi defense. Appellant’s alibi was that he was located in the main dining room, having dinner, during the alleged offense. A careful review of the record, however, reveals that the testimony elicited from Ms. Schmidt by the Commonwealth did not rebut Appellant’s alibi. Indeed, Appellant admits that the only reason the Commonwealth called her as of cross was that she gave conflicting statements as to whether she was working on February 14, 1987, the day after the alleged incident. (N.T. at p. 140). Thus, Appellant was not entitled to Ms. Schmidt’s statements pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P., Rule 305(C)(1)(c), supra.

As a related claim, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in qualifying Ms. Schmidt as a hostile witness. We do not agree. The Commonwealth may utilize the prior inconsistent statement of a non-party witness to impeach the credibility of that witness, and also for the substantive value of the prior inconsistent statement, as long as the witness was available for cross-examination by the defense. Commonwealth v. Brady, 510 Pa. 123, 507 A.2d 66 (1986). As in Brady, both the Commonwealth and Appellant questioned Ms. Schmidt as to the validity of her statements, and the jury was given the opportunity to observe her demean- or, hear her explanations for the inconsistency, and assess her credibility. Thus, Appellant’s claim is without merit.

Appellant next claims that the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to present evidence that he failed to report to the police the fact that he was assaulted by David B. Riley, the victim’s boyfriend. Appellant claims that this evidence was irrelevant. We do not agree. Matters relating to the admissibility of evidence are controlled by the trial court’s discretion and an appellate court will not reverse the trial court’s ruling absent a clear abuse of discretion. In Interest of Hyduke, 371 Pa.Super. 380, 538 A.2d 66 (1988). Evidence is admissible in a criminal case if it logically or reasonably tends to prove or disprove a material fact in issue, tends to make such a fact more or less probable, or if it is a basis for or supports a reasonable [91]*91inference or presumption regarding the existence of a material fact. Commonwealth v. Davis, 381 Pa.Super. 483, 554 A.2d 104 (1989). With these standards in mind, we shall review Appellant’s claim.

Mr. Riley testified that he assaulted Appellant and informed him that the basis for the attack was in retaliation for the assault of the victim. The testimony at trial established the following facts regarding the incident: Mr. Riley entered the restaurant and asked Appellant for an application while waiting for an elderly couple to leave the area. After they left, Mr. Riley started to yell at Appellant and “poke him in the face a couple times.” (N.T. at p. 87). Mr. Riley then asked Appellant if “he like[d] messin’ around with young girls like my girlfriend Sherri Knox. (N.T. at p. 88). After denying that he knew what Mr. Riley was talking about, Appellant asked the other man to go with him into his office. Mr. Riley then pushed Appellant, pulled an oak club out from beneath his jacket and hit him four or five times in the head. Appellant then fell to the floor and Mr. Riley left the restaurant. Mr. Riley was neither prosecuted for this assault upon Appellant nor was it ever brought to his attention that a report had been filed as a result of the incident. Appellant testified that he did not know who Mr. Riley was when he was attacked by him. However, that same day, after he was informed that the victim called off work, Appellant testified that he realized the identity of Mr. Riley.

Upon reviewing these facts in the context of the entire record, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing this evidence since it was relevant to Appellant’s knowledge of guilt.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
584 A.2d 992, 401 Pa. Super. 85, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-cody-pasuperct-1991.