Commonwealth v. Crespo

18 Pa. D. & C.5th 394
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County
DecidedOctober 28, 2010
Docketno. 4611/09
StatusPublished

This text of 18 Pa. D. & C.5th 394 (Commonwealth v. Crespo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Crespo, 18 Pa. D. & C.5th 394 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010).

Opinion

BOCCABELLA, J,

On February 19, 2010, following an omnibus pretrial hearing in the above captioned matter, this court denied the defendant’s motion for suppression of evidence regarding his statement made during initial detention, but granted the motion for suppression of evidence regarding his statement at the hospital,1 and the matter was listed for trial. On March 9, 2010, after a one (1) day bench trial, the defendant was found guilty of two (2) counts of driving under the influence of alcohol2 and accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle or property.3

On April 29, 2010, this court sentenced the defendant, [396]*396Hemy Alcide Crespo, to not less than ninety (90) days nor more than six (6) months incarceration in the Berks County Jail System and a fifteen hundred dollar ($1,500.00) fine for the DUI and a three hundred dollar ($300.00) fine for accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle or property.

On May 5, 2010, the defendant, by and through his counsel, Eric J. Taylor, Esquire, filed a post-sentence motion, which was denied by this court on June 7,2010. On July 2, 2010, the defendant, by and through counsel, filed a notice of appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. On July 9, 2010, this court ordered the defendant as appellant to file a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925. On July 20, 2010, defendant, through his counsel, filed his concise statement. Defendant raises the following issues for appellate review:

1. Whether the evidence was insufficient to establish that sppellant was guilty of driving inder the influence of alcohol or controlled substance, highest rate of alcohol, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(c), because there was insufficient evidence that appellant’s alcohol concentration was . 16 or higher within the requisite two hours after he had driven, operated, or been in actual physical control of the vehicle.
2. Whether the evidence was insufficient to establish that appellant was guilty of accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle or property, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3745(a), because there was no evidence that the car appellant was driving collided with any vehicle or [397]*397other property which was unattended, that this collision resulted in any damage to that property, and/or that the owner of the property was not notified.
3. Whether the suppression court erred by denying appellant’s motion to suppress appellant’s statements in violation of Miranda v. United States, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), and its federal and Pennsylvania progeny, where appellant was in police custody, the police asked questions which were likely to elicit incriminating answers, and where the police did not inform him of his Miranda rights and/or where the commonwealth failed to present any evidence regarding the challenged statements from May 21,2009, the day in question, but rather only presented evidence regarding statements that appellant gave on May 20, 2009.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

On May 21, 2009, at approximately 1:22 a.m. Officer Michael Perkins of the Reading Police Department was on patrol when he was detailed to respond to a hit and run crash on the 400 block of South 5th Street. Upon arriving, Officer Perkins did not see an accident, but saw that there was debris around a tree and a trail of fluids from that tree heading north on South 5th Street. Officer Perkins Stated that he followed the trail of fluids to the intersection of Wood and Bingaman Streets, where he located a blue Ford pickup truck with heavy front-end damage. Officer Perkins said that he found pieces of the vehicle like the bumper, grill, and possibly the undercarriage laying in the street and on the sidewalk. He also observed that the car was leaking fluids and that there was still steam and smoke [398]*398coming from the engine compartment of the vehicle.

Officer Perkins ran the license plate of the truck, which came back to the defendant. Officer Perkins put out a broadcast for possible driver information, and shortly thereafter, Officer Perkins was radioed by Officer James Burkhardt and Officer Eric Suydam in regards to two (2) people detained at the intersection of Riverfront and South 5th Streets. Officer Perkins responded to the radio broadcast and found the defendant, Henry Alcide Crespo, and Melissa Prestash, whom the defendant lives with. Officer Perkins stated that the defendant had several lacerations on his forehead and right side of face, which were still bleeding, along with some blood on his shirt, and that Ms. Prestash had just a few scrapes. He then inspected the interior of the truck, observing that both air bags were deployed and that there was some blood on the driver side air bag, steering wheel, and dashboard. Officer Perkins also stated that there was blood on the center console.

The defendant testified and stated that he and Ms. Prestash were drinking at a bar called Maria’s that night. He stated that he had about seven (7) drinks that night and that Ms. Prestash had about three (3) drinks. He said that he drove in his truck to the bar, but that Ms. Prestash drove after they left. The defendant stated that he didn’t drive since he had a CDL license and that he had drank too much. He stated that they got into a verbal argument while Ms. Prestash was driving. The defendant testified that after she refused to stop the vehicle, that he took his seat belt off and grabbed the steering wheel with his right arm, in an attempt to pull the vehicle over. He stated that [399]*399this caused Ms. Prestash to hit the gas. The defendant testified that he blacked out on impact. He said that he met the police officers after Ms. Prestash flagged them down in order to get help, since he was bleeding heavily. The defendant stated that he left the scene of the accident since nobody was around and that it was dark. He also admitted to stating that he didn’t want to get Ms. Prestash in trouble, in order to protect her, since she is a recovering addict who requires methadone.

Officer Perkins attempted to speak to the defendant, who he found to have a heavy odor of alcohol coming from his person. Officer Perkins attempted to ask the defendant some questions, but after the first question, he said that the defendant replied with some derogatory remarks and was uncooperative. Officer Perkins stated that it was clear to him that the defendant didn’t want to speak to him and was walking towards Ms. Prestash in an attempt to talk to her, when the defendant screamed continuously that he didn’t want to get Ms. Prestash in trouble and that he would take the “rap” for whatever happened. Officer Perkins stated that the defendant was not in handcuffs at the time of the statement and that it was not in response to a question posed to him. Officer Perkins said that he does not believe the defendant was read his Miranda rights and that he was not free to walk away at that point.

Defense counsel stipulated that the defendant appeared highly intoxicated andthathe couldn’t safely drive. Further, both parties stipulated that the defendant was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for his blood to be tested, it was drawn at 3:03 a.m. and it revealed a BAC of 0.259.

[400]*400DISCUSSION

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
18 Pa. D. & C.5th 394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-crespo-pactcomplberks-2010.