Commonwealth v. Deluca

418 A.2d 669, 275 Pa. Super. 176, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2057
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 15, 1980
Docket2486
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 418 A.2d 669 (Commonwealth v. Deluca) 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. Deluca, 418 A.2d 669, 275 Pa. Super. 176, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2057 (Pa. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

PRICE, Judge:

On March 17, 1977, appellant pleaded guilty to several charges which included burglary, 1 theft, 2 receiving stolen property, 3 and conspiracy, 4 and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of from three to six years. That sentence was immediately suspended and he was placed on probation for five years. On August 13, 1978, appellant was arrested for another burglary and a Gagnon II hearing was held on September 11, 1978. At that hearing, probation was revoked and the original three to six year prison sentence reimposed. Appellant now contends that: (1) procedural deficiencies in the revocation procedure denied him his due *179 process rights; and (2) the hearing court abused its discretion in imposing sentence. As we agree with part of appellant’s argument, we must reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Addressing initially appellant’s second argument, it is quite clear that following our supreme court’s resolution of Commonwealth v. Riggins, 474 Pa. 115, 377 A.2d 140 (1977) and Commonwealth v. Kostka, 475 Pa. 85, 379 A.2d 884 (1977), a trial judge is required to state on the record his reasons for the particular sentence imposed. This mandate applies with equal force to sentencing following the revocation of probation. See Commonwealth v. Cottle, 260 Pa.Super. 85, 393 A.2d 1024 (1978). These articulated reasons should reflect the judge’s consideration not only of those sentencing criteria enumerated in the Sentencing Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 1301 et seq., but also of the circumstances of the offense and the character of the offender. Commonwealth v. Martin, 466 Pa. 118, 351 A.2d 650 (1976). This court has, however, never required a trial judge to list those criteria of the sentencing code seriatim and detail his response to each. Commonwealth v. Doyle, 275 Pa.Super. 373, 418 A.2d 1336 (1979) (Price, J., concurring); Commonwealth v. Wicks, 265 Pa.Super. 305, 401 A.2d 1223 (1979). We insist only that the record indicate the trial judge’s cognizance and consideration of these factors at the time of sentencing.

On the record before us, we conclude that the trial judge adhered to the mandate. After, receiving a summary of appellant’s history in the probation program, his recent violations, and his explanation for those violations, the court noted as follows:

“The Court gave you a break last March, in March of ’77, and the Court placed confidence in you by sending you to the Today Program and putting you on probation which was abused by you and even though you say that it was done under the influence of narcotics, the Court has to protect the public, otherwise, every junky will come in and say I had an overdose, I was under the influence of narcotics or something else, we just can’t have people *180 ravaging our society. We are in the midst of a crime wave right now and the only thing we can do with people in your condition is to incarcerate them so they can’t ravage our society any further.” (N.T. 31-32).

In light of the fact that Judge Cirillo was familiar with appellant from the initial sentencing and pre-sentence report, this indicates a sufficient consideration of the pertinent sentencing factors. We do not, then, believe the sentencing procedure erroneous in this respect.

Appellant argues, however, that even conceding compliance with Riggins and Kostka, the sentence imposed was patently too severe. While it is true that this court and our supreme court have the power and responsibility to vacate a sentence determined to be so manifestly excessive as to constitute too severe a punishment, Commonwealth v. Martin, supra, it is insufficient to simply assert an unduly harsh sentence, the record must show it. See Commonwealth v. Shoemaker, 226 Pa.Super. 203, 313 A.2d 342 (1973). We must constantly recall that when it becomes apparent that the probationary order is not serving the desired end, the court’s discretion in imposing a more appropriate order should not be fettered, Commonwealth v. Kates, 452 Pa. 102, 305 A.2d 701 (1973), and we should not be hasty in constraining the discretion of the trial judge. Instantly, that discretion was exercised in a manner well within the bounds of both reason and legislative limitations.

At the hearing, the court received testimony of appellant’s prior crimes, of the prior five year term of probation imposed upon him, and of his assignment to the Today Program. A requirement of his probation was that he refrain from all drug usage. On August 13, 1978, he was arrested for a burglary and confessed to breaking into a building and taking several tools and CB radios. He also admitted to his probation officer that he had used heroin the evening before the burglary, ánd that the burglary itself was the result of his being nervous. At the hearing, however, appellant testified that he did not remember either committing the burglary, or engaging in any other activities during the evening in *181 question, because he was groggy from medication prescribed following his release from the Today Program.

In these circumstances, we do not believe the sentence unjustified. A court may impose a sentence of total confinement after a revocation of probation if “the conduct of the defendant indicates that it is likely that he will commit another crime if he is not imprisoned . . .” (18 Pa. C.S. § 1371(c)). The court believed that this was probable given the circumstances of the case. In view of the numerous burglary and theft charges to which appellant initially pleaded guilty, it cannot be said that the sentence was unduly harsh, and as it does not exceed any legislative limitation, we do not find it repugnant.

With respect to the alleged procedural errors, appellant first argues that the record does not indicate that he was afforded a Gagnon I hearing. The purpose of that hearing, as detailed in Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973), is to determine whether there is probable cause to believe a parole violation has been committed. In the event that a finding of probable cause is made, a second, more comprehensive (Gagnon II) hearing is required‘to render a final revocation decision.

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Bluebook (online)
418 A.2d 669, 275 Pa. Super. 176, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2057, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-deluca-pasuperct-1980.