Commonwealth v. Duck

171 A.3d 830
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 29, 2017
Docket410 WDA 2017
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 171 A.3d 830 (Commonwealth v. Duck) 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. Duck, 171 A.3d 830 (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

*832 OPINION BY

STEVENS, P.J.E.:

This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of McKean County following Appellant’s conviction by a jury on the charge of simple assault. (M-2), 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2701(a)(1). After a careful review, we affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follow: Appellant, who' is thirty-eight years old, was arrested in connection with the assault of his eighteen-year-old nephew, Isaac Duck (“the victim”). On December 5, 2016, Appellant, who was represented by counsel, proceeded to a jury trial. At the trial, the victim testified that, on July 8, 2016, Appellant was at the victim’s house, and they began to argue. N.T., jury, 12/5/16, at 9. During the -argument, the victim retreated to his bedroom and sat on his bed; however, Appellant came into the room and continued arguing with the .victim. Id. at 10-12. At some point, Appellant left the bedroom and went downstairs, and the victim also went downstairs to get a drink, at which-point the argument continued. Id. at 12. Suddenly, without the victim hitting or swinging at Appellant, Appellant pushed the victim “really hard,” resulting in the victim “smashing” the back of his head on a door frame and falling to the ground. Id. at 13-14 "

The victim testified that, as a result of his head hitting the door frame, his head was bleeding “a lot,” he was disoriented, and he felt dizzy. Id. at 14, 24. He also sustained a laceration to his arm as a result of being pushed by Appellant. Id. at 18. He described the pain as a “five, six” bn a scale of one to ten with ten being the highest. Id,

The victim indicated that, at this point, his little brother, Zachary Duck (“Zachary”), tackled Appellant and wrestled with him on the floor. Id. Meanwhile, someone called 911 and the victim, who testified that he was scared, went outside while awaiting the police. Id. at 16-17.

On cross-examination, the victim noted that he’ is “skinny,”’ weighing only 130 pounds. Id. at 23, On re-direct examination, the victim noted that, after Appellant shoved him and he fell’ to the ground, Appellant stood over him and did not try to help him. Id. at 24.

Zachary testified that, on July 8, 2016, he was playing games on the computer in the dining room when he heard Appellant and the victim arguing. Id. at 28. He testified that, during the argument, the victim said “F-U” ' to Appellant, and Appellant . “picked [the victim] up and slammed him to the floor.” Id. Zachary described the incident as a “choke slam.” Id. at 29. As Appellant stood over the victim, Zachary, who was concerned that Appellant “was going tó do more to [the victim],” tackled him and wrestled with him, resulting in Zachary’s eyeglasses breaking. Id.

Zachary indicated that, as he was wrestling with Appellant, his grandfather, who is Appellant’s father, intervened, saying, “What the heck’s going on?” Id. at 29, 39. Zachary indicated his grandfather “didn’t now anything else [had] happened.” Id. at 29. After Zachary’s grandfather mentioned someone needed to leave or he would eall the cops, Appellant said, “Don’t call the cops.” Id. at 30, Zachary testified Appellant also said, “If a cop comes in here, I’m going to kill them[.]” Id. at 31.

Zachary testified that he believes Appellant then went into the kitchen and returned with a knife; however, he admitted that he could not see well because his eyeglasses' were broken. Id. In any event, he called 911, and he went outside because he was’ scared. Id. at 31-33. Zachary testified that he suffered scrapes and bruises from Appellant’s fingers, and he was “pret *833 ty upset'’ about the victim getting “hurt like that.” Id. at 32.

On cross-examination, Zachary clarified that, during the argument, Appellant “just got up, went around [Zachary],,, .picked [the victim] up, [and] slammed him to the floor.” Id. at 35. Zachary explained that Appellant actually lifted the victim off the ground by placing one hand around the victim’s neck and the other hand on the victim’s back. Id. He described the incident as “more than just a shove.” Id. at 36. Rather, he observed Appellant “physically hoist[ ] [the victim] in the air and slam[ ] him.” Id. Zachary admitted that, after he and the victim went outside, Appellant did not come outside until the police arrived. Id. at 39-40.

Robynn Duck (“Ms. Duck”) testified that she is the victim’s mother, Appellant is her brother, and she was upstairs on July 8, 2016, when she “heard [a] crash.” Id. at 43. Ms. Duck testified she ran downstairs and observed Zachary, who was crying, on the telephone. Id. at 44. She noticed the next day that the victim had a gash on the back of his head and a scratch on his arm. Id. at 45, 48. She testified the injuries were visible for a’week or two after the incident. Id. at 46.

Police Officer Benjamin Lobdell testified that, on July 8, 2016, he was dispatched to the residence at issue for “a domestic in progress with weapons involved.” Id. at 49. He arrived at the residence within one minute of receiving the call and found family members outside of the residence. Id. at 50. The family was distraught, informed him of the assault, and told him that Appellant was still inside of the house. Id. The family informed the officer that Appellant had a knife and was threatening to hurt any law enforcement official who entered the home. Id.

At this point, Appellant exited the house without a weapon and was arrested. Id. 'at 51. Upon entering the residence, Officer Lobdell did not observe any weapons in plain view. Id. at 59. Officer Lobdell testified that he transported Appellant to the police station, and Appellant reported that he had been assaulted by the victim and Zachary., Id. at 60. Officer Lobdell described Appellant as compliant from beginning to end. Id. at 61. Officer Lobdell testified that Appellant weighs approximately 180 pounds and is six feet two inches tall. Id. at 63.

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury convicted Appellant of á single count of simple assault (M-2) as to the victim. Sentencing was scheduled for January 6, 2017; however, at this time, Appellant, through his counsel, made an oral motion for extraordinary relief under Pa.R.Crim.P. 704(B)(1) 1 seeking judgment of acquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence. The trial court took the motion under advisement and rescheduled sentencing for February 7, 2017.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
171 A.3d 830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-duck-pasuperct-2017.