Commonwealth v. Emmanuelle

20 Pa. D. & C.5th 319
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County
DecidedJanuary 7, 2011
Docketno. 1846-10
StatusPublished

This text of 20 Pa. D. & C.5th 319 (Commonwealth v. Emmanuelle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Emmanuelle, 20 Pa. D. & C.5th 319 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2011).

Opinion

JENKINS, J,

Defendant is a larcenous landlord who obtained advance rent from three would-be tenants but then failed to provide them with lodgings or refund their advances. After a non-jury trial, the court found defendant guilty of three counts of theft by deception and sentenced her on each count to 10 days to 23 months imprisonment followed by three years probation. The sentences on each count run concurrently.

Defendant timely filed post-sentence motions challenging the weight of the evidence, which the court denied. Defendant then filed a timely notice of direct appeal and a timely concise statement of matters [321]*321complained of on appeal (“concise statement”). For the reasons articulated below, the court finds that the issues raised on appeal are devoid of merit and recommends that defendant’s judgment of sentence be affirmed.

I. Factual History

In June 2009, Chloe Etzler, a Maryland resident and a first-year medical student at Jefferson University, was looking for an apartment to rent near the university. Tr., 7/28/10 (“Tr.”), p. 12. She found an advertisement posted by defendant on Craigslist for a first-floor master bedroom with hardwood floors at 617 Railroad Avenue in Havertown. Tr., p. 13. She e-mailed defendant, who invited her to visit the residence. Tr., p. 14.

On June 10,2009, defendant met Etzler at the residence and showed her a second floor bedroom instead of the first floor room advertised on Craigslist. Tr., p. 16. Defendant told Etzler that she had to pay $ 1,347 to hold the room (first month’s rent, last month’s rent, plus a security deposit). Tr., pp. 16-17. Later that day, Etzler accepted these terms and mailed a check to defendant for $1,347. Tr.,pp. 16,19. Etzler told defendant that she would need the room for the entire school year, and defendant agreed that Etzler could move in on August 1, 2009. Tr., pp. 17-18, 20. Defendant cashed the check five days later. Tr., p. 20.

A few days before August 1, defendant informed Etzler that she could not move in because (a) two other roommates were unable to leave the residence and (b) defendant was putting the residence up for sale. Tr., p. 21. Defendant stated that she would return Etzler’s money. [322]*322Tr., p. 22. Etzler gave defendant her mailing address but never received a check. Tr., p. 23.

When Etzler tried to contact defendant, defendant sent Etzler an e-mail threatening to refer the matter to her attorney unless Etzler stopped harassing her. Tr., p. 24. Defendant then offered to permit Etzler to move into her living room until one of her roommates was able to move out. Tr., p. 25. Etzler declined the offer. Tr., p. 25.

Defendant subsequently sent defendant a money order for $100 but failed to return the balance. Tr., pp. 28-29.

The second complainant, Elizabeth Sauter, was living in Tennessee and wanted to move back to this area for work-related and personal reasons. Tr., pp. 35-36. She saw an ad on Craigslist for the room at 617 Railroad Avenue. Tr., p. 36. She wrote two e-mails in response to the ad but heard nothing back. Tr., pp. 36-37. In July 2009, she sent a third e-mail, and defendant responded immediately. Tr., pp. 37-38.

Sauter visited the residence twice and then signed a lease for the first floor apartment on August 4, 2009. Tr., pp. 38, 51-53. The lease was missing a second page, but defendant told Sauter that this page did not exist. Tr., pp. 40-42. Sauter and defendant signed the lease and agreed on September 1, 2009 as the move-in date. Tr., p. 43. Sauter also wrote defendant a check for $1,347, which she understood was for the first and last month plus a security deposit. Tr., pp. 43-45. Defendant cashed the check the next day. Tr., p. 45. Relying on this agreement, Sauter stopped looking for a place to live. Tr., p.51.

[323]*323On August 22, 2009, Sauter telephoned defendant to make sure her room was clean, because she wanted to move some belongings in on August 31. Tr., pp. 45-46. Defendant stated that Sauter could not move things in on August 31 because her roommate could not move out until the morning of the 31. Tr., p. 46. Defendant then said that she had lost her j ob and would have to sell the house because she could not pay her mortgage. Tr., p. 46. She added that two other friends, a man and a woman, one of whom was her lawyer, were moving in. Tr., p. 46. Finally, she said that Sauter’s lease had a two-week cancellation provision, so if Sauter moved in and defendant’s friends wanted to cancel Sauter’s lease, Sauter would have to move out. Tr., p. 46. Confronted with this series of excuses, Sauter replied that the contract was broken and demanded her money back. Tr., p. 46. Defendant stated that she would repay the money within 10-14 days if Sauter wrote a letter to defendant’s attorney as to why the contract was broken. Tr., p. 47. Defendant gave Sauter an incorrect e-mail and mailing address for the attorney, but Sauter discovered the error and sent a certified letter to both defendant and the attorney. Tr., pp. 47-48. Defendant refused to accept the certified letter. Tr., p. 48. Sauter attempted to reach defendant multiple times by e-mail and telephone, but to no avail. Tr., pp. 48-49.

In October 2009, the third complainant, Lisa Foreman, was searching for a place to live in Delaware County. Tr., p. 59. She found the listing for the second floor room at 617 Railroad Avenue on Craiglist and responded to the advertisement. Tr., pp. 59, 61. Defendant immediately [324]*324contacted Foreman, who visited the residence on October 17, 2009. Tr., p. 60. Defendant told Foreman that she owned the house and gave Foreman a tour. Tr., p. 61. Defendant added that she had previously agreed to rent the room to a man but would rather rent to her because the man gave her a “bad vibe,” while Foreman seemed like a decent person. Tr., p. 62.

Defendant asked for a deposit of first month’s rent, last month’s rent and a security deposit totaling $1,500. Tr., p. 63. Foreman paid $800 on October 17 and $700 on October 29. Tr., pp. 64-65. Defendant told her that she could move in on November 15 or November 24 at the latest, but defendant predicted that her roommate would be out by the 15th. Tr., pp. 65-66. Relying on this agreement, Foreman moved in with her parents in New Jersey instead of renting another place for one month. Tr., p. 67.

In November 2009, defendant told Foreman that she could not move in until November 26 because defendant’s friend had committed suicide and she was out of town for the funeral. Tr., p. 66. A couple of days before November 26, defendant informed Foreman that her roommate had delayed moving out until at least November 30, so Foreman could not move in until December 1. Tr., p. 66. This was highly inconvenient to Foreman because of the lengthy commute between New Jersey and her place of employment in King of Prussia and the high cost of gas and tolls. Tr., p. 67.

On November 30, 2009, defendant told Foreman that she could not move in until December 7 but proposed that [325]*325Foreman rent another room in the house. Tr., pp. 68-70. Foreman inspected the room but declined because there was a strong cat odor and it was a walk-through room. Tr., p. 70.

On December 6,2009, defendant told Foreman that she could not move in until December 11, 2009. Tr., p. 71. At that point, Foreman requested her $1,500 back. Tr., p. 71.

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Bluebook (online)
20 Pa. D. & C.5th 319, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-emmanuelle-pactcompldelawa-2011.