Commonwealth v. Feflie

581 A.2d 636, 398 Pa. Super. 622, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3048
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 22, 1990
Docket2615
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 581 A.2d 636 (Commonwealth v. Feflie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme 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. Feflie, 581 A.2d 636, 398 Pa. Super. 622, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3048 (Pa. 1990).

Opinions

WIEAND, Judge:

Leroy Ronald Feflie was tried by jury and was found guilty of robbery,1 theft,2 and recklessly endangering another person3 in connection with an armed robbery of the First Valley Bank branch office in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, on February 10, 1987. Post-trial motions were denied, and Feflie was sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment for not less than 88 months nor more than 176 months.4 On direct appeal from the judgment of sentence, Feflie asserts a plethora of alleged pre-trial, trial and sentencing errors. Our review discloses no merit in appellant’s contentions, however, and we affirm the judgment of sentence.

[627]*627On February 10, 1987, at or about 8:25 a.m., a masked gunman entered the Bank through a back door and ordered the assistant branch manager, Eileen Conklin, and another employee, Denise Cannavo, to enter the vault. Cannavo was handcuffed, and Conklin was ordered to place the vault money in a green duffle bag. The robber then handcuffed the two women to a bathroom window and exited the Bank. According to a Bank audit, fifty-six thousand, three hundred seventy-one ($56,371.00) dollars were taken. The robber, according to the testimony at trial, was wearing a mask and was clothed in blue jeans, a green Army jacket, a green hooded sweatshirt, and tan work boots. Yellow plastic gloves covered his hands, and he carried a black, long-barrelled .357 Magnum revolver.

On February 12, 1987, pursuant to an affidavit detailing the robbery and reciting a physical description of the robber and a sworn statement by Patricia Heckman that appellant had told her of his intention to commit the robbery, a warrant was issued for Feflie’s arrest. A teletype concerning the arrest warrant was promptly sent and received by Sheriff Terry Ashe of Wilson County, Tennessee. The teletype contained Feflie’s last known address in Mt. Juliette, Tennessee, and a description of Feflie’s vehicle. This vehicle was later found and identified in front of the residence of Feflie’s former wife in Mt. Juliette. Throughout the evening, Tennessee police monitored the Mt. Juliette residence, and the following morning they entered the house and arrested appellant. A search of the house produced a green fatigue jacket. Appellant consented to a search of his Dodge van, and there police found blue jeans, two green T-shirts, an “Assault Force” T-shirt, five .22 caliber shells, ten Federal .357 Magnum shells and six Remington shotgun shells.

Appellant first challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. He contends that the evidence was so circumstantial that it was insufficient to establish his identity as the perpetrator of the crimes. Further, appellant argues that the Commonwealth failed to establish the elements of the [628]*628crime of recklessly endangering another person. Specifically, appellant contends, the evidence was insufficient because direct' evidence of a weapon was not presented and the evidence produced was not conclusive of the fact that a weapon, if used, was loaded.

“In reviewing appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence we must determine ‘whether, viewing all the evidence admitted at trial, together with all reasonable inferences therefrom, in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the trier of fact could have found that each element of the offenses charged was supported by evidence and inferences sufficient in law to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Commonwealth v. Sabharwal, 373 Pa.Super. 241, 243, 540 A.2d 957, 958 (1988), quoting Commonwealth v. Jackson, 506 Pa. 469, 472-473, 485 A.2d 1102, 1103 (1984). “When conflicts and discrepancies arise, it is within the province of the [jurors] to determine the weight to be given to each [witness’s] testimony and to believe all, part, or none of the evidence as they deem appropriate.” Commonwealth v. Verdekal, 351 Pa.Super. 412, 419-420, 506 A.2d 415, 419 (1986). See also: Commonwealth v. Rose, 463 Pa. 264, 268, 344 A.2d 824, 826 (1975). The same standard is applicable in cases such as the instant case, where the evidence supporting a conviction was largely “circumstantial rather than direct so long as the combination of the evidence links the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Commonwealth v. Hardcastle, 519 Pa. 236, 246, 546 A.2d 1101, 1105 (1988), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 1169, 107 L.Ed.2d 1072 (1990). See also: Commonwealth v. Sullivan, 472 Pa. 129, 150, 371 A.2d 468, 478 (1977); Commonwealth v. Petrisko, 442 Pa. 575, 579-580, 275 A.2d 46, 49 (1971).

When viewed in this light, it is evident that the Commonwealth’s evidence was legally sufficient to support a finding that appellant had perpetrated the offenses charged. The evidence at trial established that one week prior to the robbery, a woman who resided in the neighborhood of the Bank had observed appellant near the Bank on two separate [629]*629occasions. The neighbor testified that she had observed appellant in a dark sports car on the first occasion and then, again, in a dark “Bronco or Jeep-type vehicle.” At the time of his arrest, Feflie was the owner of a maroon Dodge van.

Prior to the robbery, appellant was dating and occasionally stayed with Patricia Heckman. Heckman testified that appellant had discussed with her his plans for the bank robbery. He had told her that he planned to enter the Bank after the employees arrived and handcuff the women. Heckman testified that for approximately one month prior to the robbery appellant had been “watching” the Bank and that on two occasions she and appellant had gone to the First Valley Bank to see who was there and to examine the floor plan. On one occasion prior to the robbery, Heckman had returned home to find appellant in her living room in possession of a green duffle bag, handcuffs, rubber gloves, a dark ski mask, a pair of old tan work boots and a .357 Magnum.

The Commonwealth also elicited testimony from John Hall, appellant’s prison mate. Hall testified that appellant had related the manner in which he had staked out the Bank to learn the times when the Bank employees would arrive and depart. In relating the events of the robbery, appellant had told Hall that he was wearing blue jeans, an Army coat which covered a T-shirt on which the words “Assault Force or Attack Force” appeared, a ski mask, and gloves. He also offered that he had used a .357 Magnum to commit the robbery. Hall related that appellant had told him of an alibi which he intended to use concerning the Days Inn in Tennessee.

Appellant testified on his own behalf that he had left Pennsylvania on either February 6, 1987 or February 7, 1987 for a fishing trip to Tennessee. He said that he had arrived in Tennessee on the evening of February 9, 1987, and had slept in his van that evening. He said that on the night of February 10, 1987 he had been unable to contact his former wife and as a result had spent the night at the Days Inn. The credibility of this testimony, of course, was [630]*630for the jury to determine. The jury could, as it did, reject appellant’s version of the events and accept as true the evidence presented by the Commonwealth.

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Bluebook (online)
581 A.2d 636, 398 Pa. Super. 622, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3048, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-feflie-pa-1990.