Commonwealth v. Greer

10 Pa. D. & C.4th 377, 1991 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 279
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County
DecidedMay 14, 1991
Docketno. 3161 Criminal Action 1989
StatusPublished

This text of 10 Pa. D. & C.4th 377 (Commonwealth v. Greer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Greer, 10 Pa. D. & C.4th 377, 1991 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 279 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991).

Opinion

ERB, J.,

Defendant was found guilty in a trial before a jury of kidnapping, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, crimes committed with firearms, violation of the Uniform Fire[378]*378arms Act, burglary and terroristic threats. Defendant has filed post-verdict motions, which are currently before this court for disposition. For the following reasons, they will be refused and denied.

Defendant raises four issues in his request for a new trial. He first contends that the court should have suppressed statements he made at his apartment, prior to receiving Miranda warnings. The following facts were elicited at the suppression hearing and at trial. The police went to defendant’s apartment after discovering that the perpetrator of the crimes was a black man in his twenties, who was approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall and 170 pounds. The victim had also given a detailed description of the car, including its interior, in which the crimes occurred. The police found a car matching the description provided. The officers then discovered that the vehicle was registered to defendant’s girlfriend at 134 East Jackson Street, York, Pennsylvania. The police officers went to that address, and defendant’s girlfriend consented to the officers looking through the apartment. During that time, the officers found defendant hiding in the attic, wearing nothing but a gold chain similar to the one that the victim described her attacker wearing. Defendant came down from the crawl space and voluntarily provided information and items of clothing which police requested. Defendant contends that his statements and the physical evidence acquired at the apartment should have been suppressed.

' The focus of this inquiry is whether defendant’s statements and the evidence were gained as a result of a “custodial interrogation.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). A “custodial interrogation” involves “questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody [379]*379or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.” Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444.

It is clear that the mere fact that the police focus on a. particular individual during their investigation does not trigger the necessity of Miranda warnings prior to a police interview with that individual. Commonwealth v. Schoellhammer, 308 Pa. Super. 360, 454 A.2d 576 (1982). We .are particularly persuaded by Commonwealth v. Brodo, 262 Pa. Super. 375, 396 A.2d 802 (1979). In the BrodLo case, two detectives went to defendant’s home to question him about two burglaries. While there, the detectives noticed items taken in a third burglary. Although the detectives focused on defendant as a suspect, they neither arrested defendant at home, nor indicated that defendant was to be detained until answering their questions. Furthermore, defendant had no reason to suspect that he was not free to leave or terminate the interview. The Superior Court held that this was not a “custodial interrogation” which necessitated Miranda warnings. Thus, the court denied defendant’s motion to suppress statements made at his home.

Similarly, in the instant case, defendant was not formally arrested at the apartment, was not detained at the apartment until answering police questions, and did not perceive that he. could not terminate the interview or leave. After the questioning, he was asked to accompany the officers to City Hall, where he was advised of his rights and signed a rights card. Defendant expressed surprise that the police wished to further discuss the incident, thus supporting the court’s finding that defendant believed he had freedom of movement. During this ride, defendant notes that he was handcuffed; however, this is the general policy followed by the city police.

[380]*380We conclude that defendant was not subjected to a custodial interrogation at his apartment, and thus, Miranda warnings need not have been given. We will therefore dismiss defendant’s assignment of error.

Defendant next contends that the testimony of the Federal Bureau of Investigation DNA expert was erroneously admitted since there was no statistical analysis to demonstrate the validity of his conclusion. Defendant cites People v. Castro, 545 N.Y.S.2d 985 (1989), in which the expert was required to state the method used to calculate the allele frequency in the relevant population. Defendant argues that since this was not done, the Commonwealth failed to establish the proper foundation. We disagree. In Pennsylvania, the following standards govern the admissibility of scientifically adduced evidence:

“Just when a scientific principle or discovery crosses the line between the experimental and demonstrable stages is difficult to define.' Somewhere in this twilight zone the evidential force of the principle must be recognized, and while courts will go a long way in admitting expert testimony deduced from a well-recognized scientific principle or discovery, the thing from which the deduction is made must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs.” Commonwealth v. Topa, 471 Pa. 223, 231, 369 A.2d 1277, 1281 (1977), quoting Frye v. United States, 54 App. D.C. 46, 293 F. 1013, 1014 (1923).

In this jurisdiction, expert testimony regarding DNA test results are admissible. The FBI expert in this case, Larry Presley, has testified in numerous state and federal courts, which have recognized him as an expert in DNA analysis, despite the absence of allele frequency studies. Presley also testified that [381]*381DNA testing and procedures have gained wide acceptance in the scientific community. This court is satisfied with the expert testimony which provided the procedures, methods, results and interpretation; and we conclude that it was appropriately admitted. Defendant furthermore was allowed to extensively cross-examine the expert witness on the lack of an allele frequency study. The court properly instructed the jury that it could then weigh the value of the expert testimony since it is the jury’s function to give whatever probative weight it chooses to expert testimony. We will therefore dismiss this' assignment of error. In so doing, we note the abundance of evidence, other than the DNA test results, which positively identified the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime. Thus, the case against defendant did not turn solely on the DNA test results. .

Defendant next assigns error to the assistant district attorney’s closing statements concerning the victim’s perception of the color of her attacker’s hands. The victim observed this while in the car with him during the offenses. The victim stated that the hands were those of a light-skinned black man. However, defendant was a dark-complected black male. The victim had also previously identified defendant at a lineup based, in part, on his hands. The assistant district attorney, in her closing argument to explain this discrepancy,. argued that the victim’s perception was altered by the street lighting shining in through the car window. Defendant argues that there was no evidence to support this theory.

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Commonwealth v. Smallhoover
567 A.2d 1055 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Commonwealth v. Nelson
567 A.2d 673 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Commonwealth v. Howard
543 A.2d 1169 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)
Commonwealth v. Topa
369 A.2d 1277 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Commonwealth v. Fromal
572 A.2d 711 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Commonwealth v. Prosdocimo
578 A.2d 1273 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Commonwealth v. Brodo
396 A.2d 802 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Commonwealth v. Schoellhammer
454 A.2d 576 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
People v. Castro
144 Misc. 2d 956 (New York Supreme Court, 1989)
Commonwealth v. Harris
473 A.2d 610 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)
Frye v. United States
293 F. 1013 (D.C. Circuit, 1923)

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Bluebook (online)
10 Pa. D. & C.4th 377, 1991 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-greer-pactcomplyork-1991.