Commonwealth v. Mahoney

331 A.2d 488, 460 Pa. 201, 1975 Pa. LEXIS 623
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 27, 1975
Docket39
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 331 A.2d 488 (Commonwealth v. Mahoney) 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. Mahoney, 331 A.2d 488, 460 Pa. 201, 1975 Pa. LEXIS 623 (Pa. 1975).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

EAGEN, Justice.

Appellant, Frederick Gerard Mahoney, was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter. Post trial motions [204]*204were denied and a sentence of one and one-half to six years imprisonment was imposed. This direct appeal followed. The sole issue is whether the evidence supports the finding of voluntary manslaughter or whether, on the contrary, it establishes that the shooting was an act of self-defense.

The record read in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth discloses the following pertinent facts:

On October 28, 1971, at approximately 2:00 a. m., the decedent, William Masser, and his estranged wife, Jean Masser, were conversing in the living room of the latter’s apartment. The appellant knocked on the door of the apartment and called out “Jean . . .”, whereupon Masser rushed from his seat, opened the door, and commenced punching Mahoney about the face. Mahoney tried to flee, but slipped enabling Masser to further the onslaught. No attempt was made by the appellant to strike Masser, rather he merely sought to protect himself. Eventually, Mahoney was able to escape and fled outside to the parking lot where he had parked his automobile. Masser, after first returning to the apartment, followed Mahoney outside. While Mahoney sat in his automobile, Masser crouched down at the driver’s seat of the vehicle and began pounding on the vehicle with his hands. Masser than moved around the automobile and stood up near the headlight on the passenger’s side. Ma-honey reached under the seat of his automobile and grabbed a gun, which he kept for security purposes, arid, after warning Masser to leave him alone, fired a shot. Apparently enraged by this shot, Masser moved towards a dog pen approximately twenty feet from the vehicle and picked up a concrete block weighing between forty and fifty pounds. Mahoney attempted to back his automobile around in order to leave the parking area, but struck a tree and the vehicle stalled. Mahoney then perceived Masser coming directly towards him carrying the concrete block at shoulder level. Without breaking [205]*205stride, Masser lunged toward the vehicle with the concrete block and, simultaneously therewith, Mahoney fired three shots in rapid succession. The concrete block smashed through the window on the driver’s side and landed in the driver’s seat. Masser, mortally wounded by the final shot,1 slumped to the ground just outside the door of the vehicle. The appellant made no attempt to flee and remained at the apartment building where he was apprehended by the police.

It is fundamental that the killing of another human being without justification or excuse is felonious homicide. Commonwealth v. Wucherer, 351 Pa. 305, 41 A.2d 574 (1945), and 4 Blackstone Commentaries, 188 (1898). However, a killing is not felonious homicide and is excusable if it is committed in self-defense.

Commonwealth v. Johnston, 438 Pa. 485, 263 A.2d 376 (1970); Commonwealth v. Vassar, 370 Pa. 551, 88 A.2d 725 (1952). The following conditions must be satisfied before one can successfully invoke the defense of self-defense: (1) the slayer must have been free from fault in provoking or continuing the difficulty which resulted in the killing; (2) he must have reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of death, great bodily harm, or some felony, and that there was a necessity to kill in order to save himself therefrom; (3) the slayer must not have violated any duty to retreat or avoid the danger. Commonwealth v. Johnston, supra, 438 Pa. at 489, 263 A.2d at 379. See also Commonwealth v. Carbonetto, 455 Pa. 93, 314 A.2d 304 (1974); Commonwealth v. Tiernan, 455 Pa. 88, 314 A.2d 310 (1974).

If the Commonwealth’s own evidence establishes that the killing occurred under the conditions outlined above, [206]*206then it has failed to prove a felonious killing and the defendant may not be convicted of even voluntary manslaughter. Cf. Commonwealth v. Johnston, supra. This is such a case.

The testimony of the Commonwealth’s own witnesses establishes the appellant did attempt to escape from the parking lot, but in his haste, backed his automobile into a tree causing it to stall. Trapped in his automobile and confronted by an onrushing assailant, armed with a weighty concrete block, it is evident that appellant’s fears for his own safety were reasonable, and it is undisputed that appellant fired at Masser contemporaneous with the latter’s lunge toward the vehicle, when no viable alternative existed. Thus, it is clear the Commonwealth’s own evidence established two of the three necessary elements of the defense of self-defense previously delineated.

However, to successfully invoke the defense of self-defense, “the slayer must have been free from fault in provoking or continuing the difficulty which resulted in the killing.” (Emphasis supplied.) Commonwealth v. Ware, 453 Pa. 15, 19, 307 A.2d 840, 843 (1973). It is undisputed that Masser attacked the appellant outside of his estranged wife’s apartment and followed the appellant to the parking lot, where he continued to threaten the appellant. The facts show the appellant, while in his automobile and after having warned Masser to leave him alone, caused his weapon to discharge. One of the Commonwealth’s witnesses, a Miss Shendowich, testified she believed this shot to be a warning shot. Although, she admitted not having seen the shot fired, she stated she did see the gun pointing away from Masser. As we have previously condoned the firing of warning shots in an attempt to ward off an attacker, see Commonwealth v. Johnston, supra, the appellant contends this testimony established he was free from fault in continuing the difficulty.

[207]*207The Commonwealth, however, presented evidence indicating the first shot fired, rather than being a warning shot, did strike the decedent. The investigating police officer testified that four spent bullet casings were found in and around the apartment parking lot, raising the probability that only four shots were fired from the appellant’s gun. This officer testified that one bullet had penetrated the casing on the inside of the driver’s door and, although not recovered, had become lodged therein. An autopsy of the victim’s body revealed the deceased had suffered seven wounds caused by three bullets. One bullet entered the right shoulder and exited in the right armpit. Another bullet caused shallow glancing wounds on the right side of the neck and over the center of the right collarbone. The third bullet caused the fatal wound to the head.

Having accounted for the four bullets, the Commonwealth advances the theory that the first shot, rather than being a warning shot, struck the decedent as he stood in front of the vehicle and brought on the ensuing attack with the concrete block.

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Commonwealth v. Mahoney
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331 A.2d 488, 460 Pa. 201, 1975 Pa. LEXIS 623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-mahoney-pa-1975.