Commonwealth v. Matthews

196 A.3d 242
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 20, 2018
Docket2001 MDA 2017
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 196 A.3d 242 (Commonwealth v. Matthews) 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. Matthews, 196 A.3d 242 (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

OPINION BY STEVENS, P.J.E.:

Appellant, Travis Wade Matthews, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County following his conviction by a jury on one count of robbery, two counts of conspiracy, one count of theft by unlawful taking, and one count of simple assault. 1 After a careful review, we affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: Appellant was arrested in connection with the robbery of a Domino's pizza delivery driver in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Represented by counsel, he proceeded to a jury trial on October 30, 2017.

At the trial, the delivery driver, Bruce Eckersley, testified that, on January 5, 2017, he was working during the night shift when the pizza store received a call at 10:23 p.m. for a delivery of two pizzas to a house on Elizabeth Street in Pittston. N.T., 10/30/17, at 32. Mr. Eckersley left the store with the two pizzas in a "heat bag" to keep them warm and noticed that it was a cash order. Id. at 37-38. The heat bag had a driver tag stuck on it indicating the delivery address, total, and time for delivery. Id. at 37. Mr. Eckersley intended to deliver the pizzas to Elizabeth Street and then travel to Wyoming for additional deliveries. Id. at 39-40.

When Mr. Eckersley arrived at the Elizabeth Street address, the house was dark, so Mr. Eckersley used his flashlight to look for the house number to confirm that he was at the correct location. Id. at 41. At this point, two men approached him. Id. Specifically, Mr. Eckersley testified that one of the men approached him from behind and started to pull on his arms while the other man grabbed the heat bag, threw *244 it on the ground, and stuck a gun in Mr. Eckersley's ribs. Id.

Mr. Eckersley testified he could not see the men's faces because they "had scarfs covering up to the nose or past the nose." Id. at 43. He also noted that one of the men was wearing an Atlanta Hawks ball cap while the other man had his hood up. Id. One of the men stated, "Don't move....We want your money." Id. at 44. The man, who was standing behind Mr. Eckersley and holding his arms, began going through his pockets. Id. at 45. The man took Mr. Eckersley's wallet, which contained cash, as well as his driver's license, social security card, and ATM card. Id. He also took Mr. Eckersley's iPhone. Id.

At this point, the men demanded that Mr. Eckersley walk down a nearby hill, and after he walked about twenty yards, he turned around in time to observe the men entering a silver SUV. Id. at 46. After the men left, Mr. Eckersley walked to a different home on Elizabeth Street, and the homeowner permitted him to use the telephone to call 911. Id. at 46-47.

The police arrived at Elizabeth Street within five minutes, and Mr. Eckersley reported his account of the robbery. Id. at 47. Mr. Eckersley initially reported that he was robbed by two African American males. 2 Id. at 48-49. Specifically, he testified as follows:

Q: Now, would you dispute that during your initial statement that you believed the two individuals who had victimized you that you identified them as African American?
A: That's correct.
Q: So, you would agree that you made that statement?
A: I did make that statement, yes.
Q: What was it that led you to conclude then that you believe both individuals to be African American?
A: The sounds of the voice, the inflection, the tone, the accent and what-I thought the skin tone was darker.
Q: Now, this incident happened at about 11:00 in the evening?
A: Yes.
Q: So, obviously, not daytime?
A: That's correct.
Q: Were you at or near any streetlights when this incident occurred?
A: I don't think so, no. I mean, I think there are streetlights on there but not right where we were.
Q: If I understood your earlier testimony, both individuals had the lower portions from their nose down covered by scarfs?
A: That's correct.
Q: One of the individuals had on an Atlanta Hawks hat pulled down close to their eyes?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: Which individual was it that had on the Atlanta Hawks baseball hat, the one who rifled through your pockets or the one that had the handgun?
A: The one with the gun.
Q: So, would it be safe to say that really all you were able to see of both individuals at 11:00 at night would have been their eyes?
A: That's correct, yes.
Q: Do you happen to remember, like, did they have gloves on, no gloves on?
A: I don't remember.
Q: Why do you think it would be that you don't remember that?
A: I looked at the gun a lot.
Q: That was your prime focus?
*245 A: Yeah. I was making sure that thing wasn't going to go off, yeah.

Id. at 49-50.

Mr. Eckersley acknowledged that it was possible that he mistakenly believed both assailants were African American and at least one of them could have been some other race. Id. at 51-52. He testified that, two days after the robbery, his iPhone was recovered from a lawn on Tomkin Street, which runs parallel to Elizabeth Street. Id. at 52. On cross-examination, he admitted that, on January 6, 2017, at 3:30 a.m., he gave a police statement wherein he identified his robbers as "two black males." Id. at 56, 61. On redirect examination, Mr. Eckersley testified that, when he made the 911 call and statement to the police, he was scared and wanted the incident "to be over." Id. at 60.

Police Officer Samuel DeSimone confirmed the police were dispatched to a house on Elizabeth Street for an armed robbery, and Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 A.3d 242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-matthews-pasuperct-2018.