Commonwealth v. Moss

852 A.2d 374, 2004 Pa. Super. 224, 2004 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1408
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 14, 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 852 A.2d 374 (Commonwealth v. Moss) 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. Moss, 852 A.2d 374, 2004 Pa. Super. 224, 2004 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1408 (Pa. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

OPINION BY

LALLY-GREEN, J.:

¶ 1 Appellants, Anthony A. Moss, Dana Q. Austin and Robert Sullivan appeal from the trial court’s April 4, 2003 judgment of sentence. We affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of sentence against Appellant Moss. We reverse the judgment of sentence against Appellant Austin. We affirm the judgment of sentence against Appellant Sullivan.

¶2 The trial court found the following facts:

The above captioned defendants each have pending before the Court motions challenging the Constitutionality of the Statute under which they are charged, Criminal Use of a Communications Facility (18 Pa.C.S.A. § 7512), and the sufficiency of the evidence relating to each charge. All defendants have agreed to have hearing on their pending motions consolidated with a joint non-jury trial, held on stipulation of evidence, with the Court to decide the Motions and enter verdicts as appropriate.1
1 The Defendant Moss is also charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of a Controlled Substance With Intent to Deliver, all violations of the Controlled Substance, Drug Device and Cosmetic Act.
Those stipulations are as follows:
1. Telephone conversations were intercepted and recorded by the authorities.
2. The other speaker in all of these conversations James Johnson was selling illegal substances during the time in question.
3. Identification of all of the defendants’ voices and all other voices recorded would be established by the Commonwealth’s testimony.
4. The Commonwealth’s expert in the field of narcotics would testify in the manner set forth in the written stipulated testimony entered of record as exhibits.
5. The crime lab reported submitted regarding Anthony Moss would have been the only crime lab reports that would have been submitted at trial, and the various police reports submitted would be the substance of the testimony against Defendant Moss.
6. That each submitted packet of stipulated evidence shall be evaluated independent of all other defendants.
7. That this Court will, after examination of facts and law, issue a verdict by order of court.
Robert Sullivan
The Defendant, Robert Sullivan, is charged with two counts of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility based upon two separate telephone conversations, [377]*377one occurring on October 12, 2001 and the other on October 13, 2001. Each telephone conversation forms the basis for each separate count.
Relative to Count I, on October 12, 2001, Sullivan telephoned Johnson and stated, “I need one of them when you get a chance” and Johnson replied, “Alright, I’ll hit youns up.” It is stipulated that Agent Shaffer, Sergeant Bouye and/or and [sic] expert would testify that this conversation consists of an inquiry by Sullivan about purchasing drugs from Johnson and a confirmation from Johnson that he will get in contact with Sullivan when he has drugs available for purchase. This inference is further buttressed by the second telephone conversation that took place on October 13, 2001 and forms the basis for Count 2.
Relative to Count 2 during the second conversation that occurred on October 13, 2001, Sullivan called Johnson and stated he wants an “eight for me” and repeated himself by stating an “eight ball”. Johnson replied by stating, “Ah, alright. You at home?” Sullivan answered, ‘Tes”, and Johnson stated, “Alright. In a minute.” The stipulation of facts provides that Agent Shaffer, Sergeant Bouye and/or an expert would testify that this conversation consists of Sullivan asking to purchase cocaine in the amount of 1/8 ounce from Johnson, and Johnson informing Sullivan that he would come to his home in a minute.
Additionally, and in support of the inference referred to in Count I, Sullivan also inquired in this conversation where Johnson has been and why he had not gotten in touch with him, followed then by the conversation where Johnson requested what Sullivan wanted. Trying the content of these two conversations together, a permissible inference is that when Johnson states on October 12, 2001 that “I need one of them”, he is clearly referring to his desire to purchase drugs.
The surveillance further reveals that surveillance was conducted after the phone call and Johnson was seen entering Sullivan’s home a short period after the phone call and leaving within a few minutes, which is consistent with the type of activity that would be consistent with someone delivering illegal drugs.
The stipulated evidence supports the conclusion that on October 12, 2001 and on October 13, 2001, Sullivan telephoned Johnson to cause or facilitate the attempted unlawful delivery of a controlled substance from Johnson to sell them.
Dana Austin
The Defendant, Dana Austin, is charged with four counts of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. Count I is based upon a telephone conversation between Defendant Austin and Johnson on October 11, 2001 at 15:48; Count 2 is based upon a second telephone conversation that occurring [sic] on October 11, 2001 at 17:45. On October 23, 2001 at 16:07, Johnson telephoned Austin and left a message on Austin’s answering machine. Count 3 relates to a telephone conversation between Defendant Austin and Johnson on October 23, 2001 at 17:48. Count 4 relates to a telephone conversation occurring between Defendant Austin and Johnson on October 24, 2001 at 16:25. The common thread between all the telephone conversations is that Defendants Austin and Johnson are discussing Austin supplying Johnson with money so that Johnson can make a purchase of drugs from “Big Lee” from New York and to thereby provide the illegal drugs to Defendant Austin.
[378]*378In the first phone call, Defendant Austin telephones Johnson to inform him that a woman friend had stolen money from his truck. Johnson replies that he “needed that change.” Defendant Austin assures Johnson that as soon as he can obtain the money, he will bring it to Johnson. When one considers all of the intercepted conversations together, it is clear that Johnson wants Austin’s money in order to purchase illegal narcotics. Johnson made a phone call on October 16, 2001 to “Big Lee” in the Bronx, New York to arrange for a purchase of narcotics from “Big Lee.”
The second telephone conversation occurring approximately two hours later on October 11, 2001 is a follow-up call by Johnson to confirm when Defendant Austin is going to “get straight” meaning get the money that Austin owes to Johnson. The third conversation, which occurred on October 28, 2001 at 16:07 is a call where Johnson calls Defendant Austin and leaves a message inquiring, “Did you get that yet?”
In the fourth [sic] telephone conversation, Defendant Austin calls Johnson and inquires about “getting some now.” Johnson responds, “I’ll have, something for ya.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Com. v. Jennings, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Com. v. Booker, L.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Com. v. Aguilar, S.
2025 Pa. Super. 118 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025)
Com. v. Winter, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Com. v. Wunderlich, J.
2025 Pa. Super. 38 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025)
Com. v. Lacey, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
Com. v. Figueroa, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Goodis, M.
2023 Pa. Super. 136 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023)
Com. v. Shepard, G.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Swenson, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Spaar, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Jean v. Bucknell University
M.D. Pennsylvania, 2021
Com. v. Morales, J.M., III
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Wayne, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Parker, W.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Garland, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Marshall, K.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Dexter Hillocks v. Attorney General United States
934 F.3d 332 (Third Circuit, 2019)
United States v. Kenneth Daniels
915 F.3d 148 (Third Circuit, 2019)
Com. v. Vangjeli, A.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
852 A.2d 374, 2004 Pa. Super. 224, 2004 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-moss-pasuperct-2004.