Commonwealth v. Sandone

74 Pa. D. & C.4th 353, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 95
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County
DecidedSeptember 7, 2005
Docketno. 40-04
StatusPublished

This text of 74 Pa. D. & C.4th 353 (Commonwealth v. Sandone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Sandone, 74 Pa. D. & C.4th 353, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 95 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

KOUDELIS, J,

[354]*354NATURE AND HISTORY OF THE CASE

This is an interlocutory appeal from this court’s granting of defendant’s (appellee’s) motion to suppress. The relevant procedural history of the case is as follows.

Appellee filed a motion to suppress challenging the arrest and sought to suppress any search or evidence seized therefrom. Following the hearing on the motion to suppress, which was held on April 14,2004, this court issued an order on April 15, 2005, granting appellee’s omnibus pre-trial motion to suppress.

Appellant filed an appeal of this court’s order, which suppressed the evidence pursuant to Pa.R. A.R 311 (d) and 42 Pa.C.S. §742 since the order granting suppression will terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution. This court issued an order for appellant to file a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal within 14 days of the order. The sole issue raised on appeal is:

“Whether the trial court erred in granting a motion for suppression where the police officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant for driving under the influence of a controlled substance following an accident, observations by police officers and an admission by the defendant”?

FACTS

On October 13,2003, Officer Michael Ruggieri of the Aston Police Department responded to a call at 103 Greenbriar Place. Officer Ruggieri had received information that there was a disabled vehicle in the middle of the roadway with front-end damage. Upon arriving at [355]*355the location, Officer Ruggieri found that appellee’s vehicle had struck a UPS truck and was now disabled in the middle of the roadway. The driver of the UPS truck informed the officers that he was parked legally in front of 103 Greenbriar when he was struck from behind by appellee’s vehicle.

Upon arriving on the scene, Officer Ruggieri met with Officer Robert Jones, who had initially responded to the accident call. Officer Jones informed Officer Ruggieri that he had concerns that appellee was intoxicated.

Officer Ruggieri approached appellee to obtain information and ascertain what had occurred. The officer testified that when he arrived, appellee was out of her vehicle and was upset. According to the officer’s testimony, appellee informed him that she had turned around in the cul-de-sac and attempted to drive on Greenbriar when she struck the UPS truck. The officer testified that her speech was slow and slurred, that she did not have good balance and swayed while talking with him. Further, the officer testified that she appeared to be drowsy and her movements were lethargic. Officer Ruggieri also testified that her pupils were constricted. Based on his observations, Officer Ruggieri believed that appellee was intoxicated; however, he did not smell alcohol on her person or on her breath. He asked her if she had taken any medication and appellee informed the officer that she had taken Percocet at 9 a.m. When asked to submit to field sobriety tests, appellee refused.

Officer Ruggieri testified that he then placed her under arrest for driving under the influence of a controlled substance because in his opinion she swerved into the [356]*356rear of the UPS truck when there was a clear unobstructed pathway. After placing appellee under arrest, Officer Ruggieri transported her to Riddle Hospital to have her blood drawn. While en route to the hospital appellee fell asleep. At the hospital Officer Ruggieri had a discussion with appellee, during which she informed the officer that the only drugs they would find in her system were the ones prescribed by the doctor.

During the suppression hearing, Officer Ruggieri testified that he was on scene for approximately 10 to 15 minutes and of those 10 to 15 minutes he testified he observed appellee’s pupils for approximately five minutes. While Officer Ruggieri testified appellee’s pupils did not constrict during his observations, he also testified that he did not perform any specific tests to see whether or not they would adjust to changes in the light. Further, Officer Ruggieri testified that, while he had arrested 75 people who were under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, he also testified that he could not specifically recall the number of persons he had arrested or observed under the influence of oxycodone, orPercocet. (N.T. pp. 91-92.)

Based upon the testimony of Officer Ruggieri, the suppression court determined that the evidence presented was equally consistent with other aspects of the case. The suppression court determined that appellee’s actions could be related to having just been involved in an accident, having a child in the car and that swaying, in and of itself, was not indicative of anything. Therefore, the court found that the evidence presented was not sufficient to rise to the level of probable cause.

[357]*357DISCUSSION

Appellant’s only issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in granting a motion for suppression where the police officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant for driving under the influence of a controlled substance following an accident, observations by police officers and an admission by the defendant?

When the Commonwealth appeals from a suppression order, the apellate court follows a clearly defined standard of review and considers only the evidence from the defendant’s witnesses together with the evidence of the prosecution that, when read in the context of the entire record, remains uncontradicted. Commonwealth v. Chernosky, 2005 Pa. Super. (Pa. Super, filed April 27, 2005) (en banc). The suppression court’s findings of fact bind the Superior Court if the record supports those findings. Id. The suppression court’s conclusions of law, however, are not binding on the court, whose duty is to determine if the suppression court properly applied the law to the facts. Id.

A defendant seeking suppression of seized evidence has the initial burden of establishing standing and a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched or the items seized. Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 553 Pa. 76, 80-81, 718 A.2d 265, 267 (1998); Commonwealth v. Black, 758 A.2d 1253, 1257 (Pa. Super. 2000). An accused may demonstrate standing by presenting evidence of any one of the following four elements: (1) his presence on the premises at the time of the search and seizure; (2) a possessory interest in the evidence seized; (3) [358]*358that the offense charged includes possession as an essential element; or (4) a proprietary or possessory interest in the searched premises. Id. It is also incumbent upon the defendant to demonstrate a subjective expectation of privacy in the premises on the date of the search. Commonwealth v. Torres, 564 Pa. 86, 105-106, 764 A.2d 532, 543 (2001); Commonwealth v. Perea, 791 A.2d 427, 429 (Pa. Super. 2002).

Appellee was arrested and charged with driving while under the influence of a controlled substance, namely Percocet, to a degree that rendered her incapable of safe driving. 75 Pa.C.S. §3731(a)(2).

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

Related

Commonwealth v. Hawkins
718 A.2d 265 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1998)
Commonwealth v. Torres
764 A.2d 532 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2001)
Commonwealth v. Montini
712 A.2d 761 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1998)
Commonwealth v. Perea
791 A.2d 427 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
Commonwealth v. Palmer
751 A.2d 223 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Commonwealth v. Black
758 A.2d 1253 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Commonwealth v. Davies
811 A.2d 600 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
Commonwealth v. Dunne
690 A.2d 1233 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 Pa. D. & C.4th 353, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-sandone-pactcompldelawa-2005.