In the Interest of: J.G., a Minor

145 A.3d 1179, 2016 Pa. Super. 191, 2016 Pa. Super. LEXIS 477, 2016 WL 4521978
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided August 26, 2016·No. 1884 EDA 2015·Published·Cited by 80 cases

Opinions

OPINION BY

STEVENS, P.J.E.:

J.G. (hereinafter “Juvenile”) appeals from the dispositional order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County on June 2, 2015, following his delinquency adjudication for Robbery, Conspiracy, Theft by Unlawful Taking and Simple Assault.1 Although we find Juvenile’s challenges to the suppression court’s denial of his motion to suppress lack merit and that his sufficiency of the evidence issue has been waived, we are constrained to remand to provide Juvenile the opportunity to file a post-dispositional motion nunc pro tunc challenging the weight of the evidence.

[1183]*1183The juvenile court set forth the relevant procedural and factual history herein as follows:2

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Prior to their juvenile delinquency hearing co-defendants JJ and [Juvenile] jointly filed a motion to suppress in court and out of court identification evidence alleging the process and identifications violated the co-defendants’ due process rights. The motion was denied and an adjudication hearing was held wherein defendants were adjudicated delinquent of robbery as a felony of the second degree, conspiracy, theft, and simple assault. This appeal followed.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
At the suppression hearing and subsequent trial, the Commonwealth offered the testimony of the complainant and Philadelphia Police Officers Joseph Campbell, Colin Gershert [sic], and Jeffrey Thompson. The evidence established the following:
On December 10, 2014, at approximately 10:30 P.M. the complainant was walking in the area of the 6900 Block of Haines Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 62-63) As the complainant was walking, five young males approached him. Id. One of the males approached the complainant from the back, and placed his arm around the complainant’s body. Id. Another male held an unknown object to the complainant’s neck and said “give it up old head, give it up.” (N.T. 1/20/15 pg. 63) The other three males went through the complainant’s pants pockets. Id. The complainant testified that at this moment he thought he was going to get shot for nothing. (N.T. 1/20/15 pg. 66) After approximately three minutes, there was a loud noise in the area and the males scattered. (N.T. 1/20/15 pg. 63) The complainant was able to see that all of the males were young, black, and wearing dark hooded sweatshirts. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 70-71) One male in the group stood out to the complainant because he was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. (N.T. 1/20/15 pg. 70)
The complainant then went directly to his home and contacted the police. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 63, 67, 10) Police Officers arrived at the complainant’s home within five minutes. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 8-9) There, the complainant told the Officers about the incident and described the males. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 9, 84) Based on the description the complainant provided, the Officers sent out a flash description of the five assailants. (N.T. 1/20/15 Pg- 9)
Officer Goshert and his partner Officer Thompson received the flash information while at a location just two blocks from the 6900 block of Haines Street. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 27) At that location, Officer Goshert observed a group of three young black males matching the flash information, including the defendant JJ, who was wearing a red hood sweatshirt, [Juvenile] who was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, and another young black male wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt. Id. As Officer Goshert and his partner, both in full uniform, approached the males, two fled on foot while the defendant JJ remained. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 27-28) Officer Thompson pursued [Juvenile] and the other male, while Officer Goshert detained defendant JJ so that the complaining witness could be transported to the location to make an identification. (N.T. 1/20/15 [1184]*1184pg. 30) After a brief chase, [Juvenile] was apprehended and detained by Officer Thompson so that the complaining witness could be transported to make an identification. The complainant positively identified defendant JJ as the same individual wearing the red hooded sweatshirt involved in the incident, and [Juvenile] as one of the other males wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt involved in the incident. Id. [The juveniles] were then handcuffed and placed under arrest. (N.T. 1/20/15 pgs. 33-34)

Juvenile Court Opinion, filed 11/9/15, at 1-3.

On January 20, 2015, the juvenile court heard testimony on Juvenile’s and his co-defendant’s joint motion to suppress identification and an adjudicatory hearing immediately followed. At the conclusion of the hearing, the juvenile court held the matter under advisement. Ultimately, the juvenile court entered an order adjudicating Juvenile delinquent of one count each of the aforementioned charges on April 29, 2015. Juvenile did not file a post-disposi-tional motion.

On June 26, 2016, Juvenile filed a notice of appeal. On June 30, 2015, the juvenile court ordered Juvenile to file a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), although Juvenile had filed what he titled “Preliminary Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal” contemporaneously with his notice of appeal on June 26, 2015. On November 9, 2015, the juvenile court filed an opinion pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a).

In his brief, Juvenile presents the following Statement of Questions Involved:

Did the [juvenile] [e]ourt err by denying [Juvenile’s] Motion to Suppress the put of .court identification by the Complainant after an unlawful stop?
Did the [juvenile] [c]ourt err by denying [Juvenile’s] Motion to Suppress the out of court identification by the Complainant after [] J.G. was stopped by the police because the identification procedure was unduly suggestive?
Whether the verdict was so contrary to the weight of the evidence as to shock one’s sense of justice when the Commonwealth’s sole eyewitness misidentified [Juvenile] in Court as a co-defendant[?]
Whether the verdict was so contrary to the sufficiency of the evidence when the Complainant misidentified [Juvenile] in Court as a co-defendant.

Juvenile’s Brief at 5.

This Court’s standard of review of dispositional orders in juvenile proceedings is well-settled. The Juvenile Act grants broad discretion to juvenile courts in determining appropriate dispositions. In re C.A.G., 89 A.3d 704, 709 (Pa.Super.2014). In addition, this Court will not disturb the juvenile court’s disposition absent a manifest abuse of discretion. In the Interest of J.D., 798 A.2d 210, 213 (Pa.Super.2002).

Juvenile’s first two issues challenge the juvenile court’s denial of his motion to suppress the complainant’s out of court identification of Juvenile. When reviewing a suppression order:

an appellate court is required to determine whether the record supports the suppression court’s factual findings and whether the inferences and legal conclusions drawn by the suppression court from those findings are appropriate.

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In the Interest of: J.G., a Minor, 145 A.3d 1179, 2016 Pa. Super. 191, 2016 Pa. Super. LEXIS 477, 2016 WL 4521978 (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

145 A.3d 1179 (In the Interest of: J.G., a Minor) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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