Com. v. Santiago

980 A.2d 659

2009 PA Super 169

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Arnaldo Torres SANTIAGO, Appellant.

No. 446 EDA 2008

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 17, 2009.

Filed August 28, 2009.

Samuel C. Stretton, West Chester, for appellant.

Todd M. Mosser, Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee.

BEFORE: BENDER, SHOGAN, JJ., and McEWEN, P.J.E.

OPINION BY SHOGAN, J.:

¶ 1 Appellant, Arnaldo Torres Santiago, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered following his convictions of first degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime ("PIC"), and two counts of violating the Uniform Firearms Act ("VUFA").¹ Appellant challenges, inter alia, the admission of the murder weapon and a witness statement obtained as a result of Appellant's suppressed confession to police. We affirm.

¶ 2 The trial court aptly summarized the facts of this case as follows:

During the early morning hours of April 23, 2006, John Reed was at the home of Omar Rodriquez[, the victim,] located at 2912 Ella Street in the City and County of Philadelphia. Around 2:00am Reed saw Omar and [Appellant] arguing in the dining room about a thirty-eight revolver. [Appellant] began cursing at Omar in Spanish. [Appellant] and Omar were still downstairs when Reed headed to an upstairs bedroom to go to sleep at approximately 5:00am.

Around 8:15am Caesar Sanchez, a neighbor who lives across the street from the Rodriquez home, was drinking coffee when he heard two bangs that he thought were firecrackers. Sanchez saw [Appellant] leave Omar's home and walk down the street. Sometime later that day, [Appellant] went to the home of Samuel Gonzalez Rosario to ask if Rosario could hold a thirty-eight revolver for him until he could return to pick it up. Rosario agreed to hide the gun.

[Omar] died from a gunshot wound to the head and he also sustained a gunshot wound to the right pinky finger and a graze wound to the left wrist.

Trial Court Opinion, 7/16/08, at 1-2 (citations omitted).

¶ 3 As part of their investigation, police questioned Appellant at the police station as a potential witness. Appellant was not given Miranda warnings² because originally he was not a suspect. Initially, Appellant told police about the time frame regarding the night in question, but denied any knowledge of the crime. Several hours later, police returned to the room where Appellant was detained to clarify Appellant's statement regarding the time frame. At that point, Appellant blurted out, "I did it!" Appellant was then given his Miranda warnings. Appellant confessed and told the police where the murder weapon was located.

¶ 4 Appellant filed a motion to suppress his confession and the gun. After a hearing, the trial court determined that Appellant's confession should be suppressed because Appellant was in custody and Miranda warnings were necessary before questioning. However, the trial court concluded that the gun was admissible because physical evidence derived from the confession did not implicate Appellant's testimonial right against self-incrimination. On December 12, 2007, following a non-jury trial, Appellant was convicted of the crimes specified above. On that same day, the trial court sentenced Appellant to a term of life in prison on the murder conviction and concurrent terms of incarceration on the remaining convictions. Appellant's post-sentence motion challenging the weight of the evidence was denied. This appeal followed.

¶ 5 Appellant presents the following issues for our review:

1. Was the verdict against the weight of the evidence and was the evidence insufficient to support the verdict?

2. Did the Honorable Benjamin Lerner err, when after suppressing the statement of [Appellant] on the basis of [] Miranda violations, he still allowed the Commonwealth to produce the witness and alleged murder weapon which were discovered as the result of the now suppressed statement? Should all evidence flowing from the illegally taken statement have been suppressed? Did this violate the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution? Did the Honorable Renee Cardwell Hughes err in allowing this information to be introduced at trial?

Appellant's Brief at 5.

¶ 6 In his first issue, Appellant purports to argue that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and that there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict. Although these two claims are distinct, see Commonwealth v. Widmer, 560 Pa. 308, 744 A.2d 745 (2000) (discussing the distinctions between a claim challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and a claim that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence), Appellant addressed both issues in a single argument section in his Brief to this Court. See Brief for Appellant at 37-42. However, we will address these claims separately.

¶ 7 We first consider Appellant's claim regarding sufficiency of the evidence. Appellant argues the Commonwealth failed to prove he committed the crimes of murder and possessing an instrument of crime.³ Specifically, Appellant contends the Commonwealth failed to prove Appellant was the person who shot the victim. Appellant argues the Commonwealth relied upon circumstantial evidence to establish that Appellant was the gunman who committed the crimes.

¶ 8 When reviewing challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, we evaluate the record in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, giving the prosecution the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence. Commonwealth v. Duncan, 932 A.2d 226, 231 (Pa.Super.2007) (citation omitted). "Evidence will be deemed sufficient to support the verdict when it establishes each material element of the crime charged and the commission thereof by the accused, beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Brewer, 876 A.2d 1029, 1032 (Pa.Super.2005), appeal denied, 585 Pa. 685, 887 A.2d 1239, (2005)). However, the Commonwealth need not establish guilt to a mathematical certainty, and it may sustain its burden by means of wholly circumstantial evidence. Id. Moreover, this Court may not substitute its judgment for that of the fact finder, and where the record contains support for the convictions, they may not be disturbed. Id. Circumstantial evidence itself can be sufficient to prove any element or all of the elements of a criminal homicide. Commonwealth v. Gwynn, 555 Pa. 86, 97, 723 A.2d 143, 148 (1998). Also, we have held that circumstantial evidence is reviewed by the same standard as direct evidence— that is, that a decision by the trial court will be affirmed "so long as the combination of the evidence links the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Commonwealth v. Johnson, 818 A.2d 514, 516 (Pa.Super.2003) (citations omitted). Lastly, we note that the finder of fact is free to believe some, all, or none of the evidence presented. Commonwealth v. Hartle, 894 A.2d 800, 804 (Pa.Super.2006).

¶ 9 In order to prove first degree murder, the Commonwealth must demonstrate that a human being was unlawfully killed, that the defendant did the killing, and that the killing was done in an intentional, deliberate and premeditated manner. Commonwealth v. Michael, 544 Pa. 105, 110, 674 A.2d 1044, 1047 (1996) (citing Commonwealth v. LaCava, 542 Pa. 160, 666 A.2d 221 (1995)). Furthermore, the use of a deadly weapon on a vital part of the body is sufficient evidence to prove the specific intent to kill. Id.

¶ 10 Regarding possession of an instrument of crime, our Supreme Court has long held that an "[a]ppellant's use of a loaded gun on his victim[] is more than sufficient to establish his guilt of possession of an instrument of crime." Commonwealth v. McNair, 529 Pa. 368, 373, 603 A.2d 1014, 1017 (1992) (citing 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 907(a)). We have also held that wholly circumstantial evidence is sufficient to support a conviction of possession of an instrument of crime. See Commonwealth v. Young, 692 A.2d 1112, 1114 (Pa.Super.1997) (holding that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to sustain conviction of possession of instrument of crime).

¶ 11 Our review of the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, reflects the following circumstantial evidence presented by the Commonwealth proved Appellant did the killing in order to support the convictions of first degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. The Commonwealth presented evidence that, in the early morning hours of the day in question, the victim and Appellant were in the victim's home and had an argument about a gun owned by the victim. N.T., 12/12/07, at 145-148. Appellant had been interested in holding the gun, and the victim refused to allow Appellant to hold it. Id. at 147-148. At approximately 8:15 in the morning, a neighbor across the street heard two bangs that sounded like firecrackers. Id. at 107-109. The neighbor then looked out of the window of his house and observed Appellant walking out of the victim's home. Id. at 109-111. The victim was discovered after 11:00 a.m., on the couch of his home, with a gunshot wound to his head. The Commonwealth also introduced evidence establishing that, at some time around noon on the day of the incident, Appellant arrived at the home of Samuel Gonzalez Rosario, and Appellant asked Mr. Rosario to hold a gun for Appellant. Id. at 62-71. Ballistics evidence established that the revolver retrieved from Mr. Rosario's home was the gun used to shoot the victim. Id. at 237.

¶ 12 The judge, sitting as finder of fact, chose to believe the evidence presented by the Commonwealth and we will not substitute our judgment for that of the trial judge. Therefore, we conclude that the actions taken by Appellant were sufficient to prove that Appellant did the killing necessary for first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Likewise, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to prove Appellant used a loaded...