Com. v. Smith, S. ( 2018 )


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  • J-A03045-18
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,                  IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
    OF
    PENNSYLVANIA
    Appellee
    v.
    SHAHEED SMITH,
    Appellant                No. 3884 EDA 2016
    Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence November 21, 2016
    in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
    Criminal Division at No.: CP-51-CR-0007787-2014
    BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and PLATT, J.*
    MEMORANDUM BY PLATT, J.:                               FILED APRIL 16, 2018
    Appellant, Shaheed Smith, appeals from the judgment of sentence
    imposed following his jury conviction of aggravated assault, robbery,
    kidnapping, arson, possession of an instrument of a crime, and three counts
    of criminal conspiracy.1 We affirm.
    This case arises from the brutal robbery of Kevin Slaughter by Appellant
    and his four co-defendants, Timothy Gooden, Kylieff Brown, Christopher
    Cooley, and Kareem Cooley, after a chance meeting between Slaughter and
    Brown at the SugarHouse Casino. We take the relevant facts and procedural
    ____________________________________________
    *   Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
    1   18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2702, 3701, 2901, 3301, 907, and 903 respectively.
    J-A03045-18
    history from the trial court’s April 17, 2017 opinion and our independent
    review of the certified record.
    On December 8, 2013, at approximately 8:00 p.m., Slaughter ran into
    Brown, whom he knew from prison, at the casino. Brown and his cohorts set
    into motion an elaborate scheme to steal Slaughter’s approximately $4,000.00
    in winnings.     During the protracted episode, they shot Slaughter multiple
    times, threw him into a van, beat him, contacted his wife to extract ransom,
    and set the van used in the incident on fire.
    Police learned that Jeffrey Gray, Appellant’s cousin, owned the subject
    van, a cleaning company vehicle with Soft Touch Carpet Cleaning written on
    the side of it. Gray gave a statement to police on the morning of December
    9, 2013, and advised that he had observed Appellant driving the van the night
    before. Gray provided two cellphone numbers for Appellant: (267) 307-2119;
    and (215) 586-0759, a number to a phone Appellant had lost. While Gray
    was at the police station, he received a call from Appellant, who repeatedly
    asked him to report the van stolen.2
    Police obtained search warrants for the defendants’ cellphone records,
    which showed frequent contact between them immediately before, during, and
    ____________________________________________
    2Police did not contemporaneously document the phone number from which
    Appellant placed this call. (See N.T. Suppression, 2/20/15, at 13, 21-23, 33).
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    J-A03045-18
    after the crime.3      The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to
    reconstruct the conspirators’ approximate locations throughout the crime
    using historical cell site data.4 Appellant was arrested on June 5, 2014.
    On February 12, 2015, Appellant filed a motion to suppress the
    cellphone records pertaining to phone number (267) 307-2119, alleging that
    the affidavit of probable cause supporting the search warrant contained a
    material misstatement of fact, and that without this misstatement, there was
    no probable cause.          (See Amended Motion to Suppress, 2/12/15, at
    unnumbered pages 1-2). The affidavit of probable cause states, in pertinent
    part:
    [The van involved in the incident] was registered to [Jeffrey]
    Gray. [During his police interview he] relayed in summary that
    on 12/08/13, a family member by the name of [Appellant] was in
    possession of this van. Gray observed [Appellant] with the van at
    Gray’s residence between 10 and 11 pm on 12/8. [Appellant]
    tried to park the vehicle at that location but was instructed to take
    the vehicle to its normal parking lot[.] . . . [Appellant], who was
    in the vehicle with another unknown black male left with another
    ____________________________________________
    3Cellphone records showed that, during the relevant time period, Cristopher
    Cooley’s phone had ten contacts (calls or text messages) with a phone
    associated with Appellant (the number ending in 2119); Timothy Gooden’s
    phone had nine contacts with the 2119 number and four contacts with the
    second phone number associated with Appellant. (See N.T. Trial, 5/24/16, at
    131-33, 165, 168).
    4 Special Agent William B. Shute of the FBI testified that historical cell site
    analysis is when investigators take the information contained in a phone’s call
    detail records, which are generated as a result of its calls, and analyze the
    calls and depict them onto a map. (See N.T. Trial, 6/01/16, at 40). The
    analysis showed that the phone with the 2119 number associated with
    Appellant was at the approximate sites of the crime scenes. (See 
    id. at 78-
    80, 84-86).
    -3-
    J-A03045-18
    vehicle following. While speaking with Det. [Robert] Schill,
    [Appellant] called Gray and told him to report the van stolen. The
    phone number [Appellant] called from was 267-307-2119
    which was found to be a T-Mobile phone number. Gray
    identified [Appellant as the person] he observed in possession of
    the [v]an utilized to abduct the complainant during the time period
    the complainant was held captive. This van was subsequently
    located . . . on 12/09/13 at approximately 5 am. The vehicle was
    set ablaze by an unknown person. The fire was declared arson by
    the fire marshal.
    (Affidavit of Probable Cause, 12/09/13, at 2-3) (emphasis added to identify
    contested statement).
    The trial court held a hearing on the matter on February 20, 2015.
    Detective Robert Daly testified that phone records from T-Mobile for phone
    number (267) 307-2119 did not have any subscriber name or billing address
    associated with it; it was registered to no one. (See N.T. Suppression, at 37-
    38). Additionally, the phone records did not show a call from (267) 307-2119
    to Jeffrey Gray during the time-period police interviewed him on the morning
    of December 9, 2013. (See 
    id. at 38,
    43). Defense counsel argued that,
    because the phone records did not show a call from (267) 307-2119 to Gray
    during this time-period, there was a material misstatement of fact in the
    affidavit of probable cause.      (See 
    id. at 41,
    47, 50-52, 54).           The
    Commonwealth countered that Appellant failed to establish that he had a
    reasonable expectation of privacy in a phone number not registered to him,
    and that there were no intentional misstatements of fact in the affidavit. (See
    
    id. at 55,
    57). The trial court denied the suppression motion, based on its
    findings that Appellant lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the
    -4-
    J-A03045-18
    cellphone number, and that issuance of the warrant was proper. (See 
    id. at 60).
    On June 13, 2016, a jury found Appellant guilty of the above-listed
    offenses.    On November 21, 2016, the trial court sentenced him to an
    aggregate term of not less than fifteen nor more than thirty years’
    incarceration, followed by seven years of probation. On December 23, 2016,
    the court denied Appellant’s timely post-sentence motion without a hearing.
    Appellant timely appealed.5            He filed a timely, court-ordered concise
    statement of errors complained of on appeal on February 22, 2017, and the
    trial court entered an opinion on April 17, 2017. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
    Appellant raises one question for our review: “Whether the [trial] court
    erred in failing to grant the motion to suppress the physical evidence?”
    (Appellant’s Brief, at 4) (unnecessary capitalization omitted).          Appellant
    argues that the statement at issue in the affidavit of probable cause, regarding
    Gray’s receipt of a phone call from (267) 307-2119 during his police interview,
    was a material misstatement of fact rendering the search warrant invalid.
    (See 
    id. at 11-12,
    14). This issue does not merit relief.
    [O]ur standard of review in addressing a challenge to a trial
    court’s denial of a suppression motion is limited to determining
    whether the factual findings are supported by the record and
    whether the legal conclusions drawn from those facts are correct.
    We are bound by the suppression court’s factual findings so long
    as they are supported by the record; our standard of review on
    ____________________________________________
    5 Appellant filed his notice of appeal prior to the court’s disposition of his post-
    sentence motion. Although the notice was premature when filed, we will
    regard this appeal as timely. See Pa.R.A.P. 905(a)(5).
    -5-
    J-A03045-18
    questions of law is de novo. Where, as here, the defendant is
    appealing the ruling of the suppression court, we may consider
    only the evidence of the Commonwealth and so much of the
    evidence for the defense as remains uncontradicted. Our scope
    of review of suppression rulings includes only the suppression
    hearing record and excludes evidence elicited at trial.
    Commonwealth v. Singleton, 
    169 A.3d 79
    , 82 (Pa. Super. 2017) (citations
    omitted).
    To prevail on a motion to suppress, the defendant must
    show that he has a privacy interest which has been infringed upon.
    ...
    . . . A defendant moving to suppress evidence has the
    preliminary burden of establishing . . . a legitimate
    expectation of privacy. . . . A defendant must separately
    establish a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched
    or thing seized. Whether defendant has a legitimate expectation
    of privacy is a component of the merits analysis of the suppression
    motion. The determination whether defendant has met this
    burden is made upon evaluation of the evidence presented by the
    Commonwealth and the defendant.
    Commonwealth v. Benson, 
    10 A.3d 1268
    , 1272 (Pa. Super. 2010), appeal
    denied, 
    24 A.3d 863
    (Pa. 2011) (citations omitted; emphasis added).
    An expectation of privacy is present when the individual, by
    his conduct, exhibits an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy
    and that the subjective expectation is one that society is prepared
    to recognize as reasonable. The constitutional legitimacy of an
    expectation of privacy is not dependent on the subjective intent
    of the individual asserting the right but on whether the
    expectation is reasonable in light of all the surrounding
    circumstances.
    Commonwealth v. Newman, 
    84 A.3d 1072
    , 1076-77 (Pa. Super. 2014),
    appeal denied, 
    99 A.3d 925
    (Pa. 2014) (citation omitted).
    With regard to the parties’ respective burdens, our Supreme Court has
    explained:
    -6-
    J-A03045-18
    To be sure, under our jurisprudence, the defendant bears
    the burden of persuasion with respect to his privacy
    interest. However, the defendant’s ability to meet this burden is
    not a prerequisite to the Commonwealth’s initial burden of
    production, a burden it must satisfy in all cases. See Pa.R.Crim.P.
    581 cmt. Rule 581(H) clearly states it is the Commonwealth’s
    burden to present evidence that the defendant’s constitutional
    rights were not infringed. The Commonwealth may concede the
    privacy interest, choosing to contest only the legality of police
    conduct; if it does so, the defendant’s “reasonable expectation of
    privacy” need not be established. However, if the evidence of
    the Commonwealth, the party with the burden of
    production, shows the defendant lacked such a privacy
    interest, the burden of establishing the contrary is on the
    defendant.
    . . . [I]n analyzing the merits of a suppression motion, the trial
    court may, indeed, treat the defendant’s privacy interest as a
    “threshold” or “preliminary” matter. That is to say, if the
    evidence shows there was no privacy interest, the
    Commonwealth need prove no more; in terms of the court’s
    review, it need go no further if it finds the defendant has
    not proven a reasonable expectation of privacy. However,
    as it relates to the parties’ presentation of evidence, our cases and
    the Rules of Criminal Procedure make clear that the
    Commonwealth has the burden of production, to give the court
    evidence allowing that conclusion. Once it places the issue before
    the court, as a basis for denying suppression, the defendant may
    prove the contrary. If that proof is found to meet defendant’s
    burden, then the search itself may be examined with the burden
    on the prosecution to show it was not unconstitutional.
    Commonwealth v. Enimpah, 
    106 A.3d 695
    , 701-02 (Pa. 2014) (footnotes
    and some citations omitted; emphases added).
    This Court’s decision in 
    Benson, supra
    is instructive. In that case, the
    defendant sought to suppress records related to a cellphone owned by his
    then-girlfriend and primarily used by him. See 
    Benson, supra
    at 1271-72.
    The Court concluded:
    -7-
    J-A03045-18
    . . . While appellant had use of the telephone, the bills in question
    were not his telephone bills. . . . Appellant had no legal right to
    request or control access to the information from the telephone
    company because he was not the owner of the telephone. He had
    no legitimate expectation of privacy in them.
    . . . We hold that appellant has no legitimate expectation of
    privacy under either the United States Constitution or the
    Pennsylvania Constitution in the cellular telephone records for a
    telephone used by him but owned by a third party. Thus, there is
    no merit to appellant’s claim that the trial court erred in failing to
    suppress the telephone records.
    
    Id. at 1273-74
    (some capitalization adjusted; emphasis omitted).
    Here, at the suppression hearing, Detective Daly testified as follows on
    direct examination:
    Q. . . . [D]id you receive back phone records from T-Mobile
    for the phone number 267-307-2119?
    A. That’s correct.
    Q. Okay. And when you received back the results of
    that search warrant, did it come back as the subscriber
    information to [Appellant]?
    A. It did not.
    Q. Okay. Did it come back the subscriber information to
    anyone?
    A. It did not.
    Q. Okay. There was no name at all?
    A. There was no name.
    Q. No address?
    A. No billing address and no name.
    (N.T. Suppression, at 37-38) (emphases added).
    -8-
    J-A03045-18
    After this exchange, which showed that Appellant lacked a privacy
    interest in the cellphone records, Appellant made no attempt to establish the
    contrary. See Enimpah, 701-02. He presented no evidence demonstrating
    his reasonable expectation of privacy in the cellphone or associated records.
    Therefore, we conclude that Appellant failed to meet his threshold burden with
    respect to establishing his privacy interest in a phone not registered to him.
    See id.; see also 
    Benson, supra
    at 1272, 1274. Therefore, Appellant’s sole
    issue on appeal does not merit relief.6 Accordingly, we affirm the judgment
    of sentence.
    Judgment of sentence affirmed.
    ____________________________________________
    6 Moreover, even if Appellant had demonstrated a legitimate expectation of
    privacy in the phone records, his claim would fail. We agree with the trial
    court that the misstatement in the affidavit of probable cause was immaterial
    in light of other information contained in the affidavit, and that there was no
    showing that the misstatement was deliberate. (See Trial Court Opinion,
    4/17/17, at 30-32 (stating Detective Daly made reasonable inference from
    information provided by Mr. Gray that Appellant had two phones (numbers
    (267) 307-2119 and (215) 586-0759), and had lost the 0759 number)); see
    also Commonwealth v. Baker, 
    24 A.3d 1006
    , 1017 (Pa. Super. 2011), aff’d,
    
    78 A.3d 1044
    (Pa. 2013) (every inaccuracy in an affidavit of probable cause
    does not justify exclusion of evidence; misstatements of fact will invalidate
    search warrant only if they are deliberate and material).
    -9-
    J-A03045-18
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 4/16/18
    - 10 -
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 3884 EDA 2016

Filed Date: 4/16/2018

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 4/16/2018