Com. v. McCauley, J. ( 2022 )


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  • J-A15038-22
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA               :     IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    :          PENNSYLVANIA
    :
    v.                             :
    :
    :
    JAMES DUSTIN MCCAULEY                      :
    :
    Appellant               :     No. 826 WDA 2021
    Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered February 17, 2021
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County
    Criminal Division at No(s): CP-16-CR-0000201-2020
    BEFORE: BOWES, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and SULLIVAN, J.
    MEMORANDUM BY SULLIVAN, J.:                        FILED: SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
    James Dustin McCauley (“McCauley”) appeals from the judgment of
    sentence imposed following his conviction for driving under the influence
    (“DUI”) of alcohol—general impairment, accidents involving damage to
    unattended vehicle or property (“accidents involving damage”), and related
    summary offenses.1 We affirm.
    The trial court summarized the relevant factual history as follows:
    In the early morning of February 19, 2020, Officer [Justin]
    O’Neil received a dispatch informing him that there was a vehicle
    crash into a porch [at the Bean residence, located at] 204 North
    Second Avenue in Clarion Borough. Upon arrival, Officer O’Neil
    observed a 2016 black GMC Yukon against the front porch of the
    residence with the engine running, the vehicle still in drive, the
    headlights on, and [McCauley] unconscious in the driver seat.
    Officer O’Neil repeatedly knocked on the window and flashed his
    light into the SUV to wake [McCauley] up, however, [McCauley]
    failed to respond. Consequently, Officer O’Neil climbed in the SUV
    ____________________________________________
    1   See 75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3802(a)(1), 3745(a), 3714(a), 3301(a).
    J-A15038-22
    through the unlocked back door of the vehicle, put the vehicle into
    park, and unlocked the front passenger door so that he could
    check on [McCauley’s] condition. At this time, the fire department
    arrived on scene and opened the front passenger door, while
    making sure [McCauley] wouldn’t fall out of the vehicle. Officer
    O’Neil attempted to communicate with [McCauley] verbally, but
    he did not respond until Officer O’Neil shined his flashlight at him
    and grabbed [McCauley’s] arm.
    Officer O’Neil testified that [McCauley] noted that the officer
    was a part of the Clarion Borough Police Department and
    “reiterated that he was being good because he wasn’t driving. He
    wasn’t driving because he had been drinking. That conversation
    went on for a little while. [McCauley] did not believe he crashed
    his vehicle.” Officer O’Neil stated that no one else was at the
    scene and [McCauley] made no statements as to who would have
    been driving. Officer O’Neil testified that [McCauley] “had glassy,
    blood-shot eyes, his speech was very slurred, and he had a strong
    odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from him.” Michael
    Chesterfield, a Clarion Borough firefighter also testified that
    “[t]here was an odor of alcohol present.” Officer O’Neil testified
    that [McCauley] was assisted out of the SUV by himself and a
    paramedic because [McCauley] was unsteady on his feet.
    Afterwards, while searching for the vehicle’s registration, Officer
    O’Neil found one (1) half-full, open container of Bud Light in the
    driver’s side door and two (2) empty beer cans in the center
    console. Officer O’Neil testified that[,] around this time, the
    paramedic asked for his assistance due to [McCauley] being
    uncooperative. Officer O’Neil testified that [McCauley] began
    stating he did not believe he had crashed and wanted out of the
    ambulance. Officer O’Neil did not perform a field sobriety test on
    [McCauley] but did transport him to the Clarion Hospital to be
    looked at and have a blood draw—which [McCauley] ultimately
    refused. Officer O’Neil did not pursue a search warrant for the
    blood draw upon taking [McCauley] to the station, where he
    continued to deny he crashed.
    Officer O’Neil testified that at approximately 6:43 [a.m.] in
    the morning, he received another dispatch to respond to 8 South
    Second Avenue for a reported hit and run. At this location, Officer
    O’Neil testified that he “observed a red 1995 Honda Civic that was
    registered to the occupants of that residence [and] was
    damaged.” He also testified that he saw tracks through their yard,
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    across Main Street that led to where [McCauley] had crashed the
    SUV at 204 North Second Avenue.
    [McCauley] testified that leading up to the crash, “I was
    completely fine.” He denied he was under the influence of alcohol
    when he crashed his vehicle. [McCauley] testified that after the
    crash, he remembered he was driving the SUV prior to crashing,
    but remembered nothing about the actual crash. [McCauley]
    testified that he went to be examined by a cardiologist . . . [who]
    informed [McCauley] he did not have a heart problem and
    recommended he see a neurologist instead. [McCauley] testified
    that the neurologist . . . recommended he take the medication
    Keppra, [an anti-epileptic medication to prevent seizures,] as
    [McCauley] has damage to his temporal and frontal lobe
    reportedly from a vehicle crash that occurred in 2011. [McCauley]
    testified that he now believes he had a seizure on the night of the
    crash. [McCauley] also explained that he went to see a second
    neurologist because he felt he didn’t need the medication, and he
    needed his PennDOT papers signed in order to have his license
    reinstated after the reported seizure. The license was suspended
    after [McCauley] reported to doctors that he believed he had a
    seizure on the night of the accident which caused him to crash.
    The second neurologist changed his medication to Lamictal.
    [McCauley] testified he was not drinking and that the beer
    cans were left from “whoever was in my vehicle over the
    weekend.” However, [McCauley] testified that he did have a glass
    of whiskey before he left the car dealership where he worked that
    night to drive to his friend’s house about ten (10) minutes away
    from the dealership when the crash transpired.
    Trial Court Opinion, 6/15/21, at unnumbered 2-5 (citations to the record
    omitted, paragraph breaks added).
    Police charged McCauley with one count of DUI—general impairment,
    two counts of accidents involving damage, and one count each of careless
    driving, and failure to keep right. The matter proceeded to a non-jury trial at
    which McCauley testified that he believed he had a seizure which caused the
    accidents. The trial court found McCauley’s seizure theory far-fetched and
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    convicted him on all charges. On February 17, 2021, the trial court imposed
    a sentence of five days to six months incarceration on the DUI count, and fines
    related to the summary offenses.
    Both McCauley and the Commonwealth filed post-sentence motions.
    McCauley challenged the weight of the evidence supporting his convictions.
    In addition, McCauley challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting
    his convictions for accidents involving damage. In its post-sentence motion,
    the Commonwealth asserted that, because this was McCauley’s second DUI
    conviction and, in the instant matter he caused damage to property while DUI,
    the sentencing enhancement provided by 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(b)(2)(i)
    mandated a minimum sentence of thirty days in jail, plus fines and conditions.
    On June 15, 2021, the trial court entered an opinion and order ruling on
    the post-sentence motions. The court granted, in part, and denied, in part,
    McCauley’s post-sentence motion.      The court vacated the conviction for
    accidents involving damage as related to crash into the porch of the Bean
    residence on the basis that police obtained McCauley’s information at the
    scene of the accident.      However, the court left intact the remaining
    convictions. The court granted the Commonwealth’s post-sentence motion,
    finding that the sentencing enhancement applied. The trial court accordingly
    amended the sentencing order to impose a term of thirty days to six months
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    of incarceration for DUI—general impairment. McCauley filed a timely notice
    of appeal and both he and the trial court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.2
    McCauley raises the following issues for our review:
    1. Whether there was insufficient evidence to convict [McCauley]
    of DUI when there was an equally as likely chance that
    [McCauley] had a seizure when he was driving the vehicle
    which caused him to crash?
    2. Whether there was insufficient evidence to convict [McCauley]
    of accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle or
    property when [McCauley] suffered from a seizure and failed
    to stop because he was unconscious?
    3. Whether [McCauley’s] sentence is illegal when the sentencing
    court sentenced [McCauley] to the thirty (30) day mandatory
    minimum sentence pursuant to the property damage
    enhancement for a general impairment DUI: second offense?
    McCauley’s Brief at 6 (unnecessary capitalization omitted).
    McCauley’s first two issues challenge the sufficiency of the evidence
    supporting certain of his convictions.         Because evidentiary sufficiency is a
    question of law, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is
    plenary. See Commonwealth v. Diamond, 
    83 A.3d 119
    , 126 (Pa. 2013).
    When considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence:
    [W]e evaluate the record in the light most favorable to the
    verdict winner giving the prosecution the benefit of all reasonable
    inferences to be drawn from the evidence. 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. Nevertheless, the
    ____________________________________________
    2 The trial court authored a brief Rule 1925(a) opinion addressing one of
    McCauley’s issues; however, it relied on its June 15, 2021 opinion addressing
    the post-sentence motions for McCauley’s remaining issues.
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    Commonwealth need not establish guilt to a mathematical
    certainty. Any doubt about the defendant’s guilt is to be resolved
    by the fact finder unless the evidence is so weak and inconclusive
    that, as a matter of law, no probability of fact can be drawn from
    the combined circumstances.
    The Commonwealth may sustain its burden by means of
    wholly circumstantial evidence. Accordingly, [t]he fact that the
    evidence establishing a defendant’s participation in a crime is
    circumstantial does not preclude a conviction where the evidence
    coupled with the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom
    overcomes the presumption of innocence. Significantly, we may
    not substitute our judgment for that of the fact finder; thus, so
    long as the evidence adduced, accepted in the light most favorable
    to the Commonwealth, demonstrates the respective elements of
    a defendant’s crimes beyond a reasonable doubt, the appellant’s
    convictions will be upheld.
    Commonwealth v. Franklin, 
    69 A.3d 719
    , 722-23 (Pa. Super. 2013)
    (internal quotations and citations omitted).         Importantly, “the trier of fact
    while passing upon the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence
    produced,   is   free   to   believe   all,   part   or   none   of   the   evidence.”
    Commonwealth v. Orr, 
    38 A.3d 868
    , 873 (Pa. Super. 2011) (en banc).
    In his first issue, McCauley challenges the sufficiency of the evidence
    supporting his conviction for DUI—general impairment. The crime of DUI—
    general impairment is defined as follows:
    An individual may not drive, operate or be in actual physical
    control of the movement of a vehicle after imbibing a sufficient
    amount of alcohol such that the individual is rendered incapable
    of safely driving, operating or being in actual physical control of
    the movement of the vehicle.
    75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(a)(1); see also See Commonwealth v. Clemens, 
    242 A.3d 659
    , 665 (Pa. Super. 2020) (holding that, to prove that a person is
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    incapable of driving safely, the Commonwealth must demonstrate the
    defendant was (1) operating a motor vehicle (2) after the defendant had
    consumed enough alcohol that he was rendered incapable of safe operation of
    that vehicle).   To prove a person is incapable of driving safely, the
    Commonwealth must prove that alcohol has substantially impaired the normal
    mental and physical faculties required to operate the vehicle safely.
    Clemens, 242 A.3d at 665. Section 3802(a)(1) does not restrict the manner
    in which the Commonwealth may prove that the accused operated a vehicle
    under the influence of alcohol to a degree which rendered him incapable of
    safely driving. Id.
    McCauley claims that he presented evidence of his 2011 brain injury,
    and asserts that the symptoms he displayed after the accident, including
    confusion, a blank stare, slurred speech, and delayed responses, were
    consistent with both intoxication and a brain injury. McCauley argues that,
    because he presented evidence that he may have had a seizure, the
    Commonwealth was required to disprove that he had a seizure.         McCauley
    contends that “[t]o completely ignore the testimony regarding [his] brain
    injury and find that he was intoxicated is to base a conviction on conjecture
    and speculation . . ..”   McCauley’s Brief at 18 (internal quotation marks
    omitted).
    At trial, the court provided the following explanation for its verdict of
    guilt for DUI—general impairment:
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    Looking at the two fact patterns that have been presented
    to me, I think it’s somewhat far[-]fetched and hard to believe that
    there was a freak isolated, medical incident that occurred on this
    particular night when this had never happened before and hasn’t
    happened since. And it just so happened in the middle of the night
    when a vehicle had open beer containers in it. So, I do think the
    Commonwealth has met its burden. I do think [McCauley] was in
    physical control and was driving this vehicle after drinking alcohol
    and that he was rendered incapable of safe driving, obviously,
    based on the accident that occurred here. I think from the
    photographs, it’s pretty clear to see where the vehicle traveled
    down the couple blocks on Second Avenue, hit a tree, hit a vehicle,
    and hit a porch and came to rest there. So, based on all the
    evidence that was presented, I do find the defendant guilty of
    [DUI] . . ..
    N.T., 1/4/21, at 99-100.3
    Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth,
    we conclude that the Commonwealth presented sufficient circumstantial
    evidence from which the trial court, sitting as the finder of fact, could conclude
    beyond a reasonable doubt that McCauley consumed an amount of alcohol
    which rendered him incapable of safely driving his Yukon.         Though Officer
    O’Neil did not conduct a sobriety field test and McCauley refused a blood draw,
    McCauley admitted at trial that he had consumed whiskey prior to driving.
    See N.T., 1/4/21, at 84.          When Officer O’Neil was finally able to arouse
    McCauley, he told the officer that “he was being good because he wasn’t
    driving. . . because he had been drinking.” Id. at 9. The officer testified that
    ____________________________________________
    3 The trial court failed to address McCauley’s sufficiency challenge to his DUI—
    general impairment conviction in either its opinion regarding the post-
    sentence motions or its Rule 1925(a) opinion. However, as our standard of
    review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary, this omission does not
    impede our review.
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    McCauley “had glassy, blood-shot eyes, his speech was very slurred, and he
    had a strong odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from him.” Id. at 10-
    11.   Fireman Chesterfield also testified that McCauley appeared to be
    intoxicated, and there was a strong odor of alcohol emanating from him
    following the crash. Id. at 47, 49. Fireman Chesterfield additionally noted
    that McCauley’s speech was “slow and delayed,” which is consistent with
    intoxication. Id. at 47, 49-50. Officer O’Neil found an open container of beer
    in the driver’s side door and two empty beer cans in the center console of
    McCauley’s vehicle.   Id. at 12.    Finally, McCauley does not dispute the
    Commonwealth’s evidence that, while operating his vehicle, he hit the Honda
    Civic and crashed his vehicle into the porch of a residence. Accordingly, we
    conclude that the evidence presented at trial, including all reasonable
    inferences drawn therefrom, was sufficient to establish that McCauley
    operated his vehicle after he consumed enough alcohol that he was rendered
    incapable of safely operating his vehicle. See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(a)(1); see
    also Clemens, 242 A.3d at 665.
    The Commonwealth was not required to disprove that McCauley had a
    seizure.   Nor was the judge, sitting as fact finder, required to believe
    McCauley’s claim that he had a seizure on the night of the accident.       As
    explained above, the trial judge was free to believe all, part, or none of
    McCauley’s testimony.    See Orr, 
    38 A.3d at 873
    .     Indeed, the trial court
    rejected McCauley’s testimony as non-credible and far-fetched, particularly
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    given that McCauley had never had a seizure or sought treatment by a
    neurologist in the nine years following his 2011 car accident. Accordingly, as
    the evidence was sufficient to support McCauley’s DUI-general impairment
    conviction, his first issue warrants no relief.
    In his second issue, McCauley contends that the evidence was
    insufficient to support his conviction for accidents involving damage. To obtain
    a conviction for accidents involving damage, the Commonwealth must prove
    the following:
    The driver of any vehicle which collides with or is involved
    in an accident with any vehicle or other property which is
    unattended resulting in any damage to the other vehicle or
    property shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the
    accident or as close thereto as possible and shall then and there
    either locate and notify the operator or owner of the damaged
    vehicle or other property of his name, address, information
    relating to financial responsibility and the registration number of
    the vehicle being driven or shall attach securely in a conspicuous
    place in or on the damaged vehicle or other property a written
    notice giving his name, address, information relating to financial
    responsibility and the registration number of the vehicle being
    driven and shall without unnecessary delay notify the nearest
    office of a duly authorized police department. Every stop shall be
    made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
    75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3745.
    McCauley argues that “neither [he] or his vehicle ever left the scene of
    the accident as he was crashed into a porch until police awoke him and
    eventually took him to the hospital in an ambulance.” McCauley’s Brief at 20.
    McCauley asserts that he did not notify the Beans of the accident because he
    was unconscious. McCauley claims that the Commonwealth was required to
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    disprove that he was unconscious, and therefore failed to meet its burden of
    proof.
    Notably, McCauley’s arguments relate to the second accident, which
    caused damage to the Bean’s porch.          As explained above, the trial court
    vacated that conviction because, as McCauley successfully argued in his post-
    sentence motion, police officers obtained McCauley’s information at the scene
    of the porch crash. As the trial court stated:
    Here, the evidence presented at the time of trial does prove
    that [McCauley] hit the unattended [Honda Civic] located at 8
    South Second Avenue, then proceeded to drive his vehicle across
    Main Street and into the porch at the Bean residence. While he
    did not stop to provide the required information to the owners of
    the vehicle, his information was obtained by police at the scene of
    the Bean residence. Therefore, [McCauley] can only be found
    guilty of one count of [accidents involving damage], and not two
    counts.
    Trial Court Opinion, 6/15/21, at unnumbered 8.
    As is evident from the record, the trial court vacated McCauley’s
    conviction for accidents involving damage as related to the crash into the
    porch of the Bean residence. Thus, the only remaining conviction for accidents
    involving damage pertains to the unattended Honda Civic that McCauley hit
    before he crashed into the Bean’s porch. See id. McCauley does not address
    his conviction for the damage he caused to the unattended Honda Civic or
    assert that the evidence regarding that conviction is insufficient. Thus, we
    deem the issue waived.          See Pa.R.A.P. 2119 (providing that appellate
    arguments shall include “such discussion and citation of authorities as are
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    deemed pertinent”); see also Commonwealth v. Johnson, 
    985 A.2d 915
    ,
    924 (Pa. 2009) (holding that where an appellate brief fails to provide any
    discussion of a claim with citation to relevant authority or fails to develop the
    issue in any other meaningful fashion capable of review, that claim is waived).
    In his final issue, McCauley challenges the legality of his enhanced
    sentence under section 3804(b)(2)(i), which we review by employing the
    following standard:
    [A] claim that implicates the fundamental legal authority of
    the court to impose a particular sentence constitutes a challenge
    to the legality of the sentence. If no statutory authorization exists
    for a particular sentence, that sentence is illegal and subject to
    correction.     Issues relating to the legality of sentence are
    questions of law, and thus, our standard of review is de novo and
    our scope of review is plenary.
    Commonwealth v. Clarke, 
    70 A.3d 1281
    , 1284 (Pa. Super. 2013) (quotation
    marks and citations omitted). Further, a claim pertaining to the legality of
    sentence may be raised for the first time on appeal and is not subject to
    waiver. Commonwealth v. Foster, 
    960 A.2d 160
    , 163 (Pa. Super. 2008).
    Section 3804(b)(2)(i) applies to a second DUI offense which results in
    damage to, inter alia, a vehicle or other property:
    (b) High rate of blood alcohol; minors; commercial vehicles
    and school buses and school vehicles; accidents.—Except as
    set forth in subsection (c), an individual who violates section
    3802(a)(1) where there was an accident resulting in bodily injury,
    serious bodily injury or death of any person or damage to a vehicle
    or other property or who violates section 3802(b), (e) or (f) shall
    be sentenced as follows:
    ****
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    (2) For a second offense, to:
    (i)        undergo imprisonment of not less than 30 days;
    (ii)       pay a fine of not less than $750 nor more than
    $5000;
    (iii)      attend alcohol highway safety school approved by
    the department; and
    (iv)       comply with all drug and alcohol treatment
    requirements under sections 3814 and 3815.
    75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(b)(2).
    McCauley argues that application of the sentencing enhancement
    provided by section 3804(b)(2)(i) in the instant matter is illegal pursuant to
    Alleyne v. United States, 
    570 U.S. 99
     (2013).                  The Alleyne Court
    recognized the importance of presenting a criminal defendant with notice of a
    factor potentially increasing his or her punishment and held that if “a statute
    prescribes a particular punishment to be inflicted on those who commit it
    under     special     circumstances   which   it   mentions,   or   with   particular
    aggravations, then those special circumstances must be specified in the
    indictment.” Id. at 112. The Alleyne Court further ruled that “any fact that,
    by law, increases the penalty for a crime must be treated as an element of
    the offense, submitted to a jury rather than a judge, and found beyond a
    reasonable doubt.” Id. at 116.
    Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 560 describes the content of a
    criminal information and requires “a plain and concise statement of the
    essential elements of the offense.” Pa.R.Crim.P. 560(B)(5). The purpose of
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    the criminal information is to provide the accused with sufficient notice to
    prepare a defense, and to ensure that he will not be tried twice for the same
    act. See Commonwealth v. Bickerstaff, 
    204 A.3d 988
    , 995 (Pa. Super.
    2019). Criminal informations must be read in a common sense manner and
    are not to be construed in an overly-technical sense.            
    Id.
       A criminal
    information is not constitutionally infirm if it notified the defendant of the
    crime with which he is charged. Commonwealth v. Jones, 
    912 A.2d 268
    ,
    289 (Pa. 2006) (explaining that this Court has upheld criminal indictments
    possessing a flaw and found them to be constitutional because they put the
    defendant on sufficient notice of the charge against him or her).
    McCauley claims that because the criminal information did not mention
    the   sentencing   enhancement      provided   by   section    3804(b)(2)(i),   the
    imposition of the sentencing enhancement constitutes an illegal sentence.
    McCauley further claims that, even if the criminal information included the
    sentencing    enhancement,    the    imposition     of   the   enhancement      was
    nevertheless illegal because the trial court never made any finding that there
    was damage to a vehicle or property pursuant to the sentencing enhancement.
    According to McCauley, the mere fact that the court found him guilty of
    accidents involving damage at trial did not permit the court to determine post-
    trial and post-sentencing that McCauley caused damage to property for
    purposes of the enhancement.        McCauley maintains that, once the judge
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    delivered the verdict, the trial court was foreclosed from finding that the
    Commonwealth had proved the sentencing enhancement.
    In the instant matter, the sentencing enhancement provided by section
    3804(b)(2)(i) was not pleaded in the criminal information. Nevertheless, the
    criminal information charged McCauley with the elements necessary to prove
    the   enhancement:       namely,    DUI—general       impairment        under   section
    3802(a)(1); and a vehicular accident while DUI causing both damage to a
    vehicle and to other property. Thus, although McCauley was not specifically
    notified in the criminal information that the Commonwealth intended to seek
    application of section 3804(b)(2)(i), he was on notice of the factual allegations
    that would support the application of the sentencing enhancement.                 Thus,
    because   the    criminal information specified the          special circumstances
    necessary to establish the sentencing enhancement provided by section
    3804(b)(2)(i),   there    is   no   Alleyne     violation   regarding    the    criminal
    information.
    McCauley additionally argues that, pursuant to Alleyne, the trial judge’s
    factual finding that McCauley caused property damage for the purpose of
    convicting him of accidents involving damage cannot be used for the separate
    purpose of supporting the application of the enhancement provided by section
    3804(b)(2)(i).
    We are mindful that a conviction at one count does not establish an
    element necessary for increasing a sentence at another count.                      See
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    Commonwealth v. Kearns, 
    907 A.2d 649
     (Pa. Super. 2006) (labeling this
    unauthorized practice as “intracase collateral estoppel” and holding that, since
    juries render inconsistent verdicts, it is necessary that the element giving rise
    to the sentencing increase must be specifically found in relation to the count
    on which the defendant is being sentenced); see also Commonwealth v.
    Johnson, 
    910 A.2d 60
    , 68 (Pa. Super. 2006) (finding an illegal sentence
    where the trial court used the jury’s finding of serious bodily injury in relation
    to the aggravated assault conviction to enhance the defendant’s sentence for
    his attempted murder conviction).
    However, unlike Kearns and Johnson, which involved trials in which a
    jury sat as fact finder, the instant matter involved a non-jury trial in which the
    trial court judge sat as the finder of fact. Moreover, in this case, the trial court
    made a specific factual finding at trial that McCauley was guilty of DUI—
    general impairment and that, while DUI he caused property damage to a
    vehicle and other property:
    I do think [McCauley] was in physical control and was
    driving this vehicle after drinking alcohol and that he was rendered
    incapable of safe driving, obviously, based on the accident that
    occurred here. I think from the photographs, it’s pretty clear to
    see where the vehicle traveled down the couple blocks on Second
    Avenue, hit a tree, hit a vehicle, and hit a porch and came to rest
    there. So, based on all the evidence that was presented, I do find
    the defendant guilty of [DUI]; . . . the accident to the parked car;
    and . . . accident resulting in damage to the porch . . ..
    N.T., 1/4/21, at 99-100.
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    Given that the trial court made an explicit finding on the record at trial
    that McCauley caused both damage to a vehicle and to other property while
    he was DUI, we conclude that there is no Alleyne violation.            Moreover,
    because McCauley had a prior conviction for DUI, the sentencing enhancement
    provided by section 3804(b)(2)(i) mandated a minimum sentence of thirty
    days in jail, plus fines and conditions. Thus, McCauley’s sentence is not illegal.
    As none of McCauley’s issues warrant relief, we affirm the judgment of
    sentence.
    Judgment of sentence affirmed.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 9/22/2022
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