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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
CARLOS ALBERTO ACOSTA
Appellant No. 721 MDA 2014
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence March 26, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-41-CR-0001797-2012
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., JENKINS, J., and MUSMANNO, J.
MEMORANDUM BY JENKINS, J.: FILED JANUARY 21, 2015
Appellant Carlos Alberto Acosta appeals from the judgment of
sentence entered in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas following
his bench trial convictions for persons not to possess a firearm, and firearms
not to be carried without a license.1 We affirm.
The trial court set forth the relevant facts and procedural history of
this appeal as follows:
By Criminal Complaint filed on September 23, 2012,
[Appellant] was charged with one count of persons not to
possess a firearm, graded as a felony of the second
degree. The charge arose out of an incident that allegedly
occurred on September 23, 2012 at approximately 5:30
p.m. near 1118 Isabella Street in Williamsport in which a
witness saw an individual, later identified as [Appellant],
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1
18 Pa.C.S. §§ 6105, 6106, respectively.
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pass a handgun to another individual. Police responded
and eventually detained [Appellant]. The second
individual, who had allegedly been handed the gun, fled
when police arrived. A search of his flight path uncovered
a handgun.
* * *
Officer Nathan Moyer, of the Williamsport Bureau of
Police…testified on behalf of the Commonwealth. He was
dispatched to 1118 Isabella Street because of a
‘disturbance involving a gun.’ When he arrived on the
scene, he detained [Appellant]. When he asked
[Appellant] what had happened, [Appellant] indicated that
he was just walking by, the police showed up and he was
handcuffed. He subsequently spoke with Mr. [Curt]+
VanderVere and then searched the flight path of the other
individual. He found ‘a Smith & Wesson black and silver,
black and grey handgun semiautomatic under a parked
vehicle, and that parked vehicle would have been in the
direct flight path of the male in the grey hoodie.’ When he
recovered the handgun, he found that there was a round in
the chamber.[2]
* * *
The Criminal Complaint alleges that [Appellant’s] previous
escape conviction and juvenile adjudication for aggravated
assault precluded him from possessing any weapons.
On June 11, 2013, the Commonwealth filed a motion to
amend the Information to add Count 2, firearms not to be
carried without a license, a felony of the third degree. By
Order dated June 13, 2013, the Court granted the
Commonwealth’s motion. By stipulation of the parties, the
Court also amended the grading of Count 1 from a felony
of the second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.
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2
Expert Dr. Jill Cramer, a forensic DNA analyst, testified that it was more
probable than not that Appellant’s DNA was on the handgun. N.T., August
30, 2013, at 61.
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A non-jury trial was held before this [c]ourt on June 13,
2013, July 5, 2013 and August 30, 2013. Following the
trial, on August 30, 2013, the [c]ourt found [Appellant]
guilty of both charges. Sentencing was scheduled for
January 21, 2014.
At the January 21, 2014 sentencing hearing, the parties
disputed [Appellant’s] prior record score. [Appellant]
indicated he was never adjudicated delinquent on a
conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Accordingly, the
sentencing hearing was continued to March 21, 2014. At
this scheduled hearing, [Appellant] questioned “the
propriety” of his conviction claiming that Count 1 was
improperly graded. [Appellant] also disputed his prior
record score. The sentencing was again continued, this
time to March 26, 2014.
By Order dated March 26, 2014, following the sentencing
hearing, the [c]ourt sentenced [Appellant] to a 3½ to 7
year period of incarceration in a state correctional
institution on Count 2 and a concurrent 1 to 2 year
sentence on Count 1. For purposes of the sentence on
Count 2, the [c]ourt determined the offense gravity score
to be a 9 and [Appellant’s] prior record score to be a 5.
[Appellant] filed a timely post-sentence motion on April 4,
2014.
Trial Court Opinion and Order denying Appellant’s Post Sentence Motion,
filed April 22, 2014, at 1-2, 5.3
On April 22, 2014, the court denied Appellant’s post sentence motion.
Appellant timely filed an appeal on April 28, 2014. On May 7, 2014, the
court ordered Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of
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3
In its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion, the trial court incorporates its opinion and
order denying Appellant’s post sentence motion.
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on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) within twenty-one days, and
Appellant filed a Rule 1925(b) statement on June 16, 2014.
Appellant raises the following issue for our review:
WHETHER THE GUILTY VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE
WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE WHEN THE COMMONWEALTH’S
EYEWITNESSES’ TESTIMONY CONTRADICTED EACH OTHER
WHICH RESULTED IN A VERDICT BASED UPON PURE
CONJECTURE[?]
Appellant’s Brief at 4.
Before we address the merits of this appeal, we must determine
whether Appellant timely filed his Rule 1925(b) statement in the trial court.
If his statement was untimely, Pa.R.A.P. 1925(c)(3) obligates us to deem
appellate counsel ineffective and to remand the case for the filing of a Rule
1925(b) statement nunc pro tunc. Commonwealth v. Myers, 86 A.3d 286,
289 (Pa.Super.2014).
The Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure provide, in relevant
part:
Rule 1925. Opinion in Support of Order
* * *
(b) Direction to file statement of errors
complained of on appeal; instructions to the
appellant and the trial court.--If the judge entering the
order giving rise to the notice of appeal (“judge”) desires
clarification of the errors complained of on appeal, the
judge may enter an order directing the appellant to file of
record in the trial court and serve on the judge a concise
statement of the errors complained of on appeal
(“Statement”).
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(1) Filing and service.--Appellant shall file of record
the Statement and concurrently shall serve the judge.
Filing of record and service on the judge shall be in person
or by mail as provided in Pa.R.A.P. 121(a) and shall be
complete on mailing if appellant obtains a United States
Postal Service Form 3817, Certificate of Mailing, or other
similar United States Postal Service form from which the
date of deposit can be verified in compliance with the
requirements set forth in Pa.R.A.P. 1112(c). Service on
parties shall be concurrent with filing and shall be by any
means of service specified under Pa.R.A.P. 121(c).
(2) Time for filing and service.--The judge shall allow
the appellant at least 21 days from the date of the order’s
entry on the docket for the filing and service of the
Statement. Upon application of the appellant and for good
cause shown, the judge may enlarge the time period
initially specified or permit an amended or supplemental
Statement to be filed. In extraordinary circumstances, the
judge may allow for the filing of a Statement or amended
or supplemental Statement nunc pro tunc.
* * *
(c) Remand.
(1) An appellate court may remand in either a civil or
criminal case for a determination as to whether a
Statement had been filed and/or served or timely filed
and/or served.
* * *
(3) If an appellant in a criminal case was ordered to file
a Statement and failed to do so, such that the appellate
court is convinced that counsel has been per se ineffective,
the appellate court shall remand for the filing of a
Statement nunc pro tunc and for the preparation and filing
of an opinion by the judge.
Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
In Commonwealth v. Lord, our Supreme Court held that
“[a]ppellants must comply whenever the trial court orders them to file a
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Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal pursuant to Rule 1925. Any
issues not raised in a 1925(b) statement will be deemed waived.” 719 A.2d
306, 309 (1998). In Commonwealth v. Castillo, the Supreme Court re-
affirmed the bright line rule set forth in Lord that mandates strict
compliance with Rule 1925(b). 888 A.2d 775, 780 (Pa.2005). In Castillo,
the Court specifically voiced its disproval of “prior decisions of the
intermediate courts to the extent that they…created exceptions to Lord and
have addressed issues that should have been deemed waived.” Id.
Here, in an order docketed on May 7, 2014, the court ordered
Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal
within twenty-one days. The court specifically directed Appellant to serve a
copy of his statement on the court and warned Appellant “any issue not
properly included in the Statement timely filed and served pursuant to Rule
1925(b) shall be deemed waived.” Appellant, however, filed his Rule
1925(b) statement on June 16, 2014. Nothing in the record indicates
Appellant requested an extension of time. Thus, Appellant’s 1925(b)
statement is patently untimely, and his counsel was per se ineffective for
failing to file it within the court-ordered deadline. See Myers, supra.
When the trial court has addressed the issues presented in an untimely
Rule 1925(b) statement, however, we need not remand and may address
the merits of the issues presented. Commonwealth v. Thompson, 39
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A.3d 335, 340-41 (Pa.Super.2012). Thus, we proceed to address the merits
of Appellant’s issue on appeal.
Appellant argues the Commonwealth presented conflicting evidence
that resulted in a verdict of guilt based upon conjecture. Specifically,
Appellant claims the testimony of one witness contradicted the testimony of
the other witness. Appellant concludes the verdict was against the weight of
the evidence. We disagree.
We review challenges to the weight of the evidence as follows:
The weight of the evidence is exclusively for the finder
of fact who is free to believe all, part, or none of the
evidence and to determine the credibility of the
witnesses. An appellate court cannot substitute its
judgment for that of the finder of fact. Thus, we may
only reverse the…verdict if it is so contrary to the
evidence as to shock one’s sense of justice.
Commonwealth v. Small, 741 A.2d 666, 672–73
(Pa.1999) [cert. denied, 121 S.Ct. 80, 148 L.Ed.2d 42
(U.S.2000)]. Moreover, where the trial court has ruled on
the weight claim below, an appellate court’s role is not to
consider the underlying question of whether the verdict is
against the weight of the evidence. Rather, appellate
review is limited to whether the trial court palpably abused
its discretion in ruling on the weight claim.
Commonwealth v. Devine, 26 A.3d 1139, 1146 (Pa.Super. 2011), appeal
denied, 42 A.3d 1059 (Pa.2012) (some internal citations omitted).
Accordingly, “[o]ne of the least assailable reasons for granting or
denying a new trial is the lower court’s conviction that the verdict was or
was not against the weight of the evidence and that a new trial should be
granted in the interest of justice.” Commonwealth v. Clay, 64 A.3d 1049,
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1055 (Pa.2013). A trial judge should not grant a new trial due to “a mere
conflict in the testimony or because the judge on the same facts would have
arrived at a different conclusion.” Id. Instead, the trial court must examine
whether “‘notwithstanding all the facts, certain facts are so clearly of greater
weight that to ignore them or to give them equal weight with all the facts is
to deny justice.’” Id. Only where the jury verdict “is so contrary to the
evidence as to shock one's sense of justice” should a trial court afford a
defendant a new trial. Id.
A verdict is contrary to the evidence such that it shocks one’s sense of
justice when:
the figure of Justice totters on her pedestal, or when the
jury’s verdict, at the time of its rendition, causes the trial
judge to lose his breath, temporarily, and causes him to
almost fall from the bench, then it is truly shocking to the
judicial conscience.
Commonwealth v. Cruz, 919 A.2d 279, 282 (Pa.Super.2007) (internal
citations omitted).
Here, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of several
witnesses, including Officer Mark Sechrist, Officer Nathan Moyer, Curt
VanderVere, Mary Stewart, and Dr. Jill Cramer, a forensic DNA analyst.
Mary Stewart testified she saw Appellant, without a visible gun, standing
outside of her residence when she left for fifteen to twenty minutes to get a
pizza. When she returned, she saw Appellant in a police car. Curt
VanderVere testified that he saw Appellant with a gun during the same
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period of time. Mr. VanderVere testified that Appellant handed the handgun
to a male in a grey hoodie. The Commonwealth presented further evidence
that corroborated Mr. VanderVere’s testimony. Specifically, Officer Moyer
testified that he found a black and grey semiautomatic weapon under a
parked vehicle that was in the direct flight path of the male in the grey
hoodie. Dr. Cramer testified that it was more likely than not that Appellant’s
DNA was on the handgun. The court chose to credit Mr. VanderVere’s
testimony along with the other evidence presented. The verdict was not so
truly shocking to the judicial conscience as to make the figure of Justice
totter on her pedestal. Thus, Appellant’s claim warrants no relief.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 1/21/2015
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