J-A27006-19

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Appellant

v.

CHANTEA SCOTT

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

 No. 2995 EDA 2018

Appeal from the Order Entered September 13, 2018

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at 

No(s): CP-51-CR-0004213-2018

BEFORE: BOWES, J., SHOGAN, J., and STRASSBURGER, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED DECEMBER 18, 2019

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appeals from the September 13, 

2018 order quashing numerous charges against Appellee Chantea Scott. In 

their briefing to this Court, all parties uniformly aver that this quashal was 

entered in error. For the reasons outlined herein, we concur. Thus, we 

reverse and remand.

The trial court provided an apt summary of the underlying factual and 

procedural history of this case:

On May 9, 2018, [Appellee] was arrested and charged with 

aggravated assault, conspiracy, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, 

receiving stolen property (“RSP”), simple assault, recklessly 

endangering another person (“REAP”), and invasion of privacy. 

On June 7, 2018, a preliminary hearing was held before the 

Honorable William A. Meehan, Jr., in the Philadelphia Municipal 

Court. During that hearing, the victim testified that on April 30, 

2018, [Appellee], along with two other women, attacked her in 

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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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the employee parking lot of the Philadelphia International Airport. 

The victim stated that she was punched in the head “maybe 30 

times” during the course of the attack, that her head was slammed 

against her car, and that [Appellee] took her cell phone after the 

attack was over.[1] At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge 

Meehan ordered that all charges against [Appellee] be held for 

court.

[Appellee] filed a Motion to Quash on August 21, 2018. On 

September 13, 2018, following a hearing, [the trial court] granted 

[Appellee’s] motion with respect to all charges except simple 

assault and REAP. On October 15, 2018, the Commonwealth filed 

a timely Notice of Appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.[2] 

On October 25, 2018, [the trial court] issued an order pursuant to 

Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), requiring the Commonwealth to file a 

statement of matters complained of on appeal within twenty[-]one 

days. On November 14, 2018, the Commonwealth filed a 

statement alleging that this Court erred in quashing the charges

. . ., where the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing 

was sufficient to make out a prima facie case for each charge.

Trial Court Opinion, 12/13/18, at 1-2.

Instantly, the Commonwealth asserts that the trial court’s quashal of 

the aforementioned charges against Appellee was erroneous, claiming that it 

properly presented a prima facie case with respect to all of the included 

counts. See Commonwealth’s brief at 7-8. In its opinion pursuant to 

Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a), the trial court concedes that it erred in quashing these 

charges. Moreover, Appellee similarly concedes that the charges should not 

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1

 In addition to theft of the victim’s cell phone, Appellee was also accused of 

misappropriating nude pictures of the victim from the cell phone, and posting 

them on social media. See N.T. Preliminary Hearing, 6/7/18, at 13-14.

2

 In its notice of appeal, the Commonwealth properly certified that this 

interlocutory appeal stems from an order that “terminates or substantially 

handicaps the prosecution” in accordance with Pa.R.A.P. 311(d) and 904(e).
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have been dismissed. See Appellee’s brief at 5 (“Appellee concedes the lower 

court’s error and is not contesting the Commonwealth’s appeal.”).

This matter pertains to the sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s evidence 

in the context of a preliminary hearing, which presents a question of law. As 

such, our scope of review is plenary and our standard of review is de novo. 

See Commonwealth v. Meals, 912 A.2d 213, 218 (Pa. 2006). As a general 

matter, “the trial court is afforded no discretion in ascertaining whether, as a 

matter of law and in light of the facts presented to it, the Commonwealth has 

carried its pre-trial prima facie burden to make out the elements of a charged 

crime.” Commonwealth v. Karetny, 880 A.2d 505, 513 (Pa. 2005).

In the context of criminal cases, preliminary hearings serve a vital role 

in safeguarding an individual’s right against unlawful arrest and detention by 

the Commonwealth. See Commonwealth v. Weigle, 997 A.2d 306, 311 

(Pa. 2010). However, “[t]he preliminary hearing is not a trial.” 

Commonwealth v. McBride, 595 A.2d 589, 591 (Pa. 1991). To that end, 

“[a]t the preliminary stage of a criminal prosecution, the Commonwealth need 

not prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but rather, must 

merely put forth sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of guilt.” 

Karetny, supra at 513-14. For our purposes, “[a] prima facie case consists 

of evidence produced by the Commonwealth which sufficiently establishes that 

a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably the perpetrator 

of that crime.” Commonwealth v. Lopez, 654 A.2d 1150, 1153 (Pa.Super. 

1995). Critically, all such evidence presented at a preliminary hearing must 
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be accepted as true and viewed in the light most favorable to the 

Commonwealth. Commonwealth v. Santos, 876 A.2d 360, 363 (Pa. 2005).

After reviewing the evidence of record, we must concur in the parties’ 

unanimity as to the trial court’s error in quashing these charges. With respect 

to the charges of aggravated assault,3the record bespeaks a coordinated 

attack upon the victim by Appellee and her co-defendant4that included thirty 

repeated blows with closed fists to the victim’s head and face. See N.T. 

Preliminary Hearing, 6/7/18, at 10-12. This Court has previously held that 

evidence of such repeated blows to the head establishes the necessary intent 

sufficient to make out a prima facie case of aggravated assault. See 

Commonwealth v. Pandolfo, 446 A.2d 939, 941 (Pa.Super. 1982) 

(“[R]epeated blows to a portion of the body as vital as the head exhibited an 

intent to inflict serious bodily injury.”). Even if the victim did not suffer a 

serious bodily injury in these circumstances, there was a prima facie

demonstration of intent to cause such injury. See Commonwealth v. 

Alexander, 383 A.2d 887, 889 (Pa. 1978) (“[T]he charge of aggravated 

assault can be supported . . . if the evidence supports a finding that the blow 

delivered was accompanied by the intent to inflict serious bodily harm.”). The 

trial court erred in quashing this charge.

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3

 18 Pa.C.S § 2702(a). 

4

 Co-defendant’s case is listed consecutively to this one at 2990 EDA 2018.
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With respect to the charges of robbery,5theft by unlawful taking,6 and 

theft by receiving stolen property,7the evidence in the certified record 

indicates that Appellee and co-defendant utilized their coordinated attack as 

a means to steal the victim’s cell phone. Although the assault was not 

perfectly contemporaneous with the resulting theft, our case law permits us 

to draw the inference that the temporal proximity of the assault and the theft 

sets forth a prima facie case that Appellee acted with the intent to put her 

victim in fear of serious bodily injury such that she could not protect her 

personal property. See Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 673 A.2d 962, 966 

(Pa.Super. 1996) (holding sufficient evidence to establish robbery where a 

victim was assaulted and, thereafter, his pockets were “ransacked” after he 

had been rendered prostrate). By the same token, Appellee’s 

misappropriation of the cell phone and continued possession of it established 

the charges of theft by unlawful taking and theft by receiving stolen property. 

See Commonwealth v. Edney, 439 A.2d 752, 754 (Pa.Super. 1982) 

(concluding evidence was sufficient with respect to charge of theft by unlawful 

taking where appellant assaulted a bartender and then stole the money from 

his cash register); see also Commonwealth v. Lewis, 445 A.2d 798, 799-

800 (Pa.Super. 1982) (holding there is prima facie evidence of theft by 

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5

 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1)(ii).

6

 18 Pa.C.S. § 3921(a).

7

 18 Pa.C.S. § 3925(a).
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receiving stolen property where perpetrators mugged a victim, took his wallet, 

and divided the proceeds afterwards). Quashing these charges was similarly 

erroneous under the facts of this case.

There also appears to be a prima facie case of conspiracy to commit 

robbery in these circumstances. With regard to conspiracy, “[t]he existence 

of such an agreement need not be demonstrated by direct evidence, but may 

be inferentially established by showing the relation, conduct or circumstances 

of the parties.” Commonwealth v. Lawson, 650 A.2d 876, 880 (Pa.Super. 

1994). Here, the Commonwealth established that both Appellee and her codefendant worked in tandem during the assault and theft perpetrated upon 

victim, evidence of prior planning and in-the-moment coordination. Moreover, 

the attack appeared calculated to result in the successful theft of the victim’s 

property. Finally, Appellee and her co-defendant both arrived and left the 

scene of the crime together. Under Pennsylvania law, this is sufficient to 

present a prima facie case of conspiracy. See Commonwealth v. Olds, 469 

A.2d 1072, 1075 (Pa.Super. 1983) (finding sufficient evidence of conspiracy 

where perpetrators arrived together, acted with common purpose, and left the 

scene of the crime together).

With respect to the charge of invasion of privacy, the evidence 

establishes that Appellee misappropriated nude pictures of the victim that 

were saved on her stolen phone, and posted them publicly on the social media 

website Instagram. See N.T. Preliminary Hearing, 6/7/18, at 13-14. Such 

conduct presents a prima facie case of invasion of privacy, where these 
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photographs were viewed by Appellee without the victim’s consent and, 

thereafter, posted on the Internet. See 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 7507.1(a)(1), (3). 

Quashing this charge was also erroneous.

Based on the foregoing, we agree with the collective conclusion of the 

parties and the trial court. To wit, the trial court erred in quashing the abovediscussed charges against Appellee. 

Order reversed. Case remanded. Jurisdiction relinquished.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 12/18/19