Case Name: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v. Marlin H. BOWERMASTER, Appellant
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1982-04-12
Citations: 297 Pa. Super. 444
Docket Number: No. 316
Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v. Marlin H. BOWERMASTER, Appellant.
Judges: Before SPAETH, HESTER and CAVANAUGH, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports
Volume: 297
Pages: 444–461

Head Matter:
444 A.2d 115
COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, v. Marlin H. BOWERMASTER, Appellant.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued Sept. 8, 1980.
Filed April 12, 1982.
Petition for Allowance of Appeal Denied July 19, 1982.
Taylor P. Andrews, Public Defender, Carlisle, for appellant.
J. Michael Eakin, Assistant District Attorney, Carlisle, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Before SPAETH, HESTER and CAVANAUGH, JJ.

Opinion:
CAVANAUGH, Judge:
Appellant Marlin H. Bowermaster was arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana. His motion to suppress the evidence was denied and appellant was found guilty by a jury of the crime charged. Following denial of his post-trial motions, appellant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. This appeal followed. We find no merit in the claims raised by appellant and therefore we affirm.
Appellant first claims that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress evidence seized from the car in which he was riding immediately prior to his arrest. He contends that there was no probable cause to stop the vehicle and that any evidence seized from the car must, therefore, be suppressed. The facts leading up to appellant's arrest are as follows.
Several days before appellant's arrest, a police informant told Pennsylvania State Police Officers Wynn and Helwig that he had observed marijuana at a farmhouse occupied by one Harry Bevan and that Bevan had told him that he expected a large shipment of marijuana within the next couple of days. The farmhouse was put under surveillance approximately thirty-six to forty hours prior to the time of the arrest. During the period of surveillance, numerous vehicles were observed arriving and departing the premises, staying for periods ranging from five to twenty minutes. A silver Pontiac Firebird visited the farmhouse several times. When this vehicle last departed the farmhouse on March 9, 1979, Officers Wynn and Helwig followed in an unmarked car. The silver Firebird stopped about one half mile from the farmhouse and picked up appellant, even though appellant had not signaled to this car nor to either of the two preceding vehicles that he wanted a ride. A registration check disclosed that the silver Firebird was registered to a Donald Bevan, later identified as the driver of the car and the brother of the occupant of the farmhouse.
Officers Wynn and Helwig, from a distance of approximately two car lengths behind the Firebird, observed appellant and Bevan engage in animated conversation and hand slapping, and then saw appellant reach to the back seat for a brown paper bag which he brought up to the front seat and placed in front of him. Shortly thereafter, what appeared to be a white rolled cigarette blew out the right front window. A few moments later appellant and Bevan were seen passing an object back and forth and placing it to their lips while holding it between their thumbs and forefingers. Five minutes later Bevan held what appeared to be a charred cigarette outside the window, rubbing it between his fingers so that the contents scattered in the wind. Based on years of experience with drug investigations, Officer Wynn concluded that the occupants of the car were smoking marijuana.
Shortly thereafter, the Firebird was stopped by officers of the Lower Allen Township Police Department acting upon a radio request from Officers Wynn and Helwig. The Lower Allen Police Officers noticed two paper bags in the area directly in front of the passenger seat which had been occupied by appellant. The bags were open and the officers were able to see the contents, which they identified as marijuana. The bags were removed and appellant and Bevan were placed under arrest.
Appellant claims that the 4.1 pounds of marijuana seized from the car should have been suppressed. Both of the arresting officers testified that they could identify the contents of the bags from outside of the vehicle and therefore, as long as they were not acting improperly in stopping the vehicle, the evidence is admissible under the plain view doctrine. Harris v. U. S., 390 U.S. 234, 88 S.Ct. 992, 19 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1968).
It was not necessary for the arresting officers to have personal knowledge of the information constituting probable cause to stop the silver Firebird. They were merely responding to a radio request for assistance. If Officers Wynn and Helwig, who requested the stop, had sufficient information to constitute probable cause, then the stop and the subsequent seizure of marijuana were proper. Commonwealth v. Kenney, 449 Pa. 562, 297 A.2d 794 (1972).
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has stated that: probable cause exists if the facts and circumstances which are within the knowledge of the officer at the time of arrest, and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that the suspect has committed or is committing a crime.
Commonwealth v. Jones, 478 Pa. 172, 177, 386 A.2d 495, 497 (1978). This court stated in Commonwealth v. Tolbert, 235 Pa.Super. 227, 230, 341 A.2d 198, 200 (1975) that "when we examine a particular situation to determine if probable cause exists, we consider all the factors and their total effect, and do not concentrate on each individual element."
Appellant alleges that in examining the factors relevant to a determination of whether there was probable cause we must ignore the tip from the informant since it does not meet the two-pronged test of Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964). Aguilar held that where probable cause is based on information supplied by an informant, it must be shown that the informant himself is reliable and that the information he offers has a reliable basis. We feel that the test was satisfied in this case. Officer Wynn testified that information received from the same informant had resulted in three prior drug convictions. The informant's statement that there was marijuana present at the farmhouse was based on personal observation and therefore has a reliable basis.
Even if the Aguilar test was not met, we would not have to ignore the informant's tip in this case. The Su preme Court held in Spinelli v. U. S., 393 U.S. 410, 418, 89 S.Ct. 584, 590, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969) that even if an informant's tip is not sufficient, standing alone, to provide the basis for a finding of probable cause, it can be considered along with other factors in determining whether there was probable cause.
We believe that the informant's tip and the high rate of vehicle activity at the farmhouse, including several visits by the silver Firebird registered to Donald Bevan, in conjunction with the personal observations of Officers Wynn and Helwig of the actions of Donald Bevan and appellant were sufficient to warrant a belief that appellant was committing a crime. Therefore, the trial court did not err in refusing to suppress the evidence seized from the car.
Appellant next argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for a mistrial. The motion was made following a remark made by Donald Bevan during the presentation of the Commonwealth's case-in-chief. Appellant claims that the concluding remark in the following exchange created an inference in the minds of the jurors of prior criminal activity on the part of appellant and was therefore grounds for a mistrial.
Q. Were you questioned by the police?
A. I was, sir.
Q. Did you initially tell them what you have told us here today at first?
A. No sir, I told them that it was mine and that Mr. Bowermaster was, in fact, hitchhiking.
Q. Why did you tell them that?
A. Well, this is my first time and I figured that, you know, well, I just figured they would be easier on me than they would on him basically.
N.T. 49 (emphasis added).
The "controlling question" in cases raising this issue "is whether or not a juror could reasonably infer from the facts presented that the accused had engaged in prior criminal activity." Commonwealth v. Allen, 448 Pa. 177, 181, 292 A.2d 373, 375 (1972). If such an inference is created, then a mistrial must be granted. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated in Commonwealth v. Nichols, 485 Pa. 1, 4, 400 A.2d 1281, 1282 (1979) that "[not] all references which may indicate prior criminal activity warrant reversal." Mere "passing references" to prior criminal activity do not warrant reversal unless the record illustrates that prejudice resulted from the reference. Ibid. As we stated in Commonwealth v. Colon, 264 Pa.Super. 314, 321-322, 399 A.2d 1068, 1071 (1979), there is "no per se rule requiring a new trial for every reference [to prior criminal conduct]. The decision whether to declare a mistrial when faced with these situations is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial judge."
Moreover, there is no indication that the district attorney was attempting to elicit a response which would prejudice the appellant by suggesting prior criminal activity on his part. On the contrary, it is not unreasonable to assume that the district attorney "sought only to minimize the harmful effect of any possible impeachment of Bevan by the defense, by having Bevan explain the inconsistency between his trial testimony and his initial statement to the police during his direct testimony." Appellee's brief at 17. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently stated that "[t]he nature of [a reference to prior criminal conduct] and whether the remark was intentionally elicited by the Commonwealth are considerations relevant to the determination of whether a mistrial is required." Commonwealth v. Richardson, 496 Pa. 519, 437 A.2d 1162, 1165 (1981), citing Commonwealth v. Williams, 470 Pa. 172, 178 n.4, 368 A.2d 249, 252 n.4 (1977) (emphasis added). See also Commonwealth v. Black, 464 Pa. 604, 347 A.2d 705 (1975).
It is true that in both Richardson and Williams, supra, the Supreme Court's conclusion that a mistrial was not warranted was based in large part on its belief that any possible prejudice had been removed by cautionary instructions. In the instant case no cautionary instructions were given. Neither, however, were such instructions requested by appel lant's counsel. Appellant has at no point alleged that his counsel was ineffective for failing to request such instructions and therefore the issue of counsel's possible ineffectiveness is not before us. Nor can we hold that the lower court should have given such instructions sua sponte. In Commonwealth v. Jackson, 248 Pa.Super. 420, 375 A.2d 168 (1977), a trial judge refused to grant a mistrial following a reference to a prior burglary committed by the defendant and did not give cautionary instructions. We affirmed the conviction, agreeing with the lower court, which had stated that "any undue reference to [the remark] either by way of additional instructions or admonishment would have only exaggerated a very minor problem." 248 Pa.Super. at 425, 375 A.2d at 170.
Our review of the record leads us to conclude that the remark objected to did not rise to the level of depriving appellant of a fair and impartial trial and is therefore not grounds for a mistrial. Commonwealth v. Palmer, 463 Pa. 26, 342 A.2d 387 (1975).
Finally, appellant claims that the verdict was unsupported by the evidence as a matter of law, or in the alternative the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. With regard to the sufficiency claim, appellant admits that the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction for mere possession, but he alleges that it was insufficient to support the jury's verdict of guilty of -.possession with intent to deliver.
In addressing the sufficiency claim, we must determine: whether, viewing all of the evidence at trial in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the verdict winner, and drawing all reasonable inferences favorable to the Commonwealth, there is sufficient evidence to enable the trier of fact to find every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Commonwealth v. Kline, 277 Pa.Super. 486, 489, 419 A.2d 1252, 1254 (1980).
Donald Bevan testified that the appellant had called him the day of the arrest and had asked him if he (Bevan) knew where appellant could obtain some marijuana and that appellant had said he wanted three pounds of marijuana or "whatever was around." Police officers seized 4.1 pounds of marijuana from the car at the time of the arrest. Bevan also testified that about one-quarter pound of marijuana was for his own personal use. Therefore the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, established that appellant had possession of at least three pounds of marijuana. Additionally, the jury had before it the testimony of one of the arresting officers that four pounds of marijuana was a large amount for personal use. The large quantity of marijuana possessed by appellant justified the jury's drawing an inference of intent to deliver. Commonwealth v. Wallace, 265 Pa.Super. 91, 401 A.2d 816 (1979).
As to the claim that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, it is true that a new trial may be granted if a verdict is against the weight of the evidence even if the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict, Commonwealth v. Meadows, 471 Pa. 201, 369 A.2d 1266 (1977). The grant of a new trial is, however, within the discretion of the trial court. Commonwealth v. Thomas, 278 Pa.Super. 39, 419 A.2d 1344 (1980). In this case there was a conflict between the testimony given by the appellant and that given by Donald Bevan. There was also an inconsistency between Bevan's initial statement to police and his testimony at trial. It was, nevertheless, within the province of the jury to resolve the inconsistencies in favor of Bevan's trial testimony. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to grant appellant a new trial.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
SPAETH, J., files concurring and dissenting opinion.