Opinion ID: 1516216
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Handgun Associated with Appellant's Arrest

Text: Appellant's final claim under this category is that trial counsel and appellant counsel were ineffective for not challenging the testimony of the ballistics expert concerning the .38 caliber handgun found with appellant at the time of his arrest, which the expert noted could have fired some of the bullets found in Mr. Burton's car. Appellant argues that the probative value of this testimony was outweighed by its prejudicial effect, because: (1) the gun is akin to bad acts evidence; (2) the gun was not the same caliber as the .22 caliber bullets that killed the victim; (3) there was a distinct time interval between the bullets that were fired at Mr. Burton's car and at the victim; and (4) bullets that could be attributed to a .38 caliber handgun were found where Mr. Burton was fired at and not at the murder scene. Moreover, appellant notes that the jury had no basis to judge the importance of the testimony from the ballistics expert and should have been told how may other guns were capable of firing the bullets that killed the victim. The Commonwealth devotes little argument in response, claiming in a single paragraph that appellant's argument is baseless because the .38 caliber gun found at the time of appellant's arrest could have been the source of several bullet fragments found in Mr. Burton's car. Agreeing with the Commonwealth, the PCRA court found that the factual circumstances surrounding the gun made testimony concerning it admissible. The ballistics expert testified that the gun recovered from appellant on the day he was arrested could have fired a bullet fragment found in Mr. Burton's car. N.T. 7/11/1995 at 74. On cross-examination, however, appellant's trial counsel clarified that the bullet fragments found near William Lloyd's body did not match any of the weapons recovered by the police in their investigation. Id. The recovered gun certainly was relevant to establish a possible link between appellant and the vicinity of the murder scene and, as such, was admissible. Appellant's argument goes to the weight of the evidence. Moreover, appellant has not proved prejudice resulting from its admission, particularly because trial counsel, far from being incompetent, established that the gun recovered on appellant at the time of his arrest did not match the murder weapon.