Opinion ID: 2559519
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prior acquittal

Text: The third piece of evidence that Appellant claims proves his innocence relates to his prior acquittal on gun possession charges. On June 25, 1979, two days after the murder, Police Officer O'Donnell responded to a call about a man with a gun outside a bar in Philadelphia. Smith, 540 A.2d at 248. When the officer arrived, she saw Appellant with a gun visibly tucked into his waistband. Id. Appellant was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and carrying a firearm on public streets. He explained that he purchased the gun ten minutes before he was arrested from two men inside the bar, and, therefore, with regard to the Kelly murder, asserted that he was not involved and did not own the gun when Kelly was killed. Appellant was acquitted of the gun charges. At the murder trial, Appellant moved to dismiss the charges because of his previous acquittal. He argued that the prior acquittal should have, by application of the principles of collateral estoppel, precluded the Commonwealth from prosecuting him for the murder of Kelly. Smith, 540 A.2d at 250. We rejected this argument on direct appeal. Appellant now argues that unspecified evidence from the prior acquittal is after-discovered evidence, evidence of a Brady violation by the Commonwealth, and that counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate the evidence presented at the gun charges trial.
Appellant argues that unspecified evidence from his prior acquittal for gun possession is after-discovered evidence. The PCRA court held that this claim was previously litigated. The PCRA court's holding in this regard is not quite correct. Appellant's claim on direct appeal was that the Commonwealth was estopped from prosecuting him for murder because of his prior acquittal for gun possession. The distinct claim advanced on PCRA is that there is unspecified evidence from Appellant's acquittal that would have compelled a differed verdict at his murder trial. Despite not being previously litigated as the PCRA court concluded, Appellant's claim fails. He has not attempted to identify specifically what piece of evidence from his prior trial is after-discovered; nor has he explained why this evidence could not have been obtained at or prior to trial through reasonable diligence. See Johnson, 966 A.2d at 541. Indeed, the trial for gun charges occurred several years before the murder trial. We fail to see how unspecified evidence that existed prior to Appellant's murder trial could form the basis for relief as after-discovered evidence.
According to Appellant, the Commonwealth violated Brady by withholding from trial counsel evidence from the gun charges trial that he asserts contradicted evidence introduced at the murder trial. The Commonwealth responds that the evidence Appellant claims the Commonwealth withheld is unspecified and does not exist. The notes of testimony from the gun charges trial were not transcribed, and the tapes have been destroyed. The PCRA court did not address this argument. The Commonwealth cannot violate Brady by suppressing evidence that does not exist. Commonwealth v. Lewis, 560 Pa. 240, 743 A.2d 907, 910-11 (2000) (holding that there can be no Brady violation where the Commonwealth did not have the information requested). As we observed on direct appeal, there is no full record of the proceedings of the gun charges trial because the notes of testimony were not transcribed. Smith, 540 A.2d at 251. Because there are no notes or transcripts from Appellant's prior acquittal, the Commonwealth did not suppress any evidence from that trial. Additionally, Appellant has not identified a specific piece of evidence or information that the Commonwealth has withheld that contradicts evidence introduced at the murder trial. It is Appellant's burden to show that the Commonwealth withheld or suppressed evidence. Ly, 980 A.2d at 75. Appellant cannot satisfy this burden without identifying the evidence that the Commonwealth allegedly suppressed.
Appellant argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate the facts and evidence established at the gun charges trial and for failing to present evidence from the prior acquittal that would have demonstrated Appellant's innocence of the Kelly murder. Specifically, Appellant gave a statement to police at the time of his arrest on gun charges on June 25, 1979, in which he informed police that he had just purchased the gun ten minutes earlier. At the homicide trial, Appellant also testified in his defense that he acquired the murder weapon two days after the murder. Appellant argues trial counsel should have introduced his prior consistent statement about the timing of the gun purchase and, if he had, there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different. The PCRA court held counsel was not ineffective because he exploited the prior acquittal in closing arguments. Appellant argues that this was insufficient; counsel also should have introduced his prior consistent statement to bolster his testimony. A prior consistent statement is admissible only if it is made before the declarant has a motive to fabricate. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Montalvo, 604 Pa. 386, 986 A.2d 84 (2009); Commonwealth v. Hutchinson, 521 Pa. 482, 556 A.2d 370 (1989) (requiring that, to be admissible, a prior statement must have been made before any corrupt motive has arisen); Commonwealth v. Gaddy, 468 Pa. 303, 362 A.2d 217, 223 (1976) (plurality); Pa.R.E. 613(c) comment (The use of the consistent statement will depend upon ... all of the circumstances that prompted the making of the consistent statement; the timing of that statement, although not conclusive, is one of the factors to be considered.). On June 25, 1979, two days after the gun was used to kill Kelly, Appellant had a motive to lie about when he acquired it. Accordingly, his prior consistent statement would not have been admissible, and counsel was not ineffective for failing to attempt to introduce it.