Opinion ID: 2089125
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Although appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, as in all cases in which the death penalty has been imposed, this Court is required to independently undertake a review of the sufficiency of the evidence. Commonwealth v. Zettlemoyer, 500 Pa. 16, 26-27 n. 3, 454 A.2d 937, 942 n. 3 (1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 970, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983). The standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is whether the evidence admitted at trial and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, is sufficient to support all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Carpenter, 511 Pa. 429, 435, 515 A.2d 531, 533-34 (1986). After a review of the record, we find that the evidence is sufficient to support appellant's convictions. Testimony at trial established that at approximately 9:00 p.m. on August 31, 1992, Gary Carson, Allen Carson, William Wilson, Neal Carter and David Scott (referred to collectively as Carson's group) were drinking beer at the corner of Wyalusing and Conestoga Streets in Philadelphia when they observed a man in an orange jumpsuit, known as Inky Man, approach the corner along Conestoga Street and wave as if signalling to persons further up the street. Indeed, in response to Inky Man's signal, appellant and three other men, Shannon Faison, Lamar Douglas and Cornell Bennet, also known as Junior (referred to collectively as appellant's group), suddenly appeared at the corner and approached the group. Gary Carson testified that in the weeks preceding the encounter, one of the members of the appellant's group, Bennet, had repeatedly warned him to stay away from that particular corner because his presence was interfering with the drug operation Bennet ran at that location. Upon appellant's group's arrival at the corner, Faison said to Carson's group, What's up with my man's corner? However, before anyone could respond, appellant and his cohorts produced firearms and started firing at Carson's group. At the time of the shooting, appellant's group was standing on the sidewalk between Carson's group and the curb. William Wilson was shot ten times, including a fatal shot to the left chest which pierced his heart and punctured his right lung. Four of the shots hit Wilson from behind. Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene. Neal Carter was shot three times from behind, including a fatal shot which pierced his heart. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Allen Carson was shot once in the back, severing his spine and permanently paralyzing him. Gary Carson was shot eight times, but survived. Only David Scott was not hit. A ballistics expert testified that at least three and possibly four different firearms were used in the attack. Gary Carson and Allen Carson both testified that appellant was standing between Faison and Bennet, but they did not know if he had a gun. David Scott testified that the person standing between Faison and Bennet had fired a gun, although he could not identify who that person was. The day following the shooting, Gary Carson identified Bennet from a photographic array. A week later, he also identified Faison and Douglas from photographic arrays. Finally, on September 18, 1992, Gary Carson identified appellant as the fourth assailant from a photographic array. An arrest warrant was obtained on that date and officers went to appellant's house to arrest him. However, appellant's mother told the officers that appellant was working in Baltimore and she did not know how to reach him. As a result, appellant was listed as a fugitive in the National Crime Information Computer network. Appellant was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Mansfield, Massachusetts on September 25, 1992. At the time of the murders, appellant had a full head of hair, but when he was arrested his head was completely shaved. Evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction for first degree murder where the Commonwealth establishes that the defendant acted with a specific intent to kill; that a human being was unlawfully killed; that the person accused did the killing; and that the killing was done with deliberation. 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(d); Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 528 Pa. 546, 550, 599 A.2d 624, 626 (1991). Specific intent to kill can be inferred by the use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of the body. Commonwealth v. Butler, 446 Pa. 374, 378, 288 A.2d 800, 802 (1972). Here, the evidence the Commonwealth presented sufficiently established that appellant and his co-conspirators approached Carson's group to remove them, once and for all, from their location so that Bennet's drug business would not be hampered. The evidence further demonstrates that appellant's group acted together in firing numerous shots at Carson's group and that the middle person, identified by one eyewitness as the appellant, had personally fired shots at the group. [8] Such evidence clearly demonstrated that the killings were committed with the malice aforethought sufficient to sustain appellant's convictions for first degree murder. Commonwealth v. Joseph, 451 Pa. 440, 449, 304 A.2d 163, 168 (1973) (all co-conspirators to a murder can be found guilty of first degree murder, even if the co-conspirator did not inflict the wound which resulted in death); Commonwealth v. Boyle, 470 Pa. 343, 368 A.2d 661 (1977) (evidence that defendant who did not inflict fatal wound was member of conspiracy to kill three persons was sufficient to support guilty verdict against defendant in prosecution of three counts of first degree murder).