Opinion ID: 1886897
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sam-Cali

Text: On appeal, Appellant presents a number of claims relating to Denise Sam-Cali, who testified about her assault in the early morning hours of June 29, 1993, the subsequent break-ins at her house, and Appellant's apprehension. Initially, he argues that the trial court erred in allowing Sam-Cali to testify, because this allowed evidence of prior bad acts and uncharged criminal conduct to be introduced to the jury. Appellant maintains that Sam-Cali was not a witness to any of the charged offenses and, yet, provided lurid and inflammatory testimony, linking Appellant to these incidents. Brief for Appellant, p. 56. Appellant also claims that his counsel was ineffective for failing to: (1) object to this testimony; and (2) request a limiting instruction in relation to this evidence. Initially, we note that Sam-Cali's testimony is admissible under the same principles supporting the joinder of the three homicides, i.e., to establish the identity of the perpetrator, his motive, intent, and a common criminal scheme. See Elliott, supra ; Miller, supra ; Hughes, supra. Furthermore, such testimony would be allowed under the  res gestae exception to the rule against admission of evidence of prior crimes. As we explained in Commonwealth v. Lark (Direct Appeal), 518 Pa.290, 543 A.2d 491 (1988), Evidence of distinct crimes are not admissible against a defendant being prosecuted for another crime solely to show his bad character and his propensity for committing criminal acts. However, evidence of other crimes and/or violent acts may be admissible in special circumstances where the evidence is relevant for some other legitimate purpose and not merely to prejudice the defendant by showing him to be a person of bad character.... [One such] special circumstance where evidence of other crimes may be relevant and admissible is where such evidence was part of the chain or sequence of events which became part of the history of the case and formed part of the natural development of the facts. This special circumstance, sometimes referred to as the res gestae exception to the general proscription against evidence of other crimes, is also known as the complete story rationale, i.e., evidence of other criminal acts is admissible to complete the story of the crime on trial by proving its immediate context of happenings near in time and place. Id. at 497 (emphasis in original, internal citations omitted). In the present case, the incidents at the Sam-Cali residence are intricately interwoven with the three homicides in question. The initial assault on Sam-Cali took place approximately two weeks before the Fortney homicide and Sam-Cali's testimony provided the jury with a complete story of Appellant's criminal spree from the Burghardt homicide in August of 1992 to Appellant's capture in July of 1993. In sum, as the trial court explained, Sam-Cali's testimony was not offered merely to indicate [Appellant]'s propensity to commit similar crimes ... but to show he committed these crimes charged, how he committed them, why he committed them and the circumstances of his apprehension. Trial Court Opinion, p. 32. We also reject the ineffectiveness arguments raised by Appellant in relation to this substantive claim. First, Appellant's counsel objected to Sam-Cali's testimony on several occasions, on the basis that it was prejudicial, because it allowed the jury to consider evidence of other crimes perpetrated by Appellant. See N.T., 11/3/1994, pp. 1918-21, 1965. Second, while counsel for Appellant did not ask for a limiting instruction in relation to Sam-Cali's testimony, such request would have been (at best) redundant, as it appears that the trial court asked if such an instruction was required and, after receiving an affirmative response from the prosecutor, in fact, instructed the jury as to the limited purpose of this evidence. See N.T., 11/3/1994, pp. 1919-21, 1965-66. The trial court again cautioned the jurors about the limited use of Sam-Cali's testimony during the final jury instructions. See N.T., 11/8/1994, pp. 2279-2280. In relation to Sam-Cali, Appellant also argues that, in violation of its duty under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), to reveal exculpatory evidence, the Commonwealth failed to disclose that, during her initial interviews with the police, Sam-Cali told the Allentown police that her assailant ... was Saul Rosado, whom she knew and previously employed for about one month. Brief for Appellant, p. 67. A Brady violation comprises three elements: (1) suppression by the prosecution (2) of evidence, exculpatory or impeaching, favorable to the defendant, (3) to the prejudice of the defendant. Commonwealth v. Paddy, 569 Pa. 47, 800 A.2d 294, 305 (2002). Contrary to Appellant's claim, Sam-Cali did not identify Rosado as her assailant, but merely named him as a possible lead for the police to pursue, because Sam-Cali thought that he might have had a motive to harm her. After Sam-Cali told police about Rosado, he was interviewed and dismissed as a suspect, because: (1) having a full beard, tattoos, and long hair, Rosado did not match the description of the assailant that Sam-Cali gave during her initial interviews; and (2) Sam-Cali said that Rosado was not her assailant after looking at his picture. Simply put, this evidence could not have been exculpatory. Moreover, prior to this trial, Appellant had already pled guilty to multiple crimes (including burglary, aggravated assault, and attempted homicide) in relation to the incidents at the Sam-Cali residence in June and July of 1993. Accordingly, Appellant admitted to perpetrating these crimes. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Anthony, 504 Pa. 551, 475 A.2d 1303 (1984) (observing that [a] guilty plea is an acknowledgement by a defendant that he participated in the commission of certain acts with a criminal intent ... [and, thus, h]e acknowledges the existence of the facts and the intent); Commonwealth v. Papy, 436 Pa. 560, 261 A.2d 580 (1970) (noting that the circumstances of the case fell within a rule of law that a [defendant's] plea constitutes an admission of his guilt and all of the facts averred in the indictment); see also Commonwealth ex rel. Walls v. Rundle, 414 Pa. 53, 198 A.2d 528, 529 n. 1 (1964). Therefore, Appellant could not impeach Sam-Cali on the basis that she gave the police the name of another possible suspect during her initial interviews. Hence, because the evidence at issue was neither exculpatory nor tended to impeach another, there was no Brady violation. Additionally, in light of the above-mentioned article in the Ladies' Home Journal, [46] Appellant argues that his counsel was ineffective because he failed to cross-examine Sam-Cali with regard to any financial bias, receipt of financial incentives from the magazine, [and] the existence of any other book or magazine deals. Brief for Appellant, p. 70. As mentioned earlier, prior to the trial, Appellant pled guilty to a slew of criminal charges concerning the incidents at Sam-Cali's residence that took place in the summer of 1993. Therefore, irrespective of any financial gain Sam-Cali may have received from the article in the Ladies' Home Journal, given Appellant's admissions, the veracity of her testimony could not have been undermined in the manner presently suggested by Appellant. If anything, rigorous cross-examination of Sam-Cali on this issue would have been counter-productive to Appellant's cause. Hence, this ineffectiveness claim fails. Appellant also argues that a new trial should be granted because the Commonwealth was allowed to introduce testimony from Sam-Cali and two police officers concerning Appellant's apprehension. As we noted, Appellant pled guilty to the charges concerning the episodes at Sam-Cali's residence, including the events surrounding his apprehension. As we have also stated, these incidents were an integral part of the facts that provided the basis of Appellant's convictions. Accordingly, this evidence was properly introduced and Appellant is not entitled to any relief. [47]