Court Opinion

ID: 9838187
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-05 16:12:13.12161+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:28:09.994376
License: Public Domain

J-S24004-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT OP 65.37

  COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA                 :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
                                               :
  BRENDON JOHN HASARA                          :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :   No. 1098 MDA 2022

        Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered July 12, 2022
   In the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County Criminal Division at
                      No(s): CP-54-CR-0001913-2021

BEFORE:      BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.:                       FILED SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

       Appellant, Brendon John Hasara, appeals from the aggregate judgment

of sentence of 112 to 228 months’ incarceration, imposed after he was

convicted of one count each of arson - endangering property (18 Pa.C.S. §

3301(c)(1)), criminal mischief (18 Pa.C.S. § 3304(a)(1)), and defiant trespass

(18 Pa.C.S. § 3503(b)(1)(ii)), as well as five counts of recklessly endangering

another person (REAP) (18 Pa.C.S. § 2705).              Appellant challenges the

sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions. After careful review, we

affirm.

       Briefly, Appellant was convicted of the above-stated offenses based on

evidence that he set fire to cushions and pillows inside a row home that had

been posted as unfit for human habitation. The fire quickly spread, causing

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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
J-S24004-23

extensive property damage to that row home, as well as multiple other

residences on the street. The fire also endangered multiple individuals who

were inside those homes at the time of the blaze, and a firefighter suffered a

broken ankle while responding to the emergency.

      After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of the offenses set forth supra.

On July 12, 2022, he was sentenced to the aggregate term mentioned above.

Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on August 3, 2022. He also timely

complied with the trial court’s order to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise

statement of errors complained of on appeal, and the court filed a Rule

1925(a) opinion on September 27, 2022.            Herein, Appellant states the

following four issues for our review:

      1. Did the Commonwealth fail to present sufficient evidence to
      establish [Appellant] acted recklessly in using fire to endanger the
      property of another?

      2. Did the Commonwealth fail to present sufficient evidence to
      establish [Appellant] acted negligently or recklessly in the use of
      fire to establish criminal mischief?

      3. Did the Commonwealth fail to present sufficient evidence to
      establish [Appellant] recklessly engaged in conduct which placed
      or may place another person in danger of death or serious bodily
      injury?

      4. Did the Commonwealth fail to present sufficient evidence that
      … [A]ppellant entered or remained in any place to which notice of
      trespass was given by posting in a manner prescribed by law or
      reasonably likely to come to the attention of … [A]ppellant?

Appellant’s Brief at 5-6.

      To begin, we note our standard of review for a challenge to the

sufficiency of the evidence:

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       In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we must
       determine whether the evidence admitted at trial, as well as all
       reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in the light
       most favorable to the verdict winner, are sufficient to support all
       elements of the offense. Commonwealth v. Moreno, 14 A.3d
       133[, 136] (Pa. Super. 2011). Additionally, we may not reweigh
       the evidence or substitute our own judgment for that of the fact
       finder. Commonwealth v. Hartzell, 988 A.2d 141[, 143] (Pa.
       Super. 2009). The evidence may be entirely circumstantial as
       long as it links the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable
       doubt. Moreno, supra at 136.

Commonwealth v. Koch, 39 A.3d 996, 1001 (Pa. Super. 2011).

       In assessing Appellant’s arguments, we have reviewed his appellate

brief,1 the certified record, and the applicable law. We have also considered

the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Jacqueline L. Russell, President

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County. We conclude that

P.J. Russell’s opinion adequately and accurately disposes of the claims that

Appellant preserved in his Rule 1925(b) statement. 2 Appellant’s arguments

____________________________________________

1 The Commonwealth did not file an appellee’s brief in this case.

2 We note that P.J. Russell does not address Appellant’s argument, in his fourth

issue on appeal, that the evidence established an affirmative defense under
18 Pa.C.S. § 3503(c)(3) to his defiant trespass charge. P.J. Russell did not
discuss this claim because Appellant did not present it in his Rule 1925(b)
statement, thereby waiving it for our review. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(4)(vii)
(“Issues not included in the Statement and/or not raised in accordance with
the provisions of this paragraph (b)(4) are waived.”); Pa.R.A.P 1925(b) Order,
8/4/22, at 1 (single page) (warning that “[a]ny issue not properly included in
the statement and timely filed and served as required by this order and
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), shall be deemed waived”); see also Greater Erie Indus.
Dev. Corp. v. Presque Isle Downs, Inc., 88 A.3d 222, 225 (Pa. Super.
2014) (en banc) (“[I]n determining whether an appellant has waived his
issues on appeal based on non-compliance with [Rule] 1925, it is the trial
(Footnote Continued Next Page)

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on appeal do not demonstrate that he is entitled to relief. 3 Accordingly, we

adopt P.J. Russell’s opinion as our own, and affirm Appellant’s judgment of

sentence for the reasons set forth therein.

       Judgment of sentence affirmed.

____________________________________________

court’s order that triggers an appellant’s obligation[. T]herefore, we look first
to the language of that order.”) (citations omitted; some brackets added).

      In any event, even had Appellant preserved this claim, we would deem
it meritless. Section 3503(c)(3) provides that “[i]t is a defense to prosecution
under this section that … the actor reasonably believed that the owner of the
premises, or other person empowered to license access thereto, would have
licensed him to enter or remain.” According to Appellant, the property was
owned by Angela Miller, and “[s]he permitted … [A]ppellant to live there,” thus
proving the defense in section 3503(c)(3). Appellant’s Brief at 26. However,
Appellant admitted at trial that Ms. Miller told him on the day of the fire that
“[s]he wanted [him] to leave and not stay there….” N.T. Trial, 4/5/22, at 150.
Nevertheless, he remained in the house and then set the blaze. Thus,
Appellant would not be able to demonstrate that the defense in section
3503(c)(3) applied in this case.
3 We point out that, in support of Appellant’s first three issues, his entire
argument focuses solely on his own trial testimony that the fire was
accidentally set as he attempted “to cook a hamburger in a pot over a candle
in the living[]room of his house….” Appellant’s Brief at 18. Appellant contends
that his testimony shows he did not recklessly or negligently start the fire.
Even if we accepted, for argument sake, that Appellant’s version of events did
not demonstrate that he acted recklessly or negligently, the other evidence
presented at trial was sufficient to prove that the fire was not accidental. For
instance, eyewitness David Bickowski testified that he saw Appellant, through
the open door of the condemned home, repeatedly striking a lighter next to a
large pile of cushions and pillows until they ignited. See N.T. Trial at 25-29.
Appellant’s relying on his own, self-serving testimony to argue that the fire
was accidental, and that he did not act recklessly or negligently, is
unconvincing in light of the other evidence presented at trial.

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Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 09/05/2023

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Circulated 08/17/2023 02:49 PM