Court Opinion

ID: 9895546
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-07 18:09:46.79429+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:11:31.614792
License: Public Domain

J-S38009-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

  COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA                 :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
                                               :
  HECTOR PORTER                                :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :   No. 2778 EDA 2022

       Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 30, 2022
   In the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Criminal Division at
                     No(s): CP-23-CR-0001789-2021

BEFORE:      LAZARUS, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and PELLEGRINI, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.:                          FILED NOVEMBER 7, 2023

       Hector Porter appeals from the judgment of sentence, entered in the

Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, following his non-jury trial and

conviction of simple assault. After our review, we affirm.

       The trial court set forth the facts of this case as follows:

       On December 21, 2020 [Porter] was arrested and charged with []
       aggravated assault, [] simple assault, [] possession of an
       instrument of crime, and [] harassment arising from an incident
       in which [Porter] assaulted his wife, [] Ann Marie Jones-Porter by
       striking her in the head with a handgun. On May 4, 2022 and May
       11, 2022[,] this court presided over a non-jury trial and rendered
       a verdict of guilty on the charge of simple assault. On June 30,
       2022 this court imposed judgment of sentence on [Porter] to
       confinement in the George W. Hill Correctional Facility for a
       minimum term of time served (from December 12, 2020 to
       December 29, 2020) to a maximum term of 12 months.

Trial Court Opinion, 2/13/23, at 1-2.
____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
J-S38009-23

      Porter raises the following issues on appeal:

         1. Whether the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to
            support the conviction for simple assault, 18 Pa.C.S.A.
            2701a)(1) where the evidence at trial failed to establish that
            appellant intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused
            bodily injury?

         2. Whether the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion
            for a new trial, as the verdict was against the weight of the
            evidence where the evidence of record was so inherently
            unreliable such that the determination of appellant’s guilt
            was based purely on speculation and conjecture, in violation
            of appellant’s constitutional rights under the state and
            federal constitutions?

Appellant’s Brief, at 4.

      Porter argues that the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a

reasonable doubt that he intended to cause injury to his wife. He claims he

and his wife were “engaged in a heated scuffle” in their home, that he was

trying to grab a phone from her, that she “admittedly kicked him and bit him

in the arm before he [] responded by striking her in the head.”               See

Appellant’s Brief, at 13, citing N.T. Non-Jury Trial, 5/4/22, at 49, 51.

      The standard we apply in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence
      is whether[,] viewing all the evidence admitted at trial in the light
      most favorable to the verdict winner, there is sufficient evidence
      to enable the fact-finder to find every element of the crime beyond
      a reasonable doubt. In applying the above test, we may not weigh
      the evidence and substitute our judgment for the fact-finder. In
      addition, we note that the facts and circumstances established by
      the Commonwealth need not preclude every possibility of
      innocence. Any doubts regarding a defendant’s guilt may be
      resolved by the fact-finder unless the evidence is so weak and
      inconclusive that[,] as a matter of law[,] no probability of fact may
      be drawn from the combined circumstances. The Commonwealth
      may sustain its burden of proving every element of the crime
      beyond a reasonable doubt by means of wholly circumstantial

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      evidence. Moreover, in applying the above test, the entire record
      must be evaluated and all evidence actually received must be
      considered. Finally, the finder of fact[,] while passing upon the
      credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced,
      is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence.

Commonwealth v. Antidormi, 84 A.3d 736, 756 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citation

omitted).

      A person commits simple assault if they “attempt[] to cause or

intentionally, knowingly[,] or recklessly cause[] bodily injury to another[.]”

18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2701(a)(1). Bodily injury is defined as “[i]mpairment of

physical condition or substantial pain.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2301. A person

attempts to commit a crime when they, “with the intent to commit a specific

crime, [perform] any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the

commission of that crime.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 901(a). “[I]ntent may be inferred

from the circumstances surrounding the incident if a specific intent to cause

bodily injury may reasonably be inferred therefrom.” In re C.E.H., 167 A.3d

767, 770 (Pa. Super. 2017), citing Commonwealth v. Polston, 616 A.2d

669, 679 (Pa. Super. 1992).

      Here, the evidence established that on December 21, 2020, following an

argument, Porter demanded to know who the victim was talking to on her

phone. He backed the victim against a wall; the victim bit Porter in the arm

and kicked him to get him away from her. Porter then pulled out his gun and

struck her with it, hitting her forehead and left eye. The victim called the

police. See N.T. Non-Jury Trial, 4/20/20, at 5-8, 10.

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      Officer Matthew Barr testified that he received a dispatch for a “domestic

with a firearm” on the date in questions, and that when he arrived at the

scene, Porter was agitated and the victim was visibly upset. Id. at 17-18.

Officer Barr testified that he “could see the injury on [the victim’s] head,” and

that the victim had “considerable swelling.” Id. at 18, 23. He also testified

that he recovered Porter’s gun. Id. at 19. At the time of the trial, four months

after the incident, the victim testified that she still had pain. Id. at 6.

      Viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the evidence

was sufficient to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Porter intended

to cause bodily injury to the victim by using his gun to strike her forehead and

that the victim sustained bodily injury. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2701(a)(1); see

also Commonwealth v. Duck, 171 A.3d 830, 837 (Pa. Super. 2017)

(evidence sufficient for finding of simple assault where defendant pushed the

victim into doorframe and caused victim to suffer laceration that bled and

produced visible scab); Commonwealth v. Martuscelli, 54 A.3d 940, 948-

49 (Pa. Super. 2012) (intent to inflict bodily injury supporting conviction for

simple assault may be shown by circumstances that reasonably suggest

defendant intended to cause injury).

      Next, Porter claims the verdict was against the weight of the evidence.

He argues the Commonwealth’s evidence was “inherently unreliable and

contradictory,” and the verdict “could only have been based on speculation

and conjecture.” Appellant’s Brief, at 11. This claim is meritless.

                                      -4-
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      An allegation that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence
      is addressed to the discretion of the trial court. The Pennsylvania
      Supreme Court has explained that appellate review of a weight
      claim is a review of the exercise of discretion, not of the underlying
      question of whether the verdict is against the weight of the
      evidence. To grant a new trial on the basis that the verdict is
      against the weight of the evidence, this Court has explained that
      the evidence must be so tenuous, vague[,] and uncertain that the
      verdict shocks the conscience of the court.

Commonwealth v. Childs, 63 A.3d 323, 326–327 (Pa. Super. 2013) (citation

omitted).

      A new trial should not be granted because of a mere conflict in the

testimony or because the judge on the same facts would have arrived at a

different conclusion.    Commonwealth v. Widmer, 744 A.2d 745, 752

(2000).      Rather, “the role of the trial judge is to determine that

‘notwithstanding all the facts, certain facts are so clearly of greater weight

that to ignore them or to give them equal weight with all the facts is to deny

justice.’ ” Id. (citation omitted).

      Because the trial judge has had the opportunity to hear and see
      the evidence presented, an appellate court will give the gravest
      consideration to the findings and reasons advanced by the trial
      judge when reviewing a trial court's determination that the verdict
      is against the weight of the evidence. One of the least assailable
      reasons for granting or denying a new trial is the lower court’s
      conviction that the verdict was or was not against the weight of
      the evidence and that a new trial should be granted in the interest
      of justice.

Id. at 753 (emphasis added).

      In rejecting Porter’s weight of the evidence claim, the trial court

explained:

                                      -5-
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      This court listened to all the evidence and testimony of the
      witnesses in the case and believed the evidence outlined in the
      Commonwealth’s case supported the guilty verdict.               The
      testimony of [the victim] and Officer Bar established beyond a
      reasonable doubt that [Porter] committed the crime of simple
      assault. This court assessed these witnesses who testified at trial
      and observed the evidence presented[,] including testimony,
      photographs[,] and medical records[,] and is not persuaded by
      {porter’s] argument that there was not reliable proof of injury.
      This court weighed the facts fairly[.] [The verdict] is not shocking
      to any sense of justice. [T]he record is void of the court showing
      partiality, prejudice, ill-will, [or] bias.

Trial Court Opinion, supra at 7-8.       We agree.

      When passing on the credibility of the witnesses in this case, the trial

court, sitting as fact finder, was free to accept all, some, or none of the

testimony presented.       Clearly, the court found the victim and Officer Barr

credible.   This   Court   will   not   go   behind   the   trial   court’s   credibility

determinations. We find no abuse of discretion. Widmer, supra.

      Judgment of sentence affirmed.

Date: 11/7/2023

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