Court Opinion

ID: 9367696
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-01 17:07:53.202652+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:02.779849
License: Public Domain

J-S36030-22

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA               :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                       Appellee                :
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
    SHANE JOSEPH PERRONE                       :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :      No. 396 WDA 2022

         Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered March 23, 2022
                In the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County
             Criminal Division at No(s): CP-26-CR-0002003-2020

BEFORE:      STABILE, J., KING, J., and COLINS, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY KING, J.:                             FILED: FEBRUARY 1, 2023

        Appellant, Shane Joseph Perrone, appeals from the judgment of

sentence entered in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, following his

bench trial convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol—general

impairment (“DUI”) and the summary offenses of signals on turning and

careless driving.1 We affirm.

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

           Trooper Anthony Svetz of the Pennsylvania State Police
           testified that on August 13, 2020, [Appellant] was traveling
           on West Main Street, North Union Township at the
           intersection of Sheetz with New Salem Road. [Appellant]
           was traveling 10 m.p.h. in a posted 35 m.p.h. zone when he
           made an abrupt left-hand turn into the left turn lane. When
           the traffic light turned green, [Appellant] did not make a left
____________________________________________

*   Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1   75 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3802(a)(1), 3334(b), and 3714(a), respectively.
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         turn, but instead sped quickly from the turning lane into the
         far-right lane. The trooper activated his lights and sirens,
         but [Appellant] continued for approximately half a mile with
         his turn signal on before stopping. During this time,
         [Appellant] swerved within his lane, crossing the middle
         lane and the white fog line twice. [After approaching
         Appellant’s vehicle, t]he trooper immediately smelled
         alcoholic beverage emanating from the vehicle.          Once
         closer, the trooper noted the smell of alcohol on
         [Appellant’s] breath and observed he had bloodshot eyes
         with dilated pupils. [Appellant] refused to exit his vehicle
         and the trooper had to assist him out. [Appellant] refused
         field sobriety tests and blood testing.

(Order, filed 4/12/21, at 1-2).

      The Commonwealth charged Appellant with DUI and related summary

offenses under the Motor Vehicle Code. On November 23, 2020, Appellant

filed an omnibus pretrial motion arguing that “the Commonwealth has not

established a prima facie showing that [Appellant] was intoxicated while

operating said vehicle[.]” (Pretrial Motion, filed 11/23/20, at ¶4). The court

conducted a hearing on January 26, 2021. On April 12, 2021, the court denied

Appellant’s pretrial motion.

      On May 26, 2021, Appellant filed a nunc pro tunc motion for

reconsideration.   In it, Appellant presented an argument based upon the

record developed at the pretrial hearing:

         The main thrust of [Appellant’s] argument was that there
         was not sufficient evidence to stop the vehicle and relies on
         the State Police video to prove this fact. In sum, [Appellant]
         put on his left turn signal to turn from U.S. Route 40[, also
         referred to as West Main Street,] onto New Salem Road.
         Subsequently, [Appellant] put on his right turn signal,
         moved across the fast lane and into the slow lane on U.S.
         Route 40. At this point, the officer testified that he placed

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         his lights and siren on. Therefore, at that moment the
         officer had to have at least reasonable suspicion [to] stop
         [Appellant] when activating his lights and siren. Evidence
         that was offered after this point is irrelevant to determine if
         the stop was legal.

(Nunc Pro Tunc Motion, filed 5/26/21, at ¶3). On May 28, 2021, the court

denied Appellant’s nunc pro tunc motion.

      Following a bench trial, the court found Appellant guilty of DUI and the

summary offenses of signals on turning and careless driving. On March 23,

2022, the court sentenced Appellant to six (6) months of probation plus costs.

Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal on April 5, 2022. On April 12, 2022,

the court ordered Appellant to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of

errors complained of on appeal.       Appellant timely filed his Rule 1925(b)

statement on April 28, 2022.

      Appellant raises one issue on appeal:

         Whether the … court … erred in denying [Appellant’s]
         omnibus pretrial motion in failing to find that Pennsylvania
         State     Police     Troopers       …     lacked      reasonable
         suspicion/probable cause to conduct the traffic stop of
         [Appellant’s] vehicle … in that [they] did not have
         reasonable and articulable grounds that [Appellant] violated
         75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3334(b) … and 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3714(a) …
         either singularly or collectively or at the time of the stop was
         engaged in criminal activity.

(Appellant’s Brief at 4).

      Appellant contends Trooper Svetz did not possess reasonable suspicion

or probable cause to support the traffic stop of Appellant’s vehicle.

Specifically, Appellant relies on Trooper Svetz’s testimony from the pretrial

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hearing, which established that the trooper initially noticed Appellant’s vehicle

because it was traveling in an exceedingly slow manner.                Appellant

emphasizes the trooper’s testimony that he “noticed [Appellant] attempt to

make a sudden left turn by turning his right signal on for a brief movement.”

(Id. at 13). Trooper Svetz, however, “offered no testimony that [Appellant]

could not or did not make the left turn with reasonable safety….” (Id.) To

the extent that the trooper also cited Appellant for careless driving, Appellant

argues the Commonwealth “did not offer an iota of evidence that [Appellant’s]

operation of his vehicle prior to the stop posed a careless disregard of the

safety of persons or property” where there was no oncoming traffic that was

“adversely impacted” by Appellant’s driving. (Id.) Appellant concludes the

trooper conducted an illegal traffic stop, and the court should have suppressed

all evidence obtained as a result of the stop. We disagree.

      The following principles govern our review of an order denying a motion

to suppress:

         An appellate court’s standard of review in addressing a
         challenge to the denial of a suppression motion is limited to
         determining whether the suppression court’s factual
         findings are supported by the record and whether the legal
         conclusions drawn from those facts are correct. Because
         the Commonwealth prevailed before the suppression court,
         we may consider only the evidence of the Commonwealth
         and so much of the evidence for the defense as remains
         uncontradicted when read in the context of the record as a
         whole. Where the suppression court’s factual findings are
         supported by the record, the appellate court is bound by
         [those] findings and may reverse only if the court’s legal
         conclusions are erroneous.      Where the appeal of the
         determination of the suppression court turns on allegations

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        of legal error, the suppression court’s legal conclusions are
        not binding on an appellate court, whose duty it is to
        determine if the suppression court properly applied the law
        to the facts. Thus, the conclusions of law of the courts below
        are subject to plenary review.

Commonwealth v. Ford, 175 A.3d 985, 989 (Pa.Super. 2017), appeal

denied, 647 Pa. 522, 190 A.3d 580 (2018) (quoting Commonwealth v.

Jones, 121 A.3d 524, 526-27 (Pa.Super. 2015)).

     Our analysis of the quantum of cause required for a traffic stop begins

with the Motor Vehicle Code, which provides:

        § 6308. Investigation by police officers

                                 *    *    *

            (b) Authority of police officer.—Whenever a police
        officer is engaged in a systematic program of checking
        vehicles or drivers or has reasonable suspicion that a
        violation of this title is occurring or has occurred, he may
        stop a vehicle, upon request or signal, for the purpose of
        checking the vehicle’s registration, proof of financial
        responsibility, vehicle identification number or engine
        number or the driver’s license, or to secure such other
        information as the officer may reasonably believe to be
        necessary to enforce the provisions of this title.

75 Pa.C.S.A. § 6308(b) (emphasis added).

     “[D]espite subsection 6308(b)’s reasonable suspicion standard, some

offenses, by their very nature, require a police officer to possess probable

cause before he or she may conduct a traffic stop.”       Commonwealth v.

Ibrahim, 127 A.3d 819, 823 (Pa.Super. 2015), appeal denied, 635 Pa. 771,

138 A.3d 3 (2016). “For a stop based on the observed violation of the Vehicle

Code or otherwise non-investigable offense, an officer must have probable

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cause to make a constitutional vehicle stop.” Commonwealth v. Harris, 176

A.3d 1009, 1019 (Pa.Super. 2017). See also Commonwealth v. Feczko,

10 A.3d 1285, 1291 (Pa.Super. 2010), appeal denied, 611 Pa. 650, 25 A.3d

327 (2011) (stating mere reasonable suspicion will not justify vehicle stop

when driver’s detention cannot serve investigatory purpose relevant to

suspected violation).

      Additionally, the Motor Vehicle Code requires the use of turn signals as

follows:

           § 3334. Turning movements and required signals

               (a) General rule.—Upon a roadway no person shall
           turn a vehicle or move from one traffic lane to another or
           enter the traffic stream from a parked position unless and
           until the movement can be made with reasonable safety nor
           without giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided
           in this section.

              (b) Signals on turning and starting.—At speeds of
           less than 35 miles per hour, an appropriate signal of
           intention to turn right or left shall be given continuously
           during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle
           before turning. The signal shall be given during not less
           than the last 300 feet at speeds in excess of 35 miles per
           hour. The signal shall also be given prior to entry of the
           vehicle into the traffic stream from a parked position.

               (c) Limitations on use of certain signals.—The
           signals required on vehicles by section 3335(b) (relating to
           signals by hand and arm or signal lamps) shall not be
           flashed on one side only on a disabled vehicle, flashed as a
           courtesy or “do pass” signal to operators of other vehicles
           approaching from the rear, nor be flashed on one side only
           of a parked vehicle except as may be necessary for
           compliance with this section.

              (d)   Discontinuing turn signals.—Turn signals shall

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          be discontinued immediately after completing the turn or
          movement from one traffic lane to another traffic lane.

75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3334.

       Instantly, Trooper Svetz testified that Appellant’s vehicle first caught his

attention because it was driving at a slow rate of speed. Appellant then made

an “abrupt” lane change, crossing into the left-hand turn lane and stopping at

a red light.     (N.T. Suppression Hearing, 1/26/21, at 6).        Trooper Svetz

explained that Appellant executed the lane change “while simultaneously

turning on his turn signal, not a hundred feet before for a 35 mile per hour

speed limits.” (Id. at 7). Trooper Svetz elaborated that Appellant did not

have the turn signal on before executing the lane change, and he “turned it

on as he was turning” into the left-hand turn lane.2 (Id.)

       Here, Section 3334(b) requires that a turn signal “be given continuously

during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning.”

75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3334(b). Appellant did not comply with the statute where he

failed to give a signal before moving into the left-hand turn lane. Regardless

of what happened after the lane switch, Trooper Svetz’s observations

produced probable cause for a traffic stop based on a violation of Section

____________________________________________

2At the hearing, the Commonwealth provided the footage from the dashboard
camera mounted in Trooper Svetz’s vehicle. (See N.T. Suppression Hearing
at 2-3). The disc containing this footage was included with the certified record
on appeal, and we have reviewed it. Significantly, the footage confirmed
Trooper Svetz’s testimony concerning Appellant’s driving maneuvers. (See
Commonwealth’s Suppression Exhibit 1).

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3334. See Harris, supra; 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3334. Thus, we cannot say that

the court erred in denying Appellant’s pretrial motions, and we affirm. See

Ford, supra.

     Judgment of sentence affirmed.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 2/1/2023

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