Court Opinion

ID: 9698571
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 19:54:23.703494+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:41.985313
License: Public Domain

OLSZEWSKI, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. Although the evidence of appellant’s participation in the crime is scant, I would hold that *36the evidence was sufficient to convict and affirm the judgment of sentence.
The majority misapprehends the standard of review: we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, as verdict winner, as well as all reasonable inferences therefrom to determine whether that evidence is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Smith, 283 Pa.Super. 360, 423 A.2d 1296 (1981). The issue in this case is not, as the majority states, whether the evidence was insufficient to convict appellant, “in that the Commonwealth proved only appellant’s mere presence at the scene.” Rather, we must view all the evidence and inferences which the jury, as finder of fact, reasonably may have considered in determining appellant’s guilt. Our consideration must be guided by our traditional deference to the jury and its unique opportunity to observe the demeanor of witnesses and the subtle interplay of circumstantial evidence in this case.
In the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, I submit that the record shows that a car carrying four employees of David Crystal pulled into a lot adjacent to the warehouse. Two men got out of the back seat and ran up to the building. A security guard observed the men going to an area near the loading dock and retrieving two boxes. Seconds later, the men ran back to the car. As security converged on the car, one nian had already climbed into the back seat. The appellant, in the front passenger seat, was pulling the seat forward to allow the second man to enter.
I believe the jury reasonably may have inferred from the evidence, including appellant’s own testimony, that all four passengers participated in the theft. The appellant, as an employee of David Crystal, may reasonably be expected to know that employees do not innocently run to a loading dock, seize several company boxes, and run back to the car. The appellant’s action in assisting the men climb into the back seat is substantially more than the mere presence in the general vicinity found non-eulpable in Commonwealth v. Tillman, 273 Pa.Super. 416, 417 A.2d 717 (1980). Appel*37lant’s action was substantially more than sitting passively as a passenger. Commonwealth v. Scudder, 490 Pa. 415, 416 A.2d 1003 (1980). The accumulated circumstantial evidence allows the inference that appellant had reasonable cause to know that the boxes were stolen, allowing a final inference that she knew the boxes were stolen. Commonwealth v. Phillips, 258 Pa.Super. 109, 392 A.2d 708 (1978).
In so far as appellant’s testimony contradicted that of the security guards as to whether she assisted the men in getting into the back seat, a question of credibility was presented for the jury. Commonwealth v. Lybrand, 272 Pa.Super 475, 416 A.2d 555 (1979). Ultimately, the issue of credibility which pervaded this trial was resolved against appellant. This court should not presume to substitute its judgment for the conviction of those who observed the trial first hand.
I would affirm the judgment of sentence.