Court Opinion

ID: 9732737
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:33:21.708253+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:32.309128
License: Public Domain

CAVANAUGH, Judge,
dissenting:
Most respectfully, I dissent. Under the entrapment statute, a defendant has the burden of proving that a public law enforcement official, or a person acting in cooperation with such an official, induced or encouraged the defendant into engaging in conduct which constitutes a criminal offense. Commonwealth v. Mance, 422 Pa.Super. 584, 589, 619 A.2d 1378, 1380 (1993), aff'd., 539 Pa. 282, 652 A.2d 299 (1995). “Whether an ‘entrapment has occurred is a question for the jury, unless the evidence points to only one conclusion, in which case it may be decided as a matter of law.’ ” Manee, quoting, Commonwealth v. Wright, 396 Pa.Super. 276, 288-89, 578 A.2d 513, 519-520 (1990). My review of the record in this case leads me to conclude that entrapment has not been proven as a matter of law. Objectively viewing the conduct of the police, a jury could conclude that the Sears employees were not acting in cooperation with the police, or at their direction, when they repeatedly declined to confirm defendant’s suspicion that the VCR was stolen. All but one of these conversations with defendant took place before police were aware that defendant had been calling Sears. Furthermore, the police did not instruct the Sears employee, who eventually contacted police, to mislead the defendant; rather, they told him that he could tell the defendant anything, so long as he did not reveal that there was an investigation. Finally, the Sears employee simply told the defendant that he did not believe the VCR to be stolen; and the employee testified that this statement was true as the VCR was accounted for, as it was one of the items which had been provided to police. Thus, *437I believe the trial court erred in concluding that entrapment had been established as a matter of law.
Additionally, because a jury question exists, this case is not a proper subject matter for a writ of habeas corpus. See Commonwealth v. Morman, 373 Pa.Super. 360, 541 A.2d 356 (1988) (in reviewing a petition for habeas corpus, the court determines whether the Commonwealth has sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case that a crime has been committed and that the accused committed the crime). The evidence presented by the Commonwealth at the hearing below was clearly sufficient to establish a prima facie case against defendant. Accordingly, I would reverse the order of the trial court and remand this case for trial.