Court Opinion

ID: 9758123
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:12:29.19278+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:47.216212
License: Public Domain

CIRILLO, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
Issues of credibility are left to the trier of fact for resolution. Commonwealth v. Farquharson, 467 Pa. 50, 354 A.2d 545 (1976). The dispositive issue turned on the credibility of the appellant himself.
Mere presence on the scene both immediately prior to and subsequent to the commission of a crime and flight there from is not sufficient evidence to prove involvement in the crime. Commonwealth v. Goodman, 465 Pa. 367, 370-71, 350 A.2d 810, 811-12 (1976); see also Commonwealth v. Roscioli, 454 Pa. 59, 309 A.2d 396 (1973); Commonwealth v. Jones, 291 Pa.Super. 69, 435 A.2d 223 (1981). The instant case is distinguishable from Goodman, supra, and its progeny. The appellant took the stand in his own defense and testified as to his whereabouts on the morning of the burglary. He stated that he was at home.
On appellate review of a criminal conviction, it is not our function to weigh the evidence, thereby substituting our judgment for that of the trier of fact. Commonwealth v. Farquharson, supra. Had the appellant not taken the stand in order to present an alibi, the evidence of presence and flight from the scene would have stood alone as the *331only pieces of circumstantial evidence. However, those factors combined with the alibi provide a sufficient basis for conviction. See Commonwealth v. Rosetti, 322 Pa.Super. 536, 469 A.2d 1121 (1983).