Com. v. Martin, M. ( 2015 )

J-S48012-15
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
MARK ANTHONY MARTIN
Appellant No. 1326 WDA 2014
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence January 29, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0013843-2011
BEFORE: PANELLA, J., DONOHUE, J., and WECHT, J.
MEMORANDUM BY PANELLA, J. FILED OCTOBER 26, 2015
Appellant, Mark Anthony Martin, appeals from the judgment of
sentence entered January 29, 2014, in the Court of Common Pleas of
Allegheny County. We affirm.
The trial court summarized the facts of this matter as follows.
On September 18, 2011, Sonya Smith was watching
television inside the second floor bedroom of her residence at
9811 Glendale Road, in the Penn Hills section of Allegheny
County. Smith and Appellant had been involved in an intimate
relationship since 2006, but became estranged in May 2011.
Appellant was familiar with Smith’s residence from visiting and
staying there throughout their relationship. Smith had locked all
of the doors to her house before retiring to her bedroom that
evening. At approximately 3:45 A.M. Smith was awakened by
voices outside of her bedroom window. Smith called the police
when she heard prying noises at the kitchen window, which was
directly below her bedroom. Appellant and John Sloan, who
were unable to gain entry through the locked doors, broke
through a [windowpane] in the kitchen door to gain entry to
Smith’s home through that door.
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Shortly thereafter, Sloan, wearing black sweatpants, a
black sweatshirt, gloves, a Halloween mask and a paintball
mask, entered Smith’s bedroom holding a 9mm firearm. Sloan
ordered Smith to lie on her bed facedown and struck Smith in
the head and arms multiple times with the firearm. Appellant,
who was wearing a light colored t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and a
ski mask entered Smith’s bedroom[] shortly after Sloan.
Appellant and Sloan straddled Smith and struck her multiple
times in the arms and head; Sloan with the firearm and
Appellant with a heavy object, most likely a crowbar.
Following the assault, the two men fled the residence.
Appellant left first, exiting through the sliding glass door in the
dining room, a door that because of its “stickiness” could only be
opened by someone familiar with the premises. At the same
time Penn Hills police officers arrived on scene in response to
Smith’s 911 call. Officer Ronald Como, with the assistance of his
vehicle spotlight, observed Appellant jog across Glendale Road
away from Smith’s home. Officer Como exited his vehicle to
approach Appellant, who immediately encountered dogs in a
neighbor’s yard. Officer Como’s in-vehicle camera captured
Appellant’s image as he ran across Glendale Road away from
Smith’s home.
Officer Richard Pine approached from the opposite
direction and observed Sloan exiting out the side kitchen door of
Smith’s residence and running towards the wooded area behind
Smith’s home. Sloan was able to escape the immediate area but
was stopped by a Penn Hills officer responding to the scene
approximately one-half mile away on Frankstown Road. Sloan
was taken to the Penn Hills police station to be identified
because he had no identification with him, and presented to the
officer that he had been out jogging, “blowing off steam,” after a
domestic argument. He was later charged with the incident once
Smith was able to be interviewed and identif[ied] him as one of
the assailants.
At approximately 4:30 A.M. Jerome Landrum was
awakened by Appellant knocking on his door. Landrum lived at
441 Hochberg Road, approximately one half mile from Smith’s
residence. Landrum had known Appellant for over ten years, but
could not see Appellant’s face when he looked outside so he
called the police and gave a general description of the individual
knocking on his door. Unable to gain entry to Landrum’s home,
Appellant went next door (442 Hochberg Road) and knocked on
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the door of the home of Glenn Dillard, who was Landrum’s uncle.
Appellant knew and called out Dillard’s name and Dillard
admitted him into his residence. Police responded to the area
based on Landrum’s call and that his description of the person at
his door matched that provided by Officer Como. The police did
not encounter anyone on Hochberg Road at that time. Landrum
entered Dillard’s home and encountered Appellant, who told him
that he had gotten into an altercation and needed a ride home.
Appellant appeared scared and repeatedly looked out the
windows of Dillard’s home until police vacated the area.
Landrum refused to provide a ride to Appellant, and after
approximately fifteen minutes Appellant left Dillard’s home.
Penn Hills officers responding to Smith’s home entered the
residence and encountered Smith, severely injured, in her
bedroom. She notified officers that she immediately had
recognized Appellant as the second assailant based on his build,
height, weight, and distinctive smell. Smith was immediately
transported to the hospital for her injuries; [she] sustained a
total of nine broken bones in her arms, bruising on her arms and
back, and a concussion. As a result of the attack Smith spent
several days in the hospital and one month in a nursing facility
for rehabilitation.
On September 23, 2011, en route from the rehabilitation
facility to attend a funeral, Smith returned home briefly and
discovered a book[ ]bag belonging to [Appellant] in the dining
room near the sliding glass door that Appellant had exited. She
also found a ski mask on a table near the book[ ]bag. Smith
contacted the police, who collected the ski mask and the book[
]bag which contained, among other items, a crowbar. The ski
mask was submitted to the crime lab, and a DNA mixture
obtained from a tape lift and suspected saliva stain from the
mask were compared to the DNA profiles of Appellant and Sloan.
Appellant and Sloan could not be excluded as contributors to the
sample taken from the tape lift, and Appellant could not be
excluded as a contributor to the suspected saliva stain on the ski
mask. Smith viewed the video from Officer Como’s vehicle and
identified Appellant based on his build, height, weight, and skin
color. Kimberly Carson and Beatrice Berry, individuals who had
lengthy relationships with Appellant were shown a still
photograph from this video and also identified Appellant. Dillard
and Landrum were interviewed at a later date and identified
Martin as the individual who entered Dillard’s residence in the
early morning hours on September 18, 2011.
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Trial Court Opinion, 1/5/15 at 6-10 (citations and footnote omitted).
Appellant was charged with robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, and
criminal conspiracy.1 A first jury trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury
was unable to reach a verdict. The second resulted in the jury convicting
Appellant of all charges, with the exception of robbery. The trial court
sentenced Appellant to an aggregate term of 17 to 34 years in prison. The
trial court denied Appellant’s post sentence motions. This timely appeal
followed.
In his first issue, Appellant alleges the ineffective assistance of trial
counsel. Apart from two limited exceptions not pertinent here, claims of
ineffective assistance of counsel cannot be raised on direct review. See
Commonwealth v. Holmes, 79 A.3d 562, 563 (Pa. 2013). Accordingly,
Appellant cannot raise this claim on direct review. Therefore, we find
Appellant’s claim of ineffectiveness of trial counsel must await collateral
review.
Appellant additionally argues that his convictions were against the
weight of the evidence presented. We note that
[t]he finder of fact is the exclusive judge of the weight of the
evidence as the fact finder is free to believe all, part, or none of
the evidence presented and determines the credibility of the
witnesses.
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1
18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3701(a)(1)(i), 2702(a)(1), 3502, and 903(c), respectively.
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As an appellate court we cannot substitute our judgment
for that of the finder of fact. Therefore, we will reverse a jury’s
verdict and grant a new trial only where the verdict is so
contrary to the evidence as to shock one’s sense of justice. A
verdict is said to be contrary to the evidence such that it shocks
one’s sense of justice when “the figure of Justice totters on her
pedestal,” or when “the jury’s verdict, at the time of its
rendition, causes the trial judge to lose his breach, temporarily
and causes him to almost fall from the bench, then it is truly
shocking to the judicial conscience.”
Furthermore, where the trial court has ruled on the weight
claim below, an appellate court’s role is not to consider the
underlying question of whether the verdict is against the weight
of the evidence. Rather, appellate review is limited to whether
the trial court palpably abused its discretion in ruling on the
weight claim.
Commonwealth v. Boyd, 73 A.3d 1269, 1274-75 (Pa. Super. 2013)
(quoting Commonwealth v. Cruz, 919 A.2d 279, 281-82 (Pa. Super.
2007)) (citations omitted).
Appellant’s argument on appeal fixes largely upon the credibility of the
victim’s identification testimony, as well as nature of the Commonwealth’s
evidence. In rejecting Appellant’s weight of the evidence claim, the trial
court observed that
[h]ere, the jury heard testimony from and assessed the
credibility of several witnesses, as well as Appellant. Additionally,
the jury viewed and considered video captured by Officer Como’s
vehicle, as well as hearing Smith’s 911 call and Appellant’s calls
while incarcerated to Jade Marin, his daughter. Briefly stated,
the evidence presented established that: (1) Appellant broke
into Smith’s home with John Sloan and assaulted Smith with a
crowbar; (2) Smith identified [Appellant] as the second assailant
to police immediately following the assault; (3) Smith
consistently identified [Appellant] as the second assailant based
on her familiarity with his height, weight, and distinctive odor, as
well as his familiarity with her home from their five-year intimate
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relationship; (4) Appellant fled as the police approached, leaving
his ski mask, book[ ]bag, and crowbar near the sliding glass
door through which he exited; (5) Appellant crossed paths with
Officer Como on Glendale Road but was able to escape
apprehension by running through the neighbor’s yard; (6)
Appellant hid inside Dillard’s home until the police left the area;
(7) Smith, Berry, and Cameron identified the individual in the
video as Appellant; and (8) the ski mask contained a DNA
mixture from which the Appellant could not be excluded as a
contributor.
The jury clearly found the Commonwealth witnesses
credible, and Appellant not so. Given the nature and quality of
eyewitness and physical evidence in this matter, the [t]rial
[c]ourt properly denied the motion for new trial as the verdict
was not against the weight of the evidence.
Trial Court Opinion, 1/5/15 at 16-18 (citations omitted).
Upon review, we find no abuse of discretion by the trial court in
determining that the verdicts were not against the weight of the evidence.
Appellant’s challenge amounts largely to a veiled attack on the credibility of
the victim, Sonya Smith. Appellant assails the victim’s ability to identify her
attackers during the home invasion, attributes the victim’s consistent
identification testimony to “a desire to get back at a former lover,” suggests
that the evidence could have been tampered with, and insists that he was
home sick on the evening the burglary occurred.
The defense presented all of these theories to the jury at trial, and the
jury ultimately found them to be unavailing. The jury clearly acted well-
within its discretion to credit the testimony of the Commonwealth’s
witnesses and not Appellant. See Commonwealth v. Bullick, 830 A.2d
998, 1000 (Pa. Super. 2003) (“[T]he trier of fact while passing upon the
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credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced, is free to
believe all, part or none of the evidence.”).
In light of the overwhelming evidence of Appellant’s guilt, not least of
all the victim’s immediate and unwavering identification of Appellant as her
assailant, we discern no abuse of the trial court’s discretion in denying
Appellant’s challenge to the weight of the evidence. Accordingly, his claim is
without merit.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 10/26/2015
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