Com. v. Harrington, L. ( 2021 )

J-S24008-21
2021 PA Super 194COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
LISA DANEA HARRINGTON :
:
Appellant : No. 318 WDA 2021
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered September 24, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County Criminal Division
at No(s): CP-65-CR-0000009-2018,
CP-65-CR-0005404-2019
BEFORE: DUBOW, J., KING, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*
OPINION BY DUBOW, J.: FILED: September 29, 2021
Appellant, Lisa Danea Harrington, appeals from the September 24, 2020
Judgments of Sentence entered in the Westmoreland County Court of
Common Pleas1 following her conviction of four counts of Hindering
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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
1 Appellant concedes in response to this Court’s March 26, 2021 Rule to Show
Cause that she filed one Notice of Appeal listing both Westmoreland County
docket numbers in violation of our Supreme Court’s decision in
Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018) (mandating separate
notices of appeal at each docket implicated by the appealed-from order). See
Appellant’s Response to Rule to Show Cause, 3/31/21. However, our review
reveals that the trial court repeatedly advised Appellant that she could appeal
its ruling by filing a single notice of appeal. See N.T., 9/24/20, at 27-29
(referencing “an appeal,” “this appeal” in discussing Appellant’s appeal
rights) (emphasis added). We have held that such advisement is erroneous
and, thus, constitutes a breakdown in the operation of the court.
Commonwealth v. Larkin, 235 A.3d 350, 354 (Pa. Super. 2020) (en banc).
See also Commonwealth v. Stansbury, 219 A.3d 157, 160 (Pa. Super.
(Footnote Continued Next Page)
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Apprehension or Prosecution and one count each of Firearms Not to be Carried
Without a License and Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence.2
Appellant challenges two evidentiary rulings by the trial court. After careful
review, we affirm.
Appellant’s charges arose from her involvement with her cousin,
Rahmael Holt, and others after Holt killed a police officer. We, thus, provide
the following background, together with the facts and procedural history
relevant to this appeal. Shortly after 8:00 PM on November 17, 2017, Holt
shot and killed New Kensington Police Patrolman Brian Shaw.3 Police
recovered video surveillance footage that tracked the interaction between
Patrolman Shaw and Holt from the time they initially encountered each other
through Patrolman Shaw’s foot pursuit of Holt, which culminated in Holt
shooting Patrolman Shaw. The video further captured Holt fleeing in the
direction of 1206 Victoria Avenue, New Kensington after the shooting, and
other officers responding and tending to the fallen officer.4
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2019). Therefore, we shall address Appellant’s claims rather than quash this
appeal.
2 18 Pa.C.S. § 5105(a)(1), 5105(a)(2), 5105(a)(3), 5105(a)(5), 6106(a)(1),
and 4910(1), respectively.
3The Commonwealth successfully prosecuted Holt for Patrolman Shaw’s
murder.
4 In addition, Patrolman Shaw called into police dispatch during his encounter
with Holt. Those calls were also recorded.
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Within minutes of Patrolman Shaw’s murder, Holt arrived at 1206
Victoria Avenue, a residence approximately 165 yards south-east of the
location where Holt murdered Patrolman Shaw. Holt was flustered and
bleeding from his hand. Holt’s associates, Taylor Mitchell, Lakita Cain,
Antoinette Strong, Michael Luffey, and Holly Clemens, resided at 1206 Victoria
Avenue.5 Mitchell, Cain, and Strong were at home at the time and had heard
gunshots outside.6 Upon Holt’s arrival at the residence, he went directly into
the basement and remained there for a short time before going upstairs to
Lakita Cain’s bedroom. Cell phone records showed calls from Cain’s phone to
Appellant’s phone at 8:15 PM, 8:21 PM, and 8:23 PM, and a call from
Appellant’s phone to Cain’s phone at 8:28 PM. Holt left the 1206 Victoria
Avenue residence sometime shortly thereafter.
At 8:34 PM, Appellant called Holt’s girlfriend, Vanessa Portis, and asked
Portis if Portis had seen Holt. Fifteen minutes later, Holt, using Appellant’s
phone, called Portis and informed Portis that he had lost his phone. Holt asked
Portis, to whom the line was registered, to disconnect the lost phone. Police
later recovered Holt’s phone on the property next to 1206 Victoria Avenue.
At 9:02 PM, Portis received another call from Appellant’s phone. Around
that same time, Appellant dropped Holt off at Portis’ residence. Portis,
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5 Holly Clemons’ and Michael Luffey’s two children also lived in the residence.
6 Luffey and Clemons were not at home when Holt arrived but had received a
phone call from Cain who advised them that a police officer had been shot.
They returned home shortly thereafter and observed Holt acting anxious and
bleeding from his hand.
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unaccompanied by Appellant, then drove Holt to the home of Holt’s mother in
nearby Homewood.
Text message records indicate that, after Appellant dropped Holt off with
Portis, Appellant communicated with her nephew about selling a gun that
evening. Text messages also show that Appellant informed her mother-in-law
that Appellant had been in the area of the shooting and was aware that a
manhunt for Holt was underway.
Just before midnight on November 17, 2017, Appellant spoke on the
phone for almost 14 minutes with Lakita Cain. They spoke again three times
between 1:00 AM and 3:05 AM, and at 11:47 AM on November 18, 2017.
On November 18, 2017, Appellant arrived at the 1206 Victoria Avenue
residence with her children. Appellant first went upstairs to Cain’s bedroom.
She then went downstairs to the basement where she retrieved something,
emerging from the basement carrying a purse and a paper bag. She then
carried the purse and bag to her minivan and left without her children. She
returned approximately 20 minutes later, collected her children, and left the
residence.
Over the course of the weekend following Patrolman Shaw’s murder,
numerous law enforcement investigators visited and questioned the residents
of 1206 Victoria Street; none of the residents were candid and truthful with
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investigators, at least initially.7 Lakita Cain and Taylor Mitchell repeatedly
failed to disclose that Holt had visited shortly after Patrolman Shaw’s murder
and misled investigators about the nature and extent of their relationship with
Holt. In addition, Cain and Mitchell sent a text message to Michael Luffey on
the cell phone that he shared with Holly Clemons, instructing him to deny to
police that Holt had come to the residence after the shooting.
Ultimately, Cain admitted that Holt had come to 1206 Victoria Avenue
immediately after the residents heard gunshots on November 17, 2017. She
also admitted that she had permitted Holt to use her phone that night because
he had lost his. Cain also admitted that she had spoken with Appellant over
the course of the ensuing days, and that Appellant had come to 1206 Victoria
Avenue on November 18, 2017, to retrieve something from the basement and
then informed Cain that “it was handled.”8
Following Holt’s apprehension by police, the Commonwealth charged
Appellant with the above crimes, alleging that Appellant had communicated
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7 Detective Ray Dupilka testified at an in camera hearing during trial that
Luffey and Clemons were present the weekend after the shooting when
investigators were investigating Patrolman Shaw’s murder, but he did not
speak with Clemons until over a year after the murder. He stated that he
believed Clemons had not given him any false information during that
interview. N.T., 3/3/20, at 278-79.
8 See N.T., 3/3/20, at 271-74 (where, to establish the existence of a
conspiracy to hinder Holt’s apprehension and prosecution between Appellant
and the residents of 1206 Victoria, Detective Dupilka testified in camera about
the details of Lakita Cain’s eventual admissions to Detective Dupilka).
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with and provided transportation to Holt after he murdered Patrolman Shaw
and that Appellant disposed of the firearm that Holt had used in the shooting.
Prior to trial, Appellant filed a pretrial Motion in Limine to preclude as
hearsay the testimony of the Commonwealth’s witness, Holly Clemons. The
Commonwealth intended to offer testimony from Clemons that Lakita Cain
told Clemons that Appellant had come to their residence after the shooting to
retrieve the firearm that Holt had used. The Commonwealth argued that,
because Clemons conspired with Cain and the other residents of 1206 Victoria
Avenue to hinder the apprehension and prosecution of Holt, her testimony was
admissible as an exception to the rule prohibiting hearsay testimony. The trial
court agreed and denied Appellant’s Motion in Limine.
The jury trial proceeded with the Commonwealth presenting the
testimony of numerous witnesses to establish the above facts. Relevant to
the instant appeal, Appellant objected to the Commonwealth’s playing the
approximately eleven-minute surveillance video recording, with synchronized
audio obtained from recordings of Patrolman Shaw’s calls to police
dispatchers, of Patrolman Shaw’s murder. Appellant argued that the video
recording was irrelevant, and, even if relevant, the substantial prejudice it
would cause outweighed any potential probative value. Appellant offered to
stipulate to the fact of the shooting and the time and location in which it took
place.
The Commonwealth argued that the video recording was relevant to
establish the underlying crime for which Appellant hindered apprehension or
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prosecution. The Commonwealth also argued that the video recording was
relevant to prove that Holt fled in the direction of 1206 Victoria Avenue, which
is the location where Holt hid the murder weapon, and adjoins the property
where Holt dropped his cell phone. The court overruled Appellant’s objection
to this evidence, issued a cautionary instruction to the jury, and permitted the
Commonwealth to play the video recording.
On March 5, 2020, the jury convicted Appellant of the above charges.
On September 24, 2020, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate
term of 3 to 7 years’ incarceration.
Appellant filed a timely Post-Sentence Motion, which the court denied
on February 23, 2021. This appeal followed. Appellant complied with the
court’s Order to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) Statement and the trial court relied
on its Opinion and Order denying Appellant’s Post-Sentence Motion.
Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:
[1.] Did the [c]ourt err in admitting into evidence and allowing the
Commonwealth to present to the jury video and audio of the
murder of [Patrolman] Shaw and subsequent emergency
response[] when the minimal relevance of the video could have
been cured with simple stipulations that would not have led to the
high likelihood of unfair prejudice to [Appellant]?
[2.] Did the [c]ourt err in admitting testimony from Holly Clemons
that Lakita Cain told her that [Appellant] came to Cain’s residence
to remove the gun that Rahmael Holt used to shoot [Patrolman]
Shaw[] when said testimony is inadmissible hearsay that does not
fall within the co-conspirator exception to the rule against
hearsay?
Appellant’s Brief at 4 (suggested answers omitted).
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Appellant’s issues challenge two of the trial court’s evidentiary rulings
allowing the admission of certain evidence. The admission of evidence is
within the discretion of the trial court. Commonwealth v. Woodard, 129
A.3d 480, 494 (Pa. 2015). “An abuse of discretion will not be found based on
a mere error of judgment, but rather occurs where the court has reached a
conclusion that overrides or misapplies the law, or where the judgment
exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias
or ill-will.” Id. An abuse of discretion by the trial court, and a showing of
resulting prejudice, constitutes reversible error. Commonwealth v. Glass,
50 A.3d 720, 724-25 (Pa. Super. 2012).
Video Recording of Patrolman Shaw’s Murder
In her first issue, Appellant asserts that the trial court erred in
permitting the Commonwealth to play for the jury the video recording of
Patrolman Shaw’s shooting and his communications with police dispatchers
prior to his death. Appellant’s Brief at 8. She argues that the recording was
of minimal relevance compared to the prejudice it caused and was not
necessary to establish any fact at issue, particularly because the parties could
stipulate to the facts in the recording. Id. at 10. She concludes that the
recording caused an “inappropriate emotional response” in the jury that
unfairly prejudiced her and, thus, she is entitled to a new trial. Id. at 10-11.
Generally, “[a]ll relevant evidence is admissible, except as otherwise
provided by law. Evidence that is not relevant is not admissible.” Pa.R.E.
402. “Evidence is relevant if: (a) it has any tendency to make a fact more or
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less probable than it would be without the evidence; and (b) the fact is of
consequence in determining the action.” Pa.R.E. 401. However, the trial court
“may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is outweighed by a
danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues,
misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting
cumulative evidence.” Pa.R.E. 403.
“[W]hen examining the potential for undue prejudice, a cautionary jury
instruction may ameliorate the prejudicial effect of the proffered evidence.”
Commonwealth v. Hairston, 84 A.3d 657, 666 (Pa. 2014). We presume
that jurors, when given a cautionary instruction, have followed the instruction.
Id.; Commonwealth v. Roney, 79 A.3d 595, 640 (Pa. 2013).
The Commonwealth asserted that the contested evidence was relevant
to prove the elements of the Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution offense.
In particular, the evidence was relevant to establish the underlying crime that
Holt committed from which Appellant’s charges arose.
The Crimes Code provides, relevantly, that a person commits the
offense of Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution if, with the intent to hinder
the apprehension or prosecution or another person, she:
(1) harbors or conceals the other;
(2) provides or aids in providing a weapon, transportation,
disguise[,] or other means of avoiding apprehension or effecting
escape;
(3) conceal or destroys evidence of the crime, or tampers with a
witness, informant, document[,] or other source of information,
regardless of its admissibility in evidence;
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***
(5) provides false information to a law enforcement officer.
18 Pa.C.S. § 5105(a).
To sustain a conviction under Section 5105(a), the Commonwealth must
also provide evidence of the underlying crime that prompted the official action
a defendant was accused of hindering. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 100
A.3d 207, 214 (Pa. Super. 2014).
It is well-settled that “the Commonwealth may prove its case with any
proper evidence and does not have to accept the accused’s stipulations.”
Commonwealth v. Yarris, 549 A.2d 513, 525 (Pa. 1998) (internal
punctuation omitted).
Instantly, the trial court explained that the video recording was relevant
because it provided evidence of Holt’s underlying crime and demonstrated a
connection between Holt’s presence in the vicinity of 1206 Victoria Avenue at
the time of the shooting and Appellant’s later presence there. Trial Ct. Op.,
2/23/21, at 17. The court also emphasized that, to minimize any potential
prejudice the evidence might cause Appellant, it provided the jury with a
cautionary instruction prior to the Commonwealth’s playing the video
recording. The court instructed the jury as follows:
Before [the Commonwealth] shows this video, ladies and
gentlemen, I want to give you a cautionary instruction. You’re
going to see a video which shows [Patrolman] Shaw pursing
Rahmael Holt ultimately leading to the homicide of Patrolman
Shaw by Rahmael Holt. Of course, this is disturbing to everyone,
however the reason I’m allowing it to be shown is to explain the
route that Rahmael Holt took on November 17, 2017[,] before and
after the homicide. It is not alleged, and you are not to think, that
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[Appellant] had anything to do with the actual homicide. The
Commonwealth is alleging that she helped Rahmael Holt after the
homicide. I just want to caution you that you don’t [sic] convict
her based on this. This is just part of the whole story of what
occurred.
N.T., 3/2/20, at 182-83.
We agree with the trial court that the evidence that the Commonwealth
proffered was relevant to prove the underlying crime that was an element of
the offense of Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution. In other words, this
evidence satisfied the requirement that the Commonwealth establish that Holt
committed Patrolman Shaw’s murder in order to prove that Appellant hindered
the apprehension and prosecution of Holt for the murder. Additionally, the
Commonwealth was not obligated to accept Appellant’s offer to stipulate that
Holt committed the murder.
Finally, to the extent that Appellant contends that the video recording
caused the jurors to have an “inappropriate emotional response” that unfairly
prejudiced Appellant, we find that the court provided a specific and detailed
limiting instruction to the jury to avoid such a response. As such, we presume
that the jury followed that instruction and we reject Appellant’s argument.
Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the video
recording. Appellant is, thus, not entitled to relief on this claim.
Holly Clemons’s Testimony about Lakita Cain’s Statements
In her second issue, Appellant asserts that the trial court erred in
denying her Motion in Limine to preclude as hearsay Holly Clemons’ testimony
pertaining to statements that Lakita Cain made to Clemons. Appellant’s Brief
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at 11. In particular, Appellant objected to Clemons’ testimony that Cain told
Clemons that Appellant had come to Cain’s residence to retrieve the firearm
that Holt used to shoot Patrolman Shaw. Id. at 11-12. See N.T., 3/3/20, at
316 (where Clemons testified that Cain told her Appellant “had come to get
[Holt’s] gun”). Appellant argues Clemons’ testimony was inadmissible under
the exception because the Commonwealth did not prove that Clemons was a
co-conspirator in the conspiracy to hinder Holt’s apprehension or prosecution.
Id. at 16-19. Appellant also argues that, even if Clemons and Cain were part
of a conspiracy, Cain did not make this statement to Clemons in furtherance
of a conspiracy. Id. at 12, 15-6.
“When reviewing a trial court’s denial of a motion in limine, this Court
applies an [ ] abuse of discretion standard of review.” Commonwealth v.
Schley, 136 A.3d 511, 514 (Pa. Super. 2016). “An abuse of discretion will
not be found based on a mere error of judgment, but rather exists where the
court has reached a conclusion which overrides or misapplies the law, or where
the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality,
prejudice, bias or ill-will.” Id. (citation omitted).
Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter
asserted. Pa.R.E. 801(c). It is generally inadmissible unless it falls within one
of the exceptions to the hearsay rule delineated in the Rules of Evidence.
Commonwealth v. Busanet, 54 A.3d 35, 68 (Pa. 2012).
Rule 803(25)(E) provides an exception to the hearsay rule for a
statement that a party’s co-conspirator makes during and in furtherance of
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their conspiracy. Pa.R.E. 803(25)(E). For this exception to apply, the trial
court must first find the existence of a conspiracy between the party testifying
and the declarant, and second, that the declarant made the statement to the
party testifying during the course of their conspiracy and in furtherance of the
conspirators’ common design. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 838 A.2d 663,
674 (Pa. 2003). Stated another way, both the declarant and the party
testifying must have been part of a conspiracy when the declarant made the
statement, and the statement must have been made in furtherance of the
conspiracy.
The Commonwealth is not required to have charged or prosecuted the
declarant with conspiracy to prove that she and the party testifying are part
of a conspiracy. Commonwealth v. Basile, 458 A.2d 587, 590 (Pa. Super.
1983). Rather, the Commonwealth may establish the existence of a
conspiracy inferentially by showing the relation, conduct, or circumstances of
the declarant and the party testifying. Commonwealth v. Dreibelbis, 426
A.2d 1111, 1115 (Pa. 1981).
In this case, Appellant asserts that the trial court erred in permitting
Clemons to testify about statements that Cain made to Clemons because: (1)
Clemons was not part of a conspiracy at the time of Cain’s statement to
Clemons; and (2) Cain’s statement to Clemons was not “in furtherance” of a
conspiracy to hinder Holt’s arrest and prosecution. We address each
contention in turn.
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The trial court rejected Appellant’s claim that the Commonwealth did
not present any evidence that Clemons was involved in any conspiracy to
hinder Holt’s arrest and prosecution. In particular, the court found as follows:
The evidence showed repeated contact between Holt and the other
residents of 1206 Victoria Avenue, which include Lakita Cain,
Taylor Mitchell, Holly Clemons, Michael Luffey, and Antoinette
Strong. Over a period of four days, during each of which the police
appeared at that address, the residents, including Clemons,
concealed knowledge of Holt’s whereabouts, his status as a
resident of that address, and the fact that he had been there
shortly after the shooting in a frantic state of mind, with a bleeding
hand. Likewise, the residents failed to disclose to law enforcement
that [Appellant] appeared at the residence the day after the
shooting, retrieved something from the basement[,] and left the
residence for approximately 15-20 minutes, while her children
remained at the residence. Clemons admitted that she did not
tell law enforcement on the evening of November 17,
2017[,] nor did she reveal that [Appellant] had been to the
house or that Cain had told her that [Appellant] had picked
up Holt’s gun.
Trial Ct. Op. at 21 (emphasis added). Based on this evidence, the trial court
concluded that Clemons was part of a conspiracy with the other members of
1206 Victoria Avenue and Appellant to hinder Holt’s apprehension and
prosecution. Id. at 21-22.
Following our review, we agree with the trial court that the evidence
supports the trial court’s conclusion that Appellant, Clemons, Cain, and the
other residents of 1206 Victoria Avenue were engaged in a conspiracy to
hinder the apprehension and prosecution of Holt when they concealed
information from the police about Holt’s activities and location after the
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shooting, and the location of the murder weapon and Appellant’s efforts to
dispose of it. Thus, Appellant’s contrary claim lacks merit.
Appellant also argues that Cain’s statement to Clemons that Appellant
had come to 1206 Victoria Avenue to retrieve Holt’s gun merely constitutes a
“narrative declaration [] of past activity made to a non-participant in the
asserted conspiracy,” and was not made in furtherance of any broader
conspiracy to hinder Holt’s apprehension and prosecution. Appellant’s Brief at
15-16 (quoting Johnson, 838 A.2d at 675). In support of this argument,
Appellant asserts that Cain’s statement—which Appellant characterizes as a
“declaration of a past event”—only refers to alleged attempts to dispose of a
firearm but does not implicate the “broader conspiracy” to hinder Holt’s arrest
and prosecution. Appellant’s Brief at 16.
The trial court rejected this argument, finding that “the presence and
later removal and secreting of the murder weapon was central to the
conspiracy” between Appellant and the residents of 1206 Victoria Avenue to
hinder the apprehension and prosecution of Holt. Trial Ct. Op. at 22.
Following our review, we agree. Here, the conspiracy between Appellant and
the residents had two primary components: (1) the repeated misstatements
to police and concerted silence about Holt’s presence immediately after the
shooting; and (2) Holt’s secreting of the firearm followed by Appellant’s
disposal of it. Because Cain’s statement to Clemons—that Appellant went to
1206 Victoria Avenue to remove Holt’s gun—concerned Cain’s observation and
knowledge of the latter component of the conspiracy, the record supports the
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trial court’s conclusion that Cain made her statement in furtherance of the
conspiracy. Appellant’s argument that the statement was a mere “declaration
of a past event,” is, thus, meritless.
Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion
in denying Appellant’s Motion in Limine to preclude as hearsay Clemons’
testimony that Cain told Clemons that Appellant had come to 1206 Victoria
Avenue to retrieve Holt’s weapon. This issue, thus, fails to garner Appellant
relief.
Judgment of Sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 09/29/2021
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