Com. v. Dawkins, J. Appeal of: Crepps, W.

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
v. :
:
JAMES ROBERT DAWKINS, JR. :
:
APPEAL OF: WILLIAM CREPPS : No. 1093 WDA 2015
Appeal from the Order July 14, 2015
in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County,
Criminal Division, No(s): CP-63-CR-0002746-2013
BEFORE: OLSON, STABILE and MUSMANNO, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY MUSMANNO, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
William Crepps (“Crepps”) appeals from the Order of the trial court,
which set the restitution owed to Crepps by James Robert Dawkins, Jr.
(“Dawkins”). We quash the appeal.
The trial court summarized the facts underlying the instant appeal as
follows:
On August 25, 2013, Dawkins and Crepps got into a
physical altercation at the Chambers Dam Association. Crepps,
who was on a riding tractor at the time, rode up to Dawkins and
began attempting to speak with him about an issue with their
neighborhood association. Both men exchanged unpleasant
words. Immediately following this verbal altercation, the victim
in this matter, Crepps, got up off the riding mower and
attempted to strike Dawkins numerous times with his closed
fists, and eventually Crepps did strike Dawkins in the cheek with
one of his fists. Dawkins tried to retreat from the situation, but
Crepps continued to pursue him. At that point, Dawkins swung
out his right foot to trip Crepps, and this caused Crepps to fall
and sustain a substantial head injury.
During the June 1, 2015 restitution hearing in this matter,
Crepps testified that as a result of Dawkins tripping him, his skull
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was cracked and blood had begun seeping into his brain. The
Commonwealth introduced several exhibits during the
proceeding: Commonwealth Exhibit 1[,] which included medical
bills, Commonwealth Exhibit 2, [which was] an out[-]of[-]pocket
expense sheet that Crepps had created, and Commonwealth
Exhibit 3, which was another sheet of paper that Crepps had
created that listed his lost wages. Neither Commonwealth
Exhibit 2 nor Commonwealth Exhibit 3 were corroborated with
any supporting documentation.
Trial Court Opinion, 6/18/15, at 1-2.
On February 12, 2015, the trial court found Dawkins guilty of the
summary offense of harassment.1 The trial court sentenced Dawkins to a
fine of $300.00, court costs, and following a hearing, ordered restitution in
the amount of $1,359.79, payable to Crepps. Thereafter, Crepps filed the
instant appeal, challenging the amount of restitution imposed by the trial
court. Crepps additionally filed a court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) Concise
Statement of matters complained of on appeal.
Crepps presents the following claims for our review:
I. [Whether] the medical bills presented by Crepps[, which]
totaled $25,000.00 for treatment at Allegheny General [and/or]
time spent in work[-]related matters[,] were valid and
conclusive and [had] a direct nexus to the actions of [Dawkins?]
II. Should [Crepps] have the ability to appeal the decision of
restitution in the event the district attorney does not wish to do
so[,] and the award from the [trial] court is less than ten
[percent] (10%) of the amount of damages sustained by the
victim[?]
Brief for Appellant at 9.
1
See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2709(a)(1).
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Before addressing Crepps’s claims, we first must determine whether
Crepps has standing to challenge the trial court’s sentence of restitution,
imposed upon Dawkins.
The imposition of restitution, as part of a defendant’s sentence, is
governed by 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 1106. Section 1106 provides, in relevant part,
as follows:
(a) General rule. — Upon conviction for any crime wherein
property has been stolen, converted or otherwise unlawfully
obtained, or its value substantially decreased as a direct result of
the crime, or wherein the victim suffered personal injury directly
resulting from the crime, the offender shall be sentenced to
make restitution in addition to the punishment prescribed
therefor.
* * *
(c) Mandatory restitution.
(1) The court shall order full restitution:
(i) Regardless of the current financial resources of the
defendant, so as to provide the victim with the fullest
compensation for the loss. The court shall not reduce a
restitution award by any amount that the victim has received
from the Crime Victim’s Compensation Board or other
governmental agency but shall order the defendant to pay
any restitution ordered for loss previously compensated by
the board to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund or other
designated account when the claim involves a government
agency in addition to or in place of the board. The court shall
not reduce a restitution award by any amount that the victim
has received from an insurance company but shall order the
defendant to pay any restitution ordered for loss previously
compensated by an insurance company to the insurance
company.
* * *
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(2) At the time of sentencing the court shall specify the amount
and method of restitution. In determining the amount and method
of restitution, the court:
(i) Shall consider the extent of injury suffered by the victim,
the victim’s request for restitution as presented to the district
attorney in accordance with paragraph (4) and such other
matters as it deems appropriate.
* * *
(3) The court may, at any time or upon the recommendation of
the district attorney that is based on information received from the
victim and the probation section of the county or other agent
designated by the county commissioners of the county with the
approval of the president judge to collect restitution, alter or amend
any order of restitution made pursuant to paragraph (2), provided,
however, that the court states its reasons and conclusions as a
matter of record for any change or amendment to any previous
order.
(i) It shall be the responsibility of the district attorneys of
the respective counties to make a recommendation to the
court at or prior to the time of sentencing as to the amount of
restitution to be ordered. This recommendation shall be
based upon information solicited by the district attorney and
received from the victim.
* * *
(iii) The district attorney may, as appropriate, recommend
to the court that the restitution order be altered or amended
as provided in paragraph (3).
* * *
(g) Preservation of private remedies. — No judgment or order of
restitution shall debar the owner of the property or the victim who
sustained personal injury, by appropriate action, to recover from the
offender as otherwise provided by law, provided that any civil award shall
be reduced by the amount paid under the criminal judgment.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 1106(a), (c), (g).
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Section 1106 does not vest a victim with authority to directly request
restitution, or prove his or her entitlement thereto.
[W]hile a crime victim certainly may ask the district attorney to
seek restitution, it is the district attorney who has the authority
to present that request to the court. 18 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 1106(c)(2)(i), (4). Moreover, an order of restitution does not
create a creditor-debtor relationship between the victim and the
offender. Commonwealth v. Mourar, 349 Pa. Super. 583, 504
A.2d 197, 208 (Pa. Super. 1986). Unlike a civil judgment, the
victim has no standing to enforce a restitution order. Id.Instead, restitution can only be enforced by the criminal court,
just as penalties of incarceration or probation are within the
court’s exclusive purview. Id.Commonwealth v. Pledger, 934 A.2d 715, 720 (Pa. Super. 2007).
Because there is no statutory authority for a victim to directly seek or
challenge a trial court’s sentence of restitution, it follows that a victim
cannot appeal a trial court’s sentence of restitution. Consequently, we
conclude that Crepps lacks standing to appeal the restitution portion of
Dawkins’s judgment of sentence. On this basis, we must quash Crepps’s
appeal.
Appeal quashed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 9/14/2016
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