Com. v. Brooks, F., Com. v. Brooks, F. No. 1190 EDA 2016

On August 24, 2014, hotel housekeeper Capri Grice knocked on Frederick Brooks’s hotel room door; when no answer was given she opened the door, found Brooks and a woman asleep, closed the door, and continued down the hall.
Brooks and his companion followed Grice into the hall, accused her of stealing money, and Brooks grabbed her by the throat, pinned her against the wall, lifted her off the ground, and choked her for an extended period (Grice estimated ~15 minutes).
A hotel guest intervened, Grice escaped to a nearby room and called security; Brooks found his money in his room and laughed about the incident; Grice was hospitalized overnight for severe headache and breathing difficulty, missed a week of work, and had lasting headaches.
Brooks was charged with aggravated assault (1st-degree), simple assault, recklessly endangering another person (REAP), and making terroristic threats; he waived a jury and had a bench trial on December 16, 2015.
The trial court convicted Brooks of aggravated assault, simple assault, and REAP; on April 8, 2016 it sentenced him to 3–6 years’ imprisonment plus two years’ probation (simple assault merged with REAP for sentencing);
Brooks appealed, arguing insufficient evidence for aggravated assault because he neither caused serious bodily injury nor had specific intent to do so. The Superior Court affirmed the judgment on July 20, 2017.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was sufficient to sustain aggravated assault conviction (attempt to cause serious bodily injury)	Commonwealth: choking, lifting victim off ground, prolonged duration, hospitalization and lasting injury show intent and a substantial step toward serious bodily injury	Brooks: did not cause serious bodily injury and lacked specific intent to cause such injury	Court: Affirmed — evidence sufficient to infer specific intent and substantial step toward causing serious bodily injury (attempt)

Commonwealth v. Thomas, 988 A.2d 669 (Pa. Super. 2009) (summarizes sufficiency review standard)
Commonwealth v. Martuscelli, 54 A.3d 940 (Pa. Super. 2012) (where no serious bodily injury, Commonwealth must prove attempt with intent)
Commonwealth v. Matthew, 909 A.2d 1254 (Pa. 2006) (defines attempt under aggravated assault statute)
Commonwealth v. Fortune, 68 A.3d 980 (Pa. Super. en banc 2013) (intent may be inferred from conduct; substantial step analysis)
Commonwealth v. Russell, 460 A.2d 316 (Pa. Super. 1983) (upholding attempt to cause serious bodily injury where choking rendered victim unable to breathe)
Commonwealth v. Thomas, 879 A.2d 246 (Pa. Super. 2005) (lesser included offense merger principle for sentencing)