Com. v. McCalpin, C., 1636 EDA 2016

On June 24, 2015, Camoy McCalpin (owner/landlord) went to a rental house he owned in Philadelphia where tenant Natasha Robinson and visitors were present.
A witness (Kareema Cousin) saw McCalpin arrive by car, remove a shoulder bag, enter the house wearing the bag, then pull a .45 Ruger handgun from the bag and point it at occupants while commanding them not to move.
Occupants fled and police recovered a loaded, operable handgun from the shoulder bag; McCalpin had no license to carry the firearm.
McCalpin testified he brought the gun from a locked storage room in the house and was attempting to evict a tenant; he was acquitted of REAP and simple assault but convicted after a bench trial of carrying a firearm without a license (18 Pa.C.S. § 6106) and carrying firearms on public streets in Philadelphia (18 Pa.C.S. § 6108).
The trial court credited the Commonwealth’s circumstantial evidence that McCalpin possessed the gun before arriving at the house (i.e., on public streets) and rejected his claim the gun was already on the premises.
Sentence: aggregate 6 to 23 months’ imprisonment plus two years’ probation; appeal contested sufficiency of evidence as to location (fixed place of business / public streets).

Issue	Commonwealth's Argument	McCalpin's Argument	Held
Whether Commonwealth proved McCalpin possessed the unlicensed firearm outside his home/place of business	Circumstantial evidence (witness saw him arrive with shoulder bag and then remove the gun) supports inference he possessed the gun before entering the house	The house was his fixed place of business/abode and the gun came from inside a locked storage room inside the house	Affirmed — court found credible inference McCalpin brought the gun to the house (possession occurred outside the house)
Whether Commonwealth proved carrying on public streets in Philadelphia	Arrival by vehicle with the bag and subsequent removal of gun supports inference he carried the firearm on public streets	Argued insufficient evidence he carried the weapon on public streets (gun was inside the house)	Affirmed — circumstantial evidence sufficient to infer possession on public streets before entering the home

Lopez v. Commonwealth, 57 A.3d 74 (Pa. Super. 2012) (standard for sufficiency review; circumstantial evidence may sustain conviction)
Parker v. Commonwealth, 847 A.2d 745 (Pa. Super. 2004) (elements of § 6106 and requirement firearm be outside abode/place of business)
Baldwin v. Commonwealth, 985 A.2d 830 (Pa. 2009) (elements for § 6108 carrying on public streets requirement)
Hopkins v. Commonwealth, 747 A.2d 910 (Pa. Super. 2000) (circumstantial evidence may support inference defendant traveled on public street with firearm)
Ford v. Commonwealth, 461 A.2d 1281 (Pa. Super. 1983) (removal of pistol shortly after entering home supports inference of prior public carriage)
Mack v. Commonwealth, 850 A.2d 690 (Pa. Super. 2004) (finder of fact decides witness credibility)