Com. v. Saccomandi, J., 497 EDA 2016

On March 13, 2015, Justin Saccomandi followed and engaged in road-rage conduct toward Frederico Aguilar and his family (yelling, tailgating, driving erratically).
Saccomandi turned into a church parking lot where Aguilar and his teenage son approached him; Saccomandi produced a handgun, threatened to kill them, and fired a shot that landed about one foot from Aguilar.
Witnesses and police recovered a .40-caliber round; a witness reported the truck’s license plate; police later connected the plate to Saccomandi, recovered a firearm, and Saccomandi produced the .40-caliber handgun used.
A jury convicted Saccomandi of simple assault (18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(a)(3)) for attempting by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.
Trial court sentenced him to two years’ probation; post-sentence motions were denied and Saccomandi appealed, arguing the Commonwealth failed to disprove his self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to rebut self-defense	Commonwealth: evidence shows Saccomandi provoked/continued the confrontation and could have safely retreated, disproving self-defense	Saccomandi: claimed self-defense; argued Commonwealth failed to rebut beyond a reasonable doubt	Court affirmed conviction: evidence shows provocation and a duty/ability to retreat, so self-defense was negated

Commonwealth v. Hansley, 24 A.3d 410 (Pa. Super. 2011) (standard of review for sufficiency challenges)
Commonwealth v. Repko, 817 A.2d 549 (Pa. Super. 2003) (definition of simple assault by physical menace)
In re Maloney, 636 A.2d 671 (Pa. Super. 1994) (pointing a gun can establish a prima facie simple assault)
Commonwealth v. Little, 614 A.2d 1146 (Pa. Super. 1992) (menacing conduct with a firearm supports simple assault conviction)
Commonwealth v. Mouzon, 53 A.3d 736 (Pa. 2012) (provocation by the defendant can negate a claim of self-defense)