Commonwealth v. Sanders
42 A.3d 325
| Pa. Super. Ct. | 2012Background
- Antwon Sanders was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, PIC, and persons not to possess firearms, and sentenced to 12.5 to 25 years.
- Facts center on a February 20, 2009 shooting of three high school students; one victim, Gresham, was severely wounded.
- Gresham identified Sanders via a photo array after being hospitalized; mother signed the array because Gresham could not.
- A later interview produced a signed statement by Gresham identifying Sanders as the shooter; Williams, a minor, gave inconsistent statements.
- Defense moved to suppress the photographic identification; the trial court denied suppression and the jury convicted Sanders.
- Post-trial motions raised four issues: suppression, weight of the evidence, sufficiency, and a Kloiber instruction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suppression of identification due to reliability | Sanders | Sanders | Suppression not reversible; identification admissible; any error harmless |
| Weight of the evidence given recantations | Sanders asserts witnesses recanted; evidence unreliable | State contends credibility for jury to resolve | No abuse; jury credibility determinations permitted; verdict not shocks sense of justice |
| Sufficiency of the evidence identifying Sanders as shooter | Sufficiency challenged due to inconsistent identifications | Prior identifications admitted; credibility supports guilt | Sufficient evidence supports conviction; jury could find identity beyond reasonable doubt |
| Kloiber instruction required | Recantations constitute equivocation needing cautionary instruction | No in-trial identification, so Kloiber not required | No reversible error; trial court provided appropriate cautionary framework; Kloiber not required absent in-court ID |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Mobley, 14 A.3d 887 (Pa. Super. 2011) (sufficiency review favors verdict if evidence supports elements beyond reasonable doubt)
- Commonwealth v. Feczko, 10 A.3d 1285 (Pa. Super. 2010) (scope of suppression review; weighs reliability of identification under totality of circumstances)
- Commonwealth v. O’Bryant, 467 A.2d 14 (Pa. Super. 1983) (suppression of identification where no improper police conduct)
- Commonwealth v. Doa, 381 Pa. Super. 181 (Pa. Super. 1989) (prior identifications and admissibility for impeachment/substantive purposes)
- Commonwealth v. Brady, 507 A.2d 66 (Pa. 1986) (prior inconsistent statements become admissible as substantive evidence)
- Commonwealth v. Lively, 610 A.2d 7 (Pa. 1992) (limits Brady on admissibility of prior identifications)
- Commonwealth v. Ali, 10 A.3d 282 (Pa. 2010) (Kloiber factors; proper scope of cautionary identification instruction)
- Commonwealth v. Kloiber, 106 A.2d 820 (Pa. 1954) (origin of eyewitness identification cautionary instruction)