In the Interest of: P.S., a Minor, Appeal of: P.S., 158 A.3d 643

Background

On Jan. 17, 2016 police in North Braddock stopped a Jeep SUV whose license plate matched a report that a green 2003 Jeep Liberty had been stolen; the SUV fled, crashed, and three occupants fled on foot.
Officer Kester identified Appellant (P.S.), who was wearing a blue jacket, as the driver; Appellant was the last to exit on the passenger side and later surrendered after a short foot chase.
The victim (R.C.) testified her Jeep had been stolen and later recovered damaged; she denied giving Appellant permission to use the vehicle.
Commonwealth charged Appellant with receiving stolen property (18 Pa.C.S. § 3925), fleeing/attempting to elude a police officer (75 Pa.C.S. § 3733), and flight to avoid apprehension (18 Pa.C.S. § 5126). A possession charge was withdrawn.
On Mar. 28, 2016 the juvenile court adjudicated Appellant delinquent on the three counts but ordered no further disposition on those new adjudications because Appellant was already under supervision for a prior retail-theft adjudication; the court revoked probation and later (Apr. 11, 2016) committed Appellant to a residential program for the probation violation.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1. Finality / jurisdiction of Mar. 28 order	Appellant: the delinquency-without-disposition order is appealable as the juvenile equivalent of judgment without further punishment; single notice of appeal covering both orders should be allowed	Commonwealth: did not object to single appeal; trial court suggested quashal but record shows appeal from both orders within 30 days	Court: Mar. 28 order constituted a disposition (no further penalty intended) and, together with Apr. 11 order, is properly before the appellate court; appeal not quashed
2. Sufficiency for receiving stolen property (§ 3925)	Appellant: Commonwealth failed to prove the Jeep was the victim’s, that Appellant drove or controlled it, or that he knew it was stolen	Commonwealth: license plate matched reported stolen vehicle; Appellant was observed driving/identified by jacket and was last to exit; flight and false explanation support guilty knowledge	Court: Evidence sufficient—possession, identification, flight, and false explanation supported inference Appellant knowingly possessed stolen vehicle; adjudication affirmed
3. Sufficiency for fleeing/attempting to elude (§ 3733)	Appellant: Commonwealth did not prove he was the driver as required by statute	Commonwealth: driver status supported by officer identification and circumstances	Court: Because sufficient evidence supported that Appellant was driving, adjudication for fleeing/eluding affirmed
4. Sufficiency for flight to avoid apprehension (§ 5126) and effect on probation revocation	Appellant: § 5126 requires that defendant be charged or convicted and facing trial/sentencing; he was only on juvenile probation; if new adjudications vacated, probation revocation should be vacated	Commonwealth: argued probation revocation appropriate given new delinquent acts	Court: § 5126 requires charged/convicted status—insufficient evidence for that offense; adjudication vacated. However, because receiving-stolen-property and fleeing/eluding stand, probation revocation and dispositional order affirmed

Key Cases Cited

Commonwealth v. C.M.K., 932 A.2d 111 (Pa. Super. 2007) (separate notices required when orders resolve issues on different dockets)
K.H. v. J.R., 826 A.2d 863 (Pa. 2003) (joint appeals from multiple orders may be allowed where issues nearly identical and no objection)
Commonwealth v. S.F., 912 A.2d 887 (Pa. Super. 2006) (in juvenile matters the order of disposition is the final, appealable order)
In re M.D., 839 A.2d 1116 (Pa. Super. 2003) (order of disposition analogous to criminal judgment of sentence)
Commonwealth v. Rubright, 414 A.2d 106 (Pa. 1980) (determination of guilt without further penalty is final and appealable)
In Interest of J.G., 145 A.3d 1179 (Pa. Super. 2016) (standard of review for sufficiency in juvenile adjudication)
Commonwealth v. Robinson, 128 A.3d 261 (Pa. Super. 2015) (elements of receiving stolen property and inferences supporting guilty knowledge)
Commonwealth v. Phillips, 129 A.3d 513 (Pa. Super. 2015) (§ 5126 requires that the defendant has been charged when flight occurred)
Commonwealth v. Thur, 906 A.2d 552 (Pa. Super. 2006) (no remand required where vacating a count does not alter overall sentencing scheme)
In Interest of M.M., 690 A.2d 175 (Pa. 1997) (probation places juvenile under ongoing court supervision)
In re D.S., 37 A.3d 1202 (Pa. Super. 2011) (appellate review of juvenile dispositional orders is for abuse of discretion)