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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP-21-CR-1993-2006 COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : SHANE ALVIN GEEDY : CP-21-CR-1993-2006 IN RE: DEFENDANT’S POST-SENTENCE MOTION FOR RELIEF OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Bayley, J., February 11, 2008:-- September 13, 2007 On , a jury convicted defendant, Shane Alvin Geedy, of October 9, 2007 murder in the first degree for killing Toni Myers. On , defendant was sentenced to pay the costs of prosecution and undergo imprisonment in a state October 19, 2007 correctional institution for life, to date from July 16, 2006. On , defendant filed a post-sentence motion in which he seeks a new trial on a claim that the verdict of first degree murder was against the weight of the evidence. The issues were February 1, 2008 briefed and argued on . The Crimes Code at 18 Pa.C.S. Section 2501, provides: (a) Offense defined.— A person is guilty of criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death of another human being. (b) Classification.— Criminal homicide shall be classified as murder, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter. Section 2502 subsection (a) provides: Murder of the first degree.— A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing. Commonwealth v. Sattazahn, In 763 A.2d 359 (Pa. 2000), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania stated: To find a defendant guilty of first-degree murder a jury must find that the CP-21-CR-1993-2006 Commonwealth has proven that he or she unlawfully killed a human being and did so in an intentional, deliberate and premeditated manner. It is the element of a willful, premeditated and deliberate intent to kill that distinguishes first-degree murder from all other criminal homicide. Specific intent to kill may be inferred from the defendant’s use of a deadly weapon upon a vital part of the victim’s body. (Citations omitted.) Commonwealth v. Cousar, In 928 A.2d 1025 (Pa. 2007), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania stated that an intentional, deliberate, and premeditated manner has been Cousar construed to mean that the defendant acted with a specific intent to kill. In , the Court set forth: A motion for a new trial alleging that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence is addressed to the discretion of the trial court . . . the factfinder is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence and to The trial court will award a determine the credibility of the witnesses. new trial only when the jury’s verdict is so contrary to the evidence as to shocks one’s sense of justice. (Emphasis added.) At trial, the evidence included the following. Toni Myers had a romantic relationship with Shane Geedy that started in the spring of 2004. They had homes that were close to each other on Marion Avenue in North Middleton Township, Cumberland County. Geedy often stayed at Myers’ home where she lived with her daughter Jordyn Myers, who at trial was age 12. On July 15, 2006, Myers brought some groceries into her home. She told Jordyn that she was going to Geedy’s house to get some of her things and that she would be home in approximately ten minutes. Jordyn never saw her mother again. Officer Danny Fiber, a police officer in North Middleton Township, was a friend of Geedy. On July 15, 2006, Geedy phoned Fiber several times and finally was able to -2- CP-21-CR-1993-2006 arrange to meet him. Fiber drove his police car to the designated location at approximately 9:00 p.m., and Geedy drove up next to him. Geedy told Fiber that he was in big trouble, that he had pulled a weapon, fired and hit Toni Myers, and was going to go to jail for life. Geedy said that Myers was in the basement of his home, and that the front door was locked. He told Fiber that the gun was on the floor of his car behind the front passenger seat. Fiber saw it there. Fiber took Geedy into custody. After another officer arrived, Fiber took Geedy to the police station. Fiber noticed an odor of alcohol about Geedy but no overt signs of intoxication. Knowing that Geedy liked to drink beer, he asked him if he was drunk and had been drinking all day. Geedy said “no.” Geedy asked Fiber to call his ex-wife and tell her what happened, which Fiber did. Officer Peter Cassell of the North Middleton Township Police went to Geedy’s home at 210 Marion Avenue, pushed the front door in, and found Toni Myers in the basement. She was lying flat on the floor, was shot in the neck, and was dead. Toni Myers had recently broken up with Geedy. Ryan Myers, who at trial was age 15, another daughter of Toni Myers, had heard Geedy say around the end of June or the beginning of July, 2006, that he would kill himself if her mother broke up with him. On July 14, Geedy called Shelby Metzger, a friend of both he and Myers, and said that he had a date in mind when this would be all over and that he was leaving and becoming an over-the-road truck driver. On July 15, Metzger and Myers were together at a pool. Metzger last saw Myers at about 6:00 p.m. when Myers said that she had to go home, talk to Geedy and get her things. She said Geedy had called her and asked -3- CP-21-CR-1993-2006 her to come down for about ten minutes, saying that he owed her $5,000 for a loan. Metzger knew that Geedy kept a gun in a case in an end table next to the front door of his home. At 8:46 p.m. on July 15, 2006, Geedy called his former wife, Christie Geedy. He told her that he was out driving. He told her that Toni Myers was at his place and “she said something that made me mad and I hurt her.” Knowing that he had a weapon, Christie asked him if he shot Toni. He answered “yes,” and told her that she was dead. He told her not to call anybody and that he would call right back. A couple of minutes later Officer Fiber called her and said that he had Geedy in custody. Detective David Lively, a North Middleton Township Police Officer, started an interview with Geedy at the North Middleton Township Police Station at 9:40 p.m. on July 15, 2006. Defendant had glassy eyes, and an odor of alcohol about him. The longer the interview took place the stronger the odor became. Lively thought Geedy was under the influence, but his speech was fine and Lively could understand him clearly. Defendant told the detective that he had been drinking beer all day and that when Toni Myers came to his house they argued about life in general. They were downstairs, he went upstairs to get his gun, then went back downstairs and shot her in the neck while she was sitting on the floor. He said he made a big mistake because he was drinking, and knew that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. There was blood on the front of Geedy’s Gluck semi-automatic pistol that was recovered from his vehicle. A discharged cartridge case from that pistol was found in -4- CP-21-CR-1993-2006 the hair of Toni Myers. The trigger pull on the pistol was six and one-half pounds. A firearms examiner could not get the pistol to discharge accidentally. A forensic pathologist performed an autopsy on Toni Myers on July 17, 2006. There was a gunshot wound at the midline of the neck with an exit wound at the top of the head. This was a contact gunshot wound caused when the gun was fired when it was held tightly against the neck when she was lying down. The trajectory of the bullet went straight into the neck and out through the top of the head, creating a near instantaneous death. There was no other injury. There were no signs of a struggle, or any signs that the body was moved before it was discovered. Seeking to reduce murder in the first degree to murder in the third degree, the defense presented the testimony of a board certified forensic psychiatrist, John Hume, M.D. Dr. Hume was of the opinion that on July 15, 2006, Geedy was suffering with a major depression, alcohol dependence, with a dependent personality disorder, all of which affected his cognition. Dr. Hume offered an opinion that at the time the defendant killed Toni Myers, he did not have the capacity to form a specific intent to kill her. The Commonwealth presented the testimony of a board certified forensic psychiatrist, John O’Brien, M.D. It was the opinion of Dr. O’Brien that on July 15, 2006, Geedy was emotionally upset, he had been drinking, but he was not suffering from major depression or any other psychiatric condition. Dr. O’Brien offered an opinion that at the time defendant killed Toni Myers, he had the capacity to form a specific intent to kill her. -5- CP-21-CR-1993-2006 Considering all of the evidence as to what occurred leading up to Geedy killing Toni Myers, how he killed her, what he did afterwards and said afterwards, and the expert opinions offered in this case, the fact that the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted with a specific intent to kill and thus was guilty of murder in the first degree is not so contrary to the evidence as to shock one’s sense of justice. Accordingly, the following order is entered. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of February, 2008, the motion of IS DENIED. defendant for post-sentence relief in the form of a new trial, By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Michelle Sibert, Esquire Assistant District Attorney Karl Rominger, Esquire For Defendant :sal -6- COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : SHANE ALVIN GEEDY : CP-21-CR-1993-2006 IN RE: DEFENDANT’S POST-SENTENCE MOTION FOR RELIEF ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of February, 2008, the motion of IS DENIED. defendant for post-sentence relief in the form of a new trial, By the Court, Edgar B. Bayley, J. Michelle Sibert, Esquire Assistant District Attorney Karl Rominger, Esquire For Defendant :sal