HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP-21-CR-0000104-2013
COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
LARRY L. WALTERS : CP-21-CR-0104-2013
IN RE: OPINION PURSUANT TO PA. R.A.P. 1925
Peck, J., May 30, 2014 –
On October 31, 2013, after a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty at Count 2,
1
Harassment, a misdemeanor of the third degree. A mistrial was declared on Count 1,
Stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree, after the jury reported that it was deadlocked
2
as to that charge. On February 11, 2013, Defendant was sentenced at Count 2 to undergo
a period of incarceration in the Cumberland County Prison of not less than two nor more
than 23 months, with credit for 30 days previously served, and to pay the costs of
3
prosecution and a fine of $100.00. On March 7, 2014, Defendant filed a Notice of
4
Appeal. In accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925(b),
Defendant has filed the following concise statement of matters complained of on appeal:
1.Even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
Commonwealth as verdict winner, there was insufficient evidence as
a matter of law to support the verdict of guilt for M3 Harassment
(Count 2).
2.The incarceration and consecutive nature of the sentence was
excessive considering the totality of the conduct alleged in the
testimony and that none of the individual instances of conduct
complained of were frightening/threatening alone but instead at
worst more of an annoying and upsetting nature to the alleged victim
5
and her husband.
1
Order of Court, In Re: Verdict/Appear for Sentence/Bail (October 31, 2013).
2
Id.
3
Order of Court, In Re: Sentencing (February 11, 2014).
4
Notice of Appeal, filed March 7, 2014.
5
Defendant’s Concise Statement of the Errors Complained of on Appeal, March 28, 2014, ¶¶ 1-2.
This Court’s opinion in support of our Order of Court, In Re: Sentence, is written
pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925(a).
STATEMENT OF FACTS
Lorrie Preston, a resident of Hampden Township and a member of The
6
Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club (the Club), testified at Defendant’s trial. She
testified that the Club is a nonprofit hiking organization that has been in existence for 60
7
years. In addition to leading hikes and creating opportunities for members of the
community to get outdoors, the Club also maintains twenty miles of the Appalachian
8
Trail from Route 225 to Rausch Gap in Dauphin County. At the time of trial, Mrs.
Preston was the Vice-President and Program Chair of the organization, a member of the
9
Membership Committee, and sometimes hike leader.
Ms. Preston testified that she first came to know Defendant when she joined the
10
Club in 2005. She joined the Club in order to participate in weekday hikes and met
11
Defendant through those hikes. She and Defendant occasionally exchanged words but
12
she considered him no more than an acquaintance. In 2006, Defendant began contacting
Mrs. Preston at home, inquiring if she would like to scout a hike or sweep a hike with
13
him. Mrs. Preston testified that it was unusual for one member of the Club to randomly
14
call another member in order to plan such activities. She explained that every quarter
15
members must turn in a list of hikes they wish to lead the next quarter. In order to
provide the details of the hike to other members who may wish to participate, a member
6
Notes of Testimony, In Re: Jury Trial Proceedings, October 30 and 31, 2013 (Peck, J.) (hereinafter “N.T. at __”) at
13, 14.
7
N.T. at 14.
8
N.T. at 14.
9
N.T. at 14.
10
N.T. at 15.
11
N.T. at 15.
12
N.T. at 16.
13
N.T. at 16.
14
N.T. at 16, 17.
15
N.T. at 17.
2
first scouts the hike, figuring out the specifics like how to get to the hike, where to park,
16
and the type of terrain. Sweeping a hike, the other activity Defendant suggested to Mrs.
17
Preston, is the responsibility of the last person in line on a hike. The sweeper ensures
18
that no hikers get off the trail or end up lost.
Mrs. Preston testified that the first time Defendant called her, Defendant reached
19
her answering machine. She returned his call and left him a message explaining that she
2021
was not interested. She did not, however, return any subsequent calls from Defendant.
In 2005, 2006, or possibly the beginning of 2007, Mrs. Preston received a few
22
mailings at her house from Defendant. Those mailings consisted of articles torn out of a
National Rifle Association magazine which Defendant then annotated with his own
23
political viewpoints, including his views on the right to bear arms. Mrs. Preston testified
24
that these mailings were also sent to other members of the Club. She described the
25
annotations of Defendant as “sort of irrational.” She also testified that Defendant’s
writings were a “little bit scary” but that they did not appear to address her specifically
26
and she did not take it personally. She further explained that she had not discussed
Defendant’s political viewpoints with him previously and that, in general, members of the
27
Club did not discuss issues that might cause friction.
16
N.T. at 17.
17
N.T. at 17.
18
N.T. at 17.
19
N.T. at 18.
20
N.T. at 18.
21
N.T. at 18.
22
N.T. at 18.
23
N.T. at 18.
24
N.T. at 18.
25
N.T. at 19.
26
N.T. at 19.
27
N.T. at 19.
3
According to Mrs. Preston, Defendant was not active with the Club between 2007
2829
and 2011. Then, in June of 2011, Mrs. Preston received a mailing from Defendant.
She described it as “just folded and stapled in a couple of different places” with no
30
envelope. The mailing was another request from Defendant asking Mrs. Preston to
scout a hike with him about one and a half hours east of Harrisburg called Ringing
31
Rocks. In addition to information about the hike, a cartoon about a nude beach was also
32
included in the mailing from Defendant. But, according to Mrs. Preston, what
particularly caught her attention was a heart that Defendant had drawn over the ‘i’ in her
33
first name. She testified,
I felt really creepy about it. I just didn’t understand why he
would do that. He knew I was married. It really made me
uncomfortable, but I didn’t know how I was going to handle
34
it.
Because of how uncomfortable it made her, Mrs. Preston decided to keep the letter with
35
the heart over the ‘i’.
In the middle of July 2011, the Club was having a picnic, and Mrs. Preston was to
36
lead a small hike before the picnic. The hike was to begin at 4:00 p.m. so she arrived at
37
3:30 p.m. Defendant was already there. As Mrs. Preston put it, she “was shaking like a
38
leaf that day at the picnic.” Nonetheless, Mrs. Preston led the hike as scheduled, and
28
N.T. at 20.
29
N.T. at 21.
30
N.T. at 22.
31
N.T. at 22-23.
32
N.T. at 23.
33
N.T. at 23.
34
N.T. at 24.
35
N.T. at 24.
36
N.T. at 25.
37
N.T. at 25.
38
N.T. at 25.
4
39
Defendant went along. After the hike, Mrs. Preston went to get another bottle of water
40
from the picnic coolers and Defendant approached her. She testified that she “got really
41
nervous.” Even so, she told Defendant that she was not interested in scouting or leading
42
any hikes with him, or any other man, and that she was happily married. Then, as a
result of the attention Defendant was focusing on her, Mrs. Preston did not lead any hikes
43
the rest of the summer and began staying away from Club activities.
However, when the new quarter began, Mrs. Preston decided to lead a hike,
44
choosing Longwood Gardens. She had previously led a hike at Longwood Gardens, and
4546
Defendant had not attended. She chose it for her next hike specifically for that reason.
She publicized the hike as all members of the Club do by submitting it to the Club
47
newsletter, Bushwack Bulletin. Defendant left Mrs. Preston a message informing her
48
that he would be participating in the Longwood Gardens hike. After receiving
Defendant’s message, Mrs. Preston spent the rest of the night and the next day deciding
49
how she could get out of leading the hike. In the end, she canceled it due to lack of
50
interest by other members. Mrs. Preston’s husband, Bob Preston, personally called
Defendant and let him know that he and his wife were cancelling the Longwood Gardens
39
N.T. at 25.
40
N.T. at 26.
41
N.T. at 26.
42
N.T. at 26.
43
N.T. at 27-28.
44
N.T. at 28.
45
N.T. at 28.
46
N.T. at 28.
47
N.T. at 28.
48
N.T. at 28.
49
N.T. at 28.
50
N.T. at 29.
5
51
hike. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Preston informed the Club president, Karen Balaban, that
52
she was no longer comfortable leading hikes for the Club.
At a Christmas party that same year, Mrs. Preston and Defendant were both in
53
attendance. However, Mrs. Preston testified that she “blatantly ignored” Defendant and
54
had no interaction with him. The next time Mrs. Preston saw Defendant was at the
55
Club’s March banquet the following year. Defendant attempted to speak to Mrs. Preston
56
at the banquet but she walked away from him.
In June of 2012, Mrs. Preston received a 20 page packet in the mail from
57
Defendant. As with a previous mailing from Defendant, this packet was not in an
58
envelope but rather consisted of folded papers held together with masking tape. The
packet included recipes, something Mrs. Preston had never discussed with Defendant, a
U.S.O (United Services Organizations) flier, articles from the NRA magazine, a George
Will column at the bottom of which Defendant had written “liberals destroying truth and
freedom in America,” and an editorial by Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President
59
of the NRA. The packet also included a Miles Kimball advertisement depicting “a very
innocent little girl sitting on the stairs with her teddy bear or stuffed animal or something
like that” and information on gardening for wildlife, one of Mrs. Preston’s interests
60
which she shared with members of the Club. From there the material in the packet
became more objectionable: a comic of people making love and a page of Playboy’s
Party Jokes that included pictures of naked women and two jokes checked off by
51
N.T. at 29.
52
N.T. at 30.
53
N.T. at 30.
54
N.T. at 30.
55
N.T. at 31.
56
N.T. at 31.
57
N.T. at 31.
58
N.T. at 32.
59
N.T. at 33.
60
N.T. at 34.
6
Defendant, one of which stated: “What has four arms and four legs and never works out?
61
Marriage.” Continuing towards the more objectionable, the next item in the packet was
an article titled “The Vibrator,” followed by four cartoons titled “Cucumbers are Better
than Men Because,” and another page containing the following lines: “The average
cucumber is at least six inches long; cucumbers stay hard for a week; and, a cucumber
62
won’t tell you size doesn’t matter.” On the last page of the packet was an article about
63
personal security, including 20 steps to enhance home security.
Mrs. Preston testified that she was “absolutely sick” after reading through the 20
64
page packet, that she felt dirty, and that “it really ticked \[her\] off.” Either the day she
received the packet, or the next, Mrs. Preston’s husband, Bob, called the Hampden
65
Township Police Department. For her part, Mrs. Preston wrote Defendant a letter which
66
she sent, certified mail, on June 15, 2012. That letter informed Defendant that Mrs.
Preston felt harassed by his mailings, that his mailings were inappropriate, that the 20
page packet was totally unacceptable, and that she had no interest in sharing recipes or
67
reading about Defendant’s political views or being subjected to sexual materials. And to
make sure Defendant understood, Mrs. Preston told him, in the letter, that she had
68
“absolutely no interest in any further contact with \[him\].” She also informed Defendant
that any further contact from him would be reported to the police and that he was not
69
welcome on any hikes she might lead through the Club.
61
N.T. at 35-36.
62
N.T. at 36-37.
63
N.T. at 37.
64
N.T. at 37-38.
65
N.T at 38.
66
N.T. at 39.
67
N.T. at 40.
68
N.T. at 41.
69
N.T. at 41.
7
The mail carrier attempted, unsuccessfully, to deliver the letter on three
70
occasions. After the third failed attempt, the letter was returned to Mrs. Preston as
71
refused. Determined to get the letter to Defendant, Mrs. Preston and her husband
72
planned on personally handing the letter to Defendant at an upcoming Club picnic.
However, Defendant did not attend the picnic, the first social event held by the Club that
73
Defendant had not attended in quite some time. In her continued attempt to deliver the
letter to Defendant, Mrs. Preston returned to the post office and was told to send the letter
74
with delivery confirmation. Although this would not require Defendant to sign for the
letter, Mrs. Preston would at least get confirmation that the letter was delivered to
75
Defendant’s residence. Mrs. Preston mailed the letter on August 2, 2012, and did
76
receive confirmation that it had been delivered. However, the letter was then sent to the
Club’s P.O. Box with Defendant’s address crossed out and replaced by the Club’s
7778
address. According to Mrs. Preston, the letter did not look like it had been opened.
The following was written on the envelope:
I got this trash 2 August of the full moon. Queen Lorrie
incised because I won’t read her insanity. She is not the first
nut to do this, for the world to know an infantile, neurotic
victim of domestic violence and hypocrite. Someone must be
the example. Get help, queen. Louise Sis got the same
Xeroxes as Lorrie. Why isn’t Louise badgering me\[?\] Susan
D. told Lorrie the woodpecker joke with the punchline
sweetest ash I stuck my pecker in. Why isn’t Susan under
attack? Shakespeare wrote, he protested too much. Police
know a guilty party when people say too much. Lorrie said, I
70
N.T. at 43.
71
N.T. at 43.
72
N.T. at 43-44.
73
N.T. at 44.
74
N.T. at 44.
75
N.T. at 44.
76
N.T. at 44.
77
N.T. at 46.
78
N.T. at 46.
8
have a good marriage, good husband, love my family, etc.
79
Just what a victim of domestic violence would say.
80
Also written on the envelope was the phrase, “a lunatic Libra tart coquet.”
Mrs. Preston testified that, around the same time the above letter was forwarded to
81
the Club, Defendant filed a hand-written civil action against Mrs. Preston and the Club.
Mrs. Preston read at length from Defendant’s lawsuit which is worth quoting in detail
here, starting with paragraph 5 of the suit:
Number 5. Lorrie Preston for some unknown reason is
indignant and offended, sending the plaintiff certified and
receipt registered mail. The plaintiff, after dealing with other
neurotic women, returned the letters.
Number 6. Towards the end of Bullfrog Valley hike, Susan
Donmoyer told Clarence’s woodpecker joke. The woodpecker
says that’s the sweetest ash I stuck my pecker in. Lorrie is not
offended by this adult humor.
Number 7. During hikes in 2006/2007, Lorrie, like Anna
Pruet . . . would tag along with the plaintiff like a lovesick
schoolgirl.
Number 8. Lunch. After one hike the only place the plaintiff
could sit was across from Lorrie. She enjoyed the plaintiff
licking sauce off her fingers.
Number 9. The last hike Lorrie lead, she arranged to sit with
the plaintiff again.
Number 10. The plaintiff told his friend, John Zeranco about
Lorrie. John said, she likes you, Larry. She wants you.
Number 11. The plaintiff no longer has the answering
machine of silly, giddy Lorrie, barely able to think or talk to
explain she wouldn’t be a sweep on the plaintiff’s hike. She
82
enjoyed it. She was not indignant or offended.
79
N.T. at 86.
80
N.T. at 86.
81
N.T. at 60.
82
N.T. at 61-62.
9
Addressing the above, Mrs. Preston testified that any claims contained in those
83
paragraphs regarding her are false. In response to the lawsuit, Mrs. Preston hired an
attorney and also returned to the Hampden Township Police Department seeking
84
advice. She next had her attorney draft a defiant trespass letter, which she mailed to
Defendant, warning Defendant that if he continued to bother Mrs. Preston the police
85
would be called and he would be arrested.
Although Mrs. Preston hired an attorney to defend against Defendant’s lawsuit,
86
the Club’s attorney stepped in and filed a motion to dismiss the case. In response,
87
Defendant filed a Rebuttal of Petition to Dismiss. Paragraph 8 of Defendant’s Rebuttal
reads, “The plaintiff has no desire to contact Looney Preston, a hysterical lunatic, any
more than talk to his crazy ex-wife. As for the plaintiff being incoherent, he is just
88
following Looney Preston’s lead.” Mrs. Preston testified that she was “absolutely
89
terrified” at this point and was starting to worry about her safety.
Despite Defendant’s claim in paragraph 8 above that he has no desire to have
contact with Mrs. Preston, he continued to contact her, including sending an item to Mrs.
90
Preston’s home address and addressed to MyDamn V.P., Lorrie Preston. On the back of
91
this mailing, Defendant wrote, in part, “Why she’s an ass crying wolf\[?\] Who knows.
She needs a therapist to deal with her irrational fears, not lawyers. What’s her
83
N.T. at 64.
84
N.T. at 65.
85
N.T. at 65.
86
N.T. at 66. Apparently, Defendant’s lawsuit named the Club as well as Mrs. Preston as defendants. Since Mrs.
Preston was, at the time, an officer of the Club, the Club’s insurance covered the cost of an attorney to defend the
suit on behalf of the Club and Mrs. Preston. N.T. at 66.
87
N.T. at 67.
88
N.T. at 70.
89
N.T. at 71.
90
N.T. at 70, 72.
91
Commonwealth’s Exhibit 9.
10
92
problem\[?\]” In response, the Club’s attorney sent Defendant a letter informing him that
93
he cannot directly contact any person named in the lawsuit initiated by Defendant.
thth
On the 24 or 25 of October of 2012, Mrs. Preston was the featured speaker at
94
the Club’s Fall membership meeting in the Community Room of the Camp Hill Giant.
The event was advertised, including Mrs. Preston’s participation, in the Bushwack
95
Bulletin, through e-mail, and on the Club’s website. Over concern that Defendant would
attend the event, Mrs. Preston’s husband stayed downstairs to watch for Defendant while
96
Mrs. Preston prepared for her presentation upstairs. Defendant did show up at the Camp
Hill Giant on the day of Mrs. Preston’s presentation and spoke with Mrs. Preston’s
97
husband. Shortly thereafter, Defendant added Mrs. Preston’s husband as a defendant in
98
his lawsuit through a Modification Continuation of Complaint. Like the original
99
complaint, the Modification contained many paragraphs of Defendant’s ramblings. On
November 20, 2012, Defendant filed a Petition for Injunction in Cumberland County
requesting that the court “overrule the defiant trespass letter \[sent to Defendant by Mrs.
100
Preston\] until the Court rules on this matter . . . and Complaint . . . .”
In December of 2012, the Prestons received another mailing from Defendant at
101
their home. Mrs. Preston testified that the writing on this mailing, which was four
pages of the book Healing the Shame that Binds You, by John Bradshaw, was
102
Defendant’s handwriting. Mrs. Preston went on to testify in more detail regarding the
92
N.T. at 73.
93
N.T. at 74.
94
N.T. at 75, 117.
95
N.T. at 75.
96
N.T. at 75.
97
N.T. at 76.
98
N.T. at 76-77.
99
N.T. at 77-79.
100
N.T. at 80, 84.
101
N.T. at 87.
102
N.T. at 87.
11
103
pages contained in the mailing and noted that the general topic was Psychotherapy. She
also testified that Defendant had written on one of the pages “I don’t even want you to
104
send me a recipe.” This statement was clearly a reference to the letter Mrs. Preston had
sent to Defendant on August 2, 2012, although that letter, when forwarded to the Club,
appeared not to have been opened.
Mrs. Preston and her husband did not attend the Club Christmas party in 2012 or
105st
the hike the following day due to a desire to avoid Defendant. On December 21, Mrs.
Preston and her husband went to the Hampden Township Police Department with every
106
document in their possession relating to Defendant. As Mrs. Preston testified, she had
107
decided that “enough is enough.” She explained her feelings at the time as follows:
All I wanted was to be left alone. I really didn’t think it was
too much to ask in any normal person, the ignoring, the tone
verbally, the not calling him back. All the steps that I had
taken which I felt were the way I should handle myself, all of
those things. I was trying to get it through his head, all he has
to do is leave me alone. My letter said it. I gave him the
benefit of the doubt. Enough is enough. Please don’t contact
me. The lawyer’s letter. All the Prestons, he said in the letter,
all the Prestons want is peace, to be left alone. That’s all we
want, to be left alone.
He did not leave me alone. He escalated this attack. Every
single time it was coming in faster and faster. There was
nothing I could do to stop it. I felt I absolutely had no
recourse. The last thing I wanted to do was get involved in a
lawsuit and press charges, but there came a point where there
was nothing else I could do. I was in danger. My life felt like
it was in danger. My husband’s life felt like it was in danger.
I wanted a stop to it, and I did what I had to do. I went to the
108
police and pressed charges.
103
N.T. at 88.
104
N.T. at 89.
105
N.T. at 91.
106
N.T. at 92.
107
N.T. at 92.
108
N.T. at 92-93.
12
Finally, when asked how the actions of Defendant had affected her, Mrs. Preston
109
concluded by saying, “everything I know is a shambles right now.”
Although the Prestons did not attend the Club’s Christmas party in 2012, Sharon
110
Shellenberger, one of the directors of the Club, did. She testified that Defendant was
also there and that he brought a box to the party which had a picture of a gun on the
111
outside. Defendant opened the box and showed the contents to Ms. Shellenberger
112
which, to her, appeared to be a real gun. She testified that he then walked by her with
113
the box, and, at that point, she realized it was a chocolate gun. She told Defendant that
114
she felt that a chocolate gun was inappropriate for a party with small children.
Defendant said, “then just cut it up,” which Ms. Shellenberger did after taking a picture
115
of it. According to Ms. Shellenberger, the outside of the box gave no indication that it
116
contained a chocolate gun rather than a real gun.
The day after the Christmas party, Ms. Shellenberger led a hike in Harrisburg,
117
PA. Anyone interested in participating in the hike was to meet Ms. Shellenberger at
118119
Fisher Plaza behind the Capitol building. The first to arrive was Defendant. Within a
120
few minutes of Defendant’s arrival more participants began showing up. Destinations
121
included as part of the hike were the Capitol building and the Governor’s mansion.
Because of security at those two locations, Ms. Shellenberger requested that hikers leave
109
N.T. at 96.
110
N.T. at 154.
111
N.T. at 154-55.
112
N.T. at 155.
113
N.T. at 155.
114
N.T. at 155.
115
N.T. at 155.
116
N.T. at 156.
117
N.T. at 156.
118
N.T. at 156.
119
N.T. at 156.
120
N.T. at 157.
121
N.T. at 157.
13
any items behind that might trigger the metal detectors that they would be required to
122
pass through. Yet, despite Ms. Shellenberger’s request, Defendant brought two pocket
123
knives to the Capitol building and triggered the metal detector. Security took
124
Defendant’s knives and returned them when the group exited. This scene was repeated
125
at the Governor’s mansion.
Robert Preston, the husband of Lorrie Preston and a member of the Club, also
126
testified for the Commonwealth. In particular, he was present in late October of 2012
when Mrs. Preston was the featured speaker at the Club’s Fall membership meeting in the
127
Community Room of the Camp Hill Giant. At that meeting, Mr. Preston waited
downstairs by the entrance specifically to intercept Defendant if he attempted to attend
128
the meeting. Defendant did come to the Giant that evening, and Mr. Preston asked him
129
not to attend the meeting. Defendant responded that he was going to the meeting unless
130
the Club asked him not to attend. Mr. Preston reminded Defendant of the letter sent to
Defendant by Mrs. Preston’s attorney and then informed Defendant that, if he attended
131
the meeting, he would have no alternative except to call the police. Mr. Preston
testified that Defendant became upset and began swearing, telling Mr. Preston that if he
132
could not attend the meeting he would be attending the Christmas party. Defendant
133
told Mr. Preston that he would see him in court and then left. A few days later,
122
N.T. at 157.
123
N.T. at 157.
124
N.T. at 157.
125
N.T. at 157.
126
N.T. at 164.
127
N.T. at 174.
128
N.T. at 174-75.
129
N.T. at 175.
130
N.T. at 175.
131
N.T. at 176.
132
N.T. at 176.
133
N.T. at 176.
14
134
Defendant added Mr. Preston to his lawsuit. Mr. Preston testified that Defendant’s
statement that he would be attending the Christmas party caused him and his wife to not
135
attend.
Mr. Preston also testified that he was informed of the events at the Christmas party
136
and the hike the following day involving Defendant. According to Mr. Preston, that
information factored into his and his wife’s decision to speak to the police in
137
December.
The Commonwealth also called Trisha Sanders, the president of the Club, to
138
testify. As president, Ms. Sanders was familiar with the allegations in Defendant’s civil
139
lawsuit. She testified that, despite Defendant’s claim in Paragraph 1 of his Complaint,
140
she had never been abused or stalked by a member of the Club.
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found Defendant guilty at Count 2,
141
Harassment, a misdemeanor of the third degree. A mistrial was declared on Count 1,
Stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree, after the jury reported that it was deadlocked
142
as to that charge. On February 11, 2013, Defendant was sentenced at Count 2 to
undergo a period of incarceration in the Cumberland County Prison of not less than two
nor more than 23 months, with credit for 30 days previously served, to pay the costs of
143
prosecution, and a fine of $100.00. Defendant then filed this timely appeal.
134
N.T. at 176.
135
N.T. at 177.
136
N.T. at 177.
137
N.T. at 178.
138
N.T. at 148.
139
Commonwealth’s Exhibit 8.
140
N.T. at 151.
141
Order of Court, In Re: Verdict/Appear for Sentence/Bail (October 31, 2013).
142
Id.
143
Order of Court, In Re: Sentencing (February 11, 2014).
15
DISCUSSION
Sufficiency of the Evidence.
Defendant claims there was insufficient evidence as a matter of law to support the
jury’s guilty verdict. For the reasons below, we find that there was sufficient evidence
and that Defendant’s claim is therefore meritless.
In reviewing sufficiency of evidence claims, a court:
must determine whether the evidence admitted at trial, as well
as all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, when viewed in
the light most favorable to the verdict winner, are sufficient to
support all the elements of the offense. Additionally, to
sustain a conviction, the facts and circumstances which the
Commonwealth must prove, must be such that every essential
element of the crime is established beyond a reasonable
doubt. . . . The fact finder is free to believe all, part, or none
of the evidence presented at trial.
Commonwealth v. Moreno, 14 A.3d 133, 136 (Pa. Super. 2011) (internal citations
omitted). “It is well settled that a jury or a trial court can believe all or a part of or none of
a defendant's statements, confessions or testimony, or the testimony of any witness.”
Commonwealth v. Morales, 2014 WL 1669802, No. 629 CAP (Pa. Apr. 28, 2014). The
jury is not obliged to accept a defendant’s evidence. Commonwealth v. Morales, 2014
WL 1669802, No. 629 CAP (Pa. Apr. 28, 2014).
Harassment
A defendant is guilty of Harassment if, “with intent to harass, annoy or alarm
another,” the defendant: “(7) communicates repeatedly in a manner other than specified
in paragraphs (4), (5) and (6).” 18 P.C.S.A. § 2709(a)(7). Paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)
state:
(4) communicates to or about such other person any lewd,
lascivious, threatening or obscene words, language, drawings
or caricatures;
(5) communicates repeatedly in an anonymous manner;
(6) communicates repeatedly at extremely inconvenient
hours;
16
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2709(a)(4), (5), and (6). “An intent to harass may be inferred from the
totality of the circumstances.” Commonwealth v. Cox, 72 A.3d 719, 721 (Pa. Super.
2013).
The facts supporting the jury’s guilty verdict are as follows:
In June of 2011, Mrs. Preston received a mailing from Defendant. She described it
as “just folded and stapled in a couple of different places” with no envelope. The mailing
was a request from Defendant asking Mrs. Preston to scout a hike with him about one and
a half hours east of Harrisburg. In addition to information regarding the hike, a cartoon
about a nude beach was also included in the mailing from Defendant. Defendant had also
drawn a heart over the ‘i’ in Mrs. Preston’s first name. In response, Mrs. Preston told
Defendant at a Club picnic that she was not interested in scouting or leading any hikes
with him, or any other man, and that she was happily married.
Later that same year, Mrs. Preston decided to lead a hike, choosing Longwood
Gardens. She had previously led a hike at Longwood Gardens, and Defendant had not
attended. She chose it for her next hike specifically for that reason. Defendant left Mrs.
Preston a message informing her that he would be participating in the Longwood Gardens
hike. Because of Defendant’s intention to attend the hike, Mrs. Preston canceled it.
In June of 2012, Mrs. Preston received a 20 page packet in the mail from
Defendant. The packet included recipes, something Mrs. Preston had never discussed
with Defendant, a U.S.O flier, articles from the NRA magazine, a George Will column at
the bottom of which Defendant had written “liberals destroying truth and freedom in
America,” and an editorial by Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President of the NRA.
The packet also included a Miles Kimball advertisement depicting “a very innocent little
girl sitting on the stairs with her teddy bear or stuffed animal or something like that” and
information on gardening for wildlife. The packet also included a comic of people
making love; a page of Playboy’s Party Jokes that included pictures of naked women and
two jokes checked off by Defendant, one of which stated: “What has four arms and four
legs and never works out? Marriage”; an article titled “The Vibrator”; followed by four
17
cartoons titled “Cucumbers are Better than Men Because”; and another page containing
the following lines: “The average cucumber is at least six inches long; cucumbers stay
hard for a week; and, a cucumber won’t tell you size doesn’t matter.” On the last page of
the packet was an article about personal security, including 20 steps to enhance home
security.
At this point, Mrs. Preston wrote Defendant a letter. That letter informed
Defendant that Mrs. Preston felt harassed by his mailings, that his mailings were
inappropriate, that the 20 page packet was totally unacceptable, and that she had no
interest in sharing recipes or reading about Defendant’s political views or being subjected
to sexual materials. And to make sure Defendant understood, Mrs. Preston told him, in
the letter, that she had “absolutely no interest in any further contact with \[him\].” She also
informed Defendant that any further contact from him would be reported to the police
and that he was not welcome on any hikes she might lead through the Club. The letter
was returned to Mrs. Preston as undeliverable. Mrs. Preston mailed the letter again on
August 2, 2012, and did receive confirmation that it had been delivered. However, the
letter was then sent to the Club’s P.O. Box with Defendant’s address crossed out and
replaced by the Club’s address. The following was written on the envelope:
I got this trash 2 August of the full moon. Queen Lorrie
incised because I won’t read her insanity. She is not the first
nut to do this, for the world to know an infantile, neurotic
victim of domestic violence and hypocrite. Someone must be
the example. Get help, queen. Louise Sis got the same
Xeroxes as Lorrie. Why isn’t Louise badgering me\[?\] Susan
D. told Lorrie the woodpecker joke with the punchline
sweetish ash I stuck my pecker in. Why isn’t Susan under
attack? Shakespeare wrote, he protested too much. Police
know a guilty party when people say too much. Lorrie said, I
have a good marriage, good husband, love my family, etc.
Just what a victim of domestic violence would say.
Also written on the envelope was the phrase, “a lunatic Libra tart coquet.” Based upon
later correspondence, the jury was presented with evidence that Defendant read Mrs.
Preston’s letter prior to sending it to the Club and therefore knew that Mrs. Preston
18
wanted no contact with him. Nevertheless, Defendant continued to contact Mrs. Preston,
directly and indirectly.
Around the same time the above letter was forwarded to the Club, Defendant filed
a hand-written civil action against Mrs. Preston and the Club, which included false claims
regarding Mrs. Preston. Next, Mrs. Preston had her attorney draft a defiant trespass letter,
which she mailed to Defendant, warning Defendant that if he continued to bother Mrs.
Preston the police would be called and he would be arrested.
Defendant continued to contact Mrs. Preston, including sending an item to Mrs.
Preston’s home address and addressed to MyDamn V.P., Lorrie Preston. On the back of
this mailing, Defendant wrote, in part, “Why she’s an ass crying wolf\[?\] Who knows. She
needs a therapist to deal with her irrational fears, not lawyers. What’s her problem\[?\]” In
response, the Club’s attorney sent Defendant a letter informing him that he cannot
directly contact any person named in the lawsuit initiated by Defendant.
thth
On the 24 or 25 of October of 2012, Mrs. Preston was the featured speaker at
the Club’s Fall membership meeting in the Community Room of the Camp Hill Giant.
Defendant showed up at the Camp Hill Giant on the day of Mrs. Preston’s presentation
and spoke with Mrs. Preston’s husband, who asked him to leave. Prior to leaving,
Defendant told Mr. Preston that he would be attending the Club’s Christmas party.
Shortly thereafter, Defendant added Mr. Preston as a defendant in his lawsuit.
On November 20, 2012, Defendant filed a Petition for Injunction in Cumberland
County requesting that the court “overrule the defiant trespass letter \[sent to Defendant
by Mrs. Preston\] until the Court rules on this matter . . . and Complaint . . . .” Thus,
Defendant received and understood that letter.
In December of 2012, after Defendant had now received two letters informing him
that Mrs. Preston wanted no contact with him, the Prestons received another mailing from
Defendant at their home consisting of four pages of the book Healing the Shame that
Binds You, by John Bradshaw. Defendant had written on one of the pages “I don’t even
want you to send me a recipe.” This statement was clearly a reference to the letter Mrs.
19
Preston had sent to Defendant on August 2, 2012, showing, as mentioned above, that
Defendant had read the letter and was therefore aware that Mrs. Preston did not want to
have any contact with him.
Although the Prestons did not attend the Club’s Christmas party in 2012, Sharon
Shellenberger, one of the directors of the Club, did. She testified that Defendant was also
there and that he brought a box to the party which had a picture of a gun on the outside.
Defendant opened the box and showed the contents to Ms. Shellenberger which, to her,
appeared to be a gun. She testified that when Defendant walked by her with the box she
realized it was a chocolate gun. Although Mrs. Preston was not present, the jury could
have reasonably inferred from Defendant’s stated intention to attend the Christmas party,
specifically addressed to Mr. Preston, that his actions at the party had been planned for
Mrs. Preston with the intent to harass her.
Thus, in summary, Defendant continued to contact Mrs. Preston after being
informed twice that she wanted no further contact with him, and contacted her in such
bizarre fashion, from a lawsuit, to clippings from a book on Pyschotherapy, to combative
handwritten notes, culminating in Defendant’s unsettling antics at the Club’s Christmas
party. Such action by the Defendant made Mrs. Preston fear for her and her family’s
safety. Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence that Defendant repeatedly
communicated with Mrs. Preston with the intent to harass her from which the jury could
find Defendant guilty. Therefore this claim is without merit.
Sentence of the Court
Defendant next challenges the sentence imposed by this Court as excessive in light
of the totality of the Defendant’s conduct. We disagree.
In general, “\[s\]entencing is a matter vested in the sound discretion of the
sentencing judge, and a sentence will not be disturbed on appeal absent a manifest abuse
of discretion.” Commonwealth v. Perry, 883 A.2d 599, 602 (Pa.Super. 2005). A sentence
constitutes an abuse of discretion if:
the sentence imposed . . . either exceed\[s\] the statutory limits
or \[is\] manifestly excessive. In this context, an abuse of
20
discretion is not shown merely by an error in judgment.
Rather, the appellant must establish, by reference to the
record, that the sentencing court ignored or misapplied the
law, exercised its judgment for reasons of partiality,
prejudice, bias or ill will, or arrived at a manifestly
unreasonable decision.
Id. “In determining whether a sentence is manifestly excessive, the appellate court must
give great weight to the sentencing court's discretion, as he or she is in the best position
to measure factors such as the nature of the crime, the defendant's character, and the
defendant's display of remorse, defiance, or indifference.” Commonwealth v. Mouzon,
828 A.2d 1126, 1128 (Pa. Super. 2003). Accordingly, the sentencing court “has broad
discretion in choosing the range of permissible confinements which best suits a particular
defendant and the circumstances surrounding his crime.” Commonwealth v. Boyer, 856
A.2d 149, 153 (Pa. Super. 2004). “In setting sentence, a court has discretion . . . to run the
sentence concurrently with or consecutively to other sentences being imposed.” Mouzon,
828 A.2d at 1130.
Defendant was sentenced to 2 to 23 months incarceration, the top of the standard
144
range, to be served consecutively to any current sentence Defendant was serving. As
the minimum of the sentence imposed was within the standard range, it falls far short of
being manifestly excessive. However, we now realize that the maximum term of
incarceration to which we sentenced Defendant exceeds the statutory maximum of one
year. Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Court affirm Defendant’s minimum
term of incarceration but remand for resentencing so that we may correct our error.
Despite our error, we will provide our reasoning for the maximum term of incarceration
imposed as it will apply equally to our resentencing of Defendant shall the Court remand
for that purpose.
144
Transcript of Proceedings, In Re: Sentence Colloquy, February 11, 2014 (Peck, J.) (hereinafter “Sentencing at
__”) at 5.
21
Defendant, at sentencing, indicated that he would be returning to his home in
145
Landisburg, PA, at the conclusion of his incarceration. We therefore felt it appropriate
to provide for supervision by Cumberland County Adult Probation for as long as
statutorily permissible to discourage Defendant from reinitiating contact with the
Prestons upon his release from prison. To that end, we set Defendant’s maximum
sentence at 23 months. Now realizing that we exceeded the statutory maximum, upon
remand we would resentence Defendant to a maximum period of incarceration of 12
months in conformity with the statutory maximum for a misdemeanor of the third degree.
With respect to running Defendant’s sentence consecutively to any other sentence,
that was within our discretion, and we found no reason to allow Defendant to avoid the
consequences of his actions by running his sentence concurrent with any others,
particularly in light of the impact his actions had, and continue to have, on the Prestons.
As Mr. Preston testified at trial, Mrs. Preston has been going to a counselor as a result of
Defendant’s actions, and
she still is not sleeping the best. She is still afraid. She doesn’t
know what is going to happen after tomorrow . . . . She just
really is shaken, shaken up by all of this. And we are hoping
146
that she can heal through this and get feeling better.
Defendant should therefore be denied relief on this claim.
CONCLUSION
This Court concludes that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s
verdict of guilty. This Court further concludes that it property sentenced Defendant to a
minimum sentence of two months in jail and that the sentence imposed shall run
consecutively to any sentence the Defendant is already serving. These issues raised by
Defendant on appeal, therefore, are without merit. This Court erred, however, in
sentencing the Defendant to an upper end sentence of 23 months, as the maximum
sentence allowed by law for his conviction is 12 months. Accordingly, it is respectfully
145
Sentencing at 8.
146
N.T. at 179.
22
requested that the case be remanded to correct the upper end of Defendant’s sentence, but
that in all other respects the Defendant’s appeal be denied.
BY THE COURT,
___________________________
Christylee L. Peck, J.
Matthew P. Smith, Esq.
Chief Deputy District Attorney
John M. Shugars, Esq.
Senior Assistant Public Defender
23