OPINION BY PANELLA, J.:
We granted en banc review in this case to principally address the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction of accomplice liability for a narcotics transaction. In an interesting development following trial, the jury convicted the Appellant, Joseph Toritto, Jr., under an accomplice theory, but acquitted him of the conspiracy charge. Toritto argues that his mere presence at the time of a drug sale from his cousin to an undercover agent cannot sustain a conviction for accomplice liability. We recognize that a defendant's association with a perpetrator of a crime, his presence at the scene of the crime, or his knowledge that a crime is being committed are not sufficient to establish his complicity in that crime. However, these cases are fact intensive, which necessitates our close review of the record.
As a consequence of his conviction, which resulted in a substantial sentence of incarceration of seven to fourteen years in light of his prior record and mandatory sentencing requirements, Toritto appealed from the judgment of sentence entered on June 11, 2009, by the Honorable Gregory M. Mallon, Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County. After careful review, we affirm.
The facts of this case are largely undisputed. Toritto drove Charles Tursi to a bar, wherein Tursi consummated a sale of narcotics to Michael McIlmail, an undercover agent for the Attorney General's Office. During the transaction, Toritto gave the keys of his car to Tursi, allowing Tursi to retrieve the narcotics from Torrito's car. Furthermore, Torrito was intermittently present while Tursi discussed the transaction with the undercover agent, but did not participate directly in the transaction. After Trusi sold the drugs to McIlmail, agents from the Attorney General's Office arrested both Tursi and Toritto as they left the bar.
Toritto was subsequently charged with being an accomplice to the delivery of a controlled substance and with criminal conspiracy. A jury convicted Toritto as an accomplice, but, as stated above, acquitted him on the charge of conspiracy. After the denial of Toritto's post-sentence motions, he filed this timely appeal.
Toritto raises the following issues for our review:
Appellant's Brief, at 3-4.
Toritto first argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish that he was an accomplice to Tursi's sale of narcotics. Because a successful sufficiency of the evidence claim warrants discharge on the pertinent crime, we must address this issue first. See Commonwealth v. Stokes, 38 A.3d 846, 853 (Pa.Super.2011). Our standard of review is well-settled:
Commonwealth v. Kendricks, 30 A.3d 499, 508 (Pa.Super.2011) (citation omitted). We must defer to the finder of fact at the time of trial:
An accomplice is equally criminally liable for the acts of another "if he acts with the intent of promoting or facilitating the commission of an offense and agrees, aids, or attempts to aid such other person in either planning or committing that offense." Commonwealth v. Spotz, 552 Pa. 499, 716 A.2d 580, 585 (1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1070, 119 S.Ct. 1466, 143 L.Ed.2d 551 (1999). See also 18 PA. CONS. STAT.ANN. § 306. Therefore, the Commonwealth must present evidence capable of establishing not only that the defendant actively participated in the crime, but also that he intended to aid or promote the underlying offense. See Commonwealth v. Rega, 593 Pa. 659, 689, 933 A.2d 997, 1015 (2007).
Toritto argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish anything more than mere presence or knowledge of the narcotics transaction. The uncontradicted testimony at trial established that Toritto was at a table with McIlmail and Tursi while aspects of the narcotics transaction were discussed. Although it is equally undisputed that Toritto left the table for stretches of time during the conversation, McIlmail testified that when Toritto left the table, he was usually no more than three feet away, and still capable of overhearing the conversation. See N.T., Trial, 4/7/2009, at 189.
While it was Toritto's hope that the jury would infer that Toritto merely learned of the narcotics transaction after he had already driven Tursi to the bar to meet Agent McIlmail, this was not the inference drawn by the jury, who had the benefit of observing the witnesses and hearing the testimony first-hand. There are sufficient facts to support the jury's conclusion that Toritto had knowledge of and participated in the illegal drug sale.
Pertinently, the jury had the following undisputed evidence before it:
Contrary to the argument raised by Toritto, this evidence is not so weak and inconclusive that, as a matter of law, no probability of fact can be drawn from the combined circumstances. Rather, the evidence of record was capable of allowing a reasonable person to draw the inference that Toritto intentionally aided Tursi in the sale of narcotics, first by driving Tursi to the bar, then by remaining with him during the conversations, and finally by giving him the keys to his car to retrieve the drugs. A defendant cannot be an accomplice simply based on evidence that he knew about the crime or was present at the scene. However, the circumstances change if there is additional evidence that the defendant intended to aid in the commission of the underlying crime, and then did or attempted to do so. The amount of aid "need not be substantial so long as it was offered to the principal to assist him in committing or attempting to commit the crime." Commonwealth v. Murphy, 577 Pa. 275, 286, 844 A.2d 1228, 1234 (2004).
We therefore conclude that Toritto's first issue on appeal merits no relief.
Next, Toritto contends that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence presented at trial. Our standard of review is again well-settled:
In essence, Toritto reiterates the arguments he set forth above under his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. See Appellant's Brief, at 25-26 ("Without repeating the lengthy arguments set forth above, which are hereby incorporated by reference, the evidence here was equivocal as to whether Mr. Toritto intended to actively aid in the delivery and then aided Tursi by giving the ride."). In addressing this issue, the trial court provided the following reasoning:
Trial Court Opinion, 4/1/2010, at 11-12.
As noted above, we agree with the trial court that the jury was entitled to infer that Toritto intended to aid the narcotics transaction through his actions. We therefore cannot conclude that the trial court's reasoning represents an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, Toritto's second issue on appeal merits no relief.
In his third issue on appeal, Toritto argues that the trial court erred by permitting the undercover agent to opine on Toritto's role as Tursi's driver. Specifically, Toritto objects to the agent's testimony that drug dealers often compensate drivers for their service. See N.T., Trial, 4/7/2009, at 138-139.
At the trial, McIlmail was qualified as an expert in the field of narcotics sales and purchases.
Id., at 139.
The qualification of a witness as an expert rests within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the court's determination in this regard will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. See Commonwealth v. Serge, 837 A.2d 1255, 1260 (Pa.Super.2003). As stated by this Court:
Commonwealth v. Malseed, 847 A.2d 112, 114 (Pa.Super.2004) (emphasis in original) (quoting Serge, supra.).
Here, McIlmail testified that he had worked with the Organized Crime Unit of the Attorney General's Office for fourteen years. He additionally testified that he had purchased narcotics undercover approximately 100 times. See N.T., Trial, 4/7/2009, at 138.
As the trial court correctly pointed out, the obvious purpose of this testimony was to show that Toritto was not an innocent bystander, in other words, at the wrong place at the wrong time. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting McIlmail to testify as an expert regarding the common practice of drug dealers, which was outside the province of the jury and assisted them in understanding the evidence.
In his fourth and fifth issues on appeal, Toritto contends that the judgment of sentence should be reversed due to prosecutorial misconduct during the trial.
Commonwealth v. Lewis, 39 A.3d 341, 352 (Pa.Super.2012) (internal quotes and citations omitted).
Toritto complains of a series of opinions proffered by the undercover agent while testifying, all of which tended to paint Toritto as an "associate" of Tursi without any supporting evidence. Toritto also takes issue with the trial court's decision to permit the undercover agent to testify that Toritto knew of a drug dealer named "Valone" and that "Valone" was "no good."
Defense counsel at trial did a commendable job of guarding against references that painted Toritto as an "associate" or "co-conspirator" of Tursi. However, as even Toritto concedes, "the [trial court] sustained objections to virtually all of
The single exception identified by Toritto in his argument is a comment made by the prosecutor during closing argument: "And he tells you that it's not uncommon for people that are selling drugs to come with someone else." Id., at 112. However, we note that the record reveals that defense counsel did not object to this statement either during the closing argument or during the charge conference in chambers.
In any event, we conclude that taken in context, and especially mindful of the trial court's repeated instructions to the jury, these statements did not improperly prejudice the jury or prevent a true and fair verdict. If the jury had disregarded the trial court's instruction and placed great weight on the agent's references to Toritto being an "associate" of Tursi, it would have convicted Toritto of criminal conspiracy. At the very least, the jury's finding of not guilty on that charge implies that the jury followed the trial court's cautionary instructions and concluded the Commonwealth did not prove that Toritto was an associate of Tursi.
As stated above, Toritto also argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a conversation between Toritto and the undercover agent that occurred after the narcotics transaction had been consummated. Specifically, the conversation centered on a person known to the agent as a drug dealer, i.e., "Valone." Toritto stated that the known drug dealer was "no good." The agent then opined that Toritto was indicating that the drug dealer was "cooperating with law enforcement." N.T., Trial, 4/7/2009, at 207. Defense counsel objected and after a lengthy sidebar and break for the jury, the trial court offered a cautionary instruction. However, defense counsel declined the instruction because, in his opinion, such an instruction at that time would have only served to highlight the agent's testimony. See id., at 214-15.
On appeal, Toritto argues that the agent's testimony "is precisely the type of evidence that would suggest a decision on an improper basis.... [Toritto's statement that the drug dealer was "no good"] does not mean he had previously agreed to become involved in a drug deal." Appellant's Brief, at 39-40. "The admissibility of evidence is a matter of trial court discretion and a ruling thereon will only be reversed upon a showing that the trial court abused that discretion." Commonwealth v. Williams, 58 A.3d 796, 800 (Pa.Super.2012) (citation omitted).
Here, the agent's testimony was probative of the issue of Toritto's state of mind at the time. Furthermore, the jury had been instructed multiple times to treat the agent's opinions on Toritto's state of mind carefully.
Accordingly, we conclude that Toritto's fourth and fifth issues on appeal merit no relief.
In his sixth issue on appeal, Toritto argues that he is the victim of sentencing "manipulation" by the Commonwealth.
Commonwealth v. Petzold, 701 A.2d 1363, 1365 (Pa.Super.1997) (citations omitted). To qualify for relief under the doctrine of sentencing manipulation in Pennsylvania, a defendant bears the burden of establishing the existence of intentional outrageous government conduct or extraordinary government misconduct which results in an increased sentence. See id., at 1366.
Id., at 1366-1367.
In the present case, Toritto's argument is that the Commonwealth engaged in outrageous conduct by conducting at least seven different buys of similar quantities of narcotics from Tursi before ultimately arresting him. This argument is essentially derivative, as it is based upon a theory that the Commonwealth was acting to manipulate Tursi's sentence and in the process trapped Toritto within a "web of deceit." Appellant's Brief, at 41.
While it may certainly be an acceptable defense tactic to question the Commonwealth's need to engage in so many transactions with Tursi before his arrest, such questioning is far removed from the heavier burden required to establish outrageous conduct. The Commonwealth's proffered explanation for the delay in arresting Tursi, that the Commonwealth was unsure of just how integral Tursi was to the local narcotics market, is facially reasonable. Without more, Toritto is cannot satisfy his heavy burden. As such, we conclude that this issue merits no further discussion on appeal.
In his seventh and final issue on appeal, Toritto challenges the constitutionality of the mandatory minimum sentence statute which was applied, 18 PA. CONS.STAT.ANN. § 7508. Toritto purports to raise three separate arguments of constitutionality.
Initially, we note that Toritto's equal protection clause argument fundamentally
To the contrary, Toritto argues that the law should not treat accomplices as equivalent to principals in drug crimes. We conclude that this argument does not even raise an equal protection claim. Furthermore, even if it did, we would conclude that the government's interest in addressing narcotics trafficking, which has taken on the character of large business enterprises, certainly satisfies whatever standard of scrutiny would apply.
Turning to Toritto's substantive due process challenge, we observe that Toritto's argument does not identify any fundamental right at stake. We therefore must determine whether the mandatory minimum statute at issue rationally serves a legitimate state interest. See Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 728, 117 S.Ct. 2258, 138 L.Ed.2d 772 (1997). As stated previously, we conclude that the statute certainly satisfies this standard; the state has a legitimate interest in stopping narcotics trafficking, and this statute is rationally related to that legitimate interest.
Finally, Toritto contends that, for the same reasons he set forth in his two previous constitutional challenges, the statute is unconstitutional as applied in this case. However, Toritto does not develop this argument. There is no discussion of how Toritto's unique circumstances change the analysis employed for the facial challenges, supra. As such, we conclude that Toritto has waived this issue for purposes of our review. See Commonwealth v. Delligatti, 371 Pa.Super. 315, 538 A.2d 34, 41 (1988).
As we conclude that none of Toritto's issues on review merit relief, we affirm the judgment of sentence.
Judgment of sentence affirmed. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
N.T., Trial, 4/7/09, at 177-178.
