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Commonwealth v. Foreman

There was sufficient circumstantial evidence for judge to conclude that defendant received stolen goods knowing that they were stolen; under totality of circumstances test, defendant's waiver of jury trial was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent; claim of ineffective assistance of counsel failed because there was a reasonable basis for counsel's course of conduct; post -sentence judgment of acquittal on twelve counts reversed because court did not err in admitting expert testimony.

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� 1 Joseph Foreman appeals from the September 12, 2000 judgment of sentence of five to twelve months imprisonment followed by two years probation that was imposed after he was convicted of multiple counts of receiving stolen property, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, removal or falsification of vehicle identification numbers, and dealing in vehicles with removed or falsified numbers. Following imposition of the judgment of sentence, Appellant filed post-sentence motions. Evidentiary hearings were held on October 27, 2000, and February 2, 2000, to determine whether Appellant’s jury-trial waiver was voluntary and whether defense counsel was ineffective at trial. On February 20, 2001, the trial court found that it erred in admitting certain Commonwealth evidence and granted judgment of acquittal on some of the charges. However, it left the sentence intact. This appeal and cross-appeal followed. *fn1 We affirm in part and reverse in part.

� 2 On October 20, 1998, approximately eight members of the Pennsylvania State Police Auto Theft Task Force executed a search warrant at Sport Cycle and Salvage, a motorcycle repair business owned and operated by Appellant in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania. As a result of the search, two stolen motorcycles, thirteen engines from stolen motorcycles, one frame of a stolen motorcycle, and six sets of metal punch stamps were seized. Police also discovered a stolen gas tank, but it mistakenly was left behind after it was boxed and marked for seizure. When the police returned the next day to retrieve the box, it had been torn open, and the tank was missing.

� 3 Nine Commonwealth witnesses testified that their motorcycles were stolen on various dates between 1996 and 1998. After studying police reports, certificates of title, and vehicle registration documents provided by the Commonwealth, the witnesses stated for the record the vehicle identification numbers of their stolen motorcycles. In this manner, the Commonwealth established the vehicle identification number of each witness’s motorcycle and that the motorcycles which bore those numbers, in fact, had been stolen. The Commonwealth also showed photographs of motorcycle engines to a few witnesses, but they were not sure if the engines in the photographs were from their motorcycles. A tenth Commonwealth witness, whose motorcycle was seized at Appellant’s business, testified that he purchased the motorcycle from Appellant in 1998 and later returned it to Sport Cycle and Salvage for repairs. That motorcycle had been reported stolen by a resident of New Jersey in 1992. Some of the engines bore altered serial numbers.

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