v.
Packer, D.
J-S07020-16
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee v. DANIELLE NICOLE PACKER
Appellant No. 1032 MDA 2015
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence January 23, 2015 In the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-14-CR-0000360-2014
BEFORE: BOWES, J., OTT, J., and FITZGERALD, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY OTT, J.: FILED MAY 20, 2016
Danielle Nicole Packer appeals from the judgment of sentence imposed on January 23, 2015, in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County, after her conviction by jury on charges of murder of the third degree, aggravated assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, involuntary manslaughter, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, illegal
use of noxious substances, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle,1 and a variety of traffic offenses. The charges arose from a fatal automobile accident caused by Packer after she
“huffed” aerosol duster. Packer received an aggregate sentence of 10 – 20 ____________________________________________
* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. 1 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2502(c), 2702(a)(1) and (4), 2504(a), 2701(a)(1), 2705, 7303; 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3735(a), and 3732(a), respectively.
J-S07020-16
years’ incarceration. In this timely appeal, Packer claims the trial court erred in: (1) denying her motion for acquittal on the murder and aggravated assault charges, (2) improperly instructing the jury on the definition of “knowingly” regarding third degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and denying to use her request to read 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(2)(ii) regarding both charges, and (3) denying her request to use a specific illustration for reasonable doubt. She also claims the Commonwealth committed a Brady2 violation in failing to turn over exculpatory evidence regarding the Commonwealth’s expert testimony. Following a thorough review of the submissions by the parties, relevant law, and the certified record, we affirm. On the night of August 6, 2012, Packer and her then fiancé, Julian Shutak, drove to the Walmart outside of State College, Pennsylvania. They drove Packer’s mother’s Chevrolet Trailblazer. At the Walmart, they purchased a video game system, some games and two cans of 3M brand aerosol dust remover. It contains 1, 1-difluoroethane (DFE), a noxious chemical3 that can be inhaled to obtain a brief, but dangerous, high. See N.T. Trial, 10/29/2014, at 338-41. The method of inhaling the gas is commonly called “huffing.” Video surveillance from the Walmart shows ____________________________________________
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Packer and Shutak leaving the store and entering the Trailblazer at approximately 9:37 p.m. While in the car, and before driving away, the two “huffed” the dust remover at least twice. After “huffing” but prior to driving, Packer asked Shutak, “Do you trust me?” to which Shutak replied, “Am I going to die tonight?” N.T. Trial, 10/29/2014, at 215. They then drove to the Sheetz store, near the Walmart, located on the corner of Shiloh Road and Benner Pike (Route 150). Shutak purchased cigarettes at the Sheetz store. With Packer driving, they left the Sheetz store, and at the stop light at Shiloh and Benner, Packer “huffed” again. At approximately 9:42 p.m., 4 Packer, while in what Shutak described as a “zombielike state”, drove out of her lane of traffic into the oncoming lane of traffic on Benner Pike. The Trailblazer narrowly missed one vehicle and then struck, head on, a Hyundai Accent driven by Matthew Snyder. Packer did not slow down, or swerve to avoid either vehicle. Although the Trailblazer was travelling under the speed limit, the crash essentially demolished the Hyundai, killing Snyder. The force of the collision pushed the Hyundai off the road down the embankment. At impact, the rear wheels of the Trailblazer lifted off the ground; causing it to make a 180 degree turn, and come to rest facing the opposite direction it had been travelling. ____________________________________________
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Packer called 9-1-1 to report the accident and during the conversation with the dispatcher asked, three times, if she would be going to prison. [5] At the accident scene, Packer spoke with both police and paramedics. She expressed concern that she would be arrested and explained to the police that she was changing the radio station at the time of the accident and may have blacked out just prior to the collision. She also told the police that prior to leaving the Walmart, she had used the aerosol duster to clean the air vents in the Trailblazer. Due to injuries she suffered in the accident, Packer was taken to the hospital. The police obtained a warrant for a blood draw and blood was taken from Packer approximately three hours post- accident. Packer was subsequently determined to have had a blood saturation of .28 mcg/mL of DFE. Wendy Adams, forensic toxicologist, testified that .28 mcg/mL of DFE is at the lowest range of detectible amounts. However, Adams also testified that DFE is rapidly excreted from the body during exhalation and that it has an approximately 23 minute half-life. Accordingly, the three hours between the accident and the blood draw allowed for approximately seven half-lives, meaning blood concentration at the time of the accident was several times higher. Adams further testified DFE is a central nervous system depressant, that produces a quick high and can produce such effects as confusion, ____________________________________________
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disorientation, loss of consciousness, seizures, impaired memory, ataxia,6 slurred speech, convulsions, and/or sudden death. N.T. Trial, 10/29/2014, at 338. Shutak testified he had introduced Packer to “huffing” and they had “huffed” on several prior occasions. Further, Shutak claimed Packer was familiar with the debilitating effects of “huffing” and testified Packer had come close to passing out and had hallucinated on prior occasions of “huffing.” Id. at 223, 229. When Packer gave a statement to the police, she admitted to having “huffed” on prior occasions and that she had blacked out from “huffing.” Id. at 299. Packer’s first argument is that the trial court erred in failing to grant her motion for judgment of acquittal on the charges of third degree murder and aggravated assault because the Commonwealth failed to prove she acted with actual malice. Our standard of review for the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal is as follows: A motion for judgment of acquittal challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction on a particular charge, and is granted only in cases in which the Commonwealth has failed to carry its burden regarding that charge. ____________________________________________
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Commonwealth v. Emanuel, 86 A.3d 892, 894 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citation omitted). Accordingly, the claim is essentially one of insufficient evidence. In that regard, we are reminded: The standard we apply in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is whether viewing all the evidence admitted at trial in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, there is sufficient evidence to enable the fact-finder to find every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In applying the above test, we may not weigh the evidence and substitute our judgment for the fact-finder. In addition, we note that the facts and circumstances established by the Commonwealth need not preclude every possibility of innocence. Any doubts regarding a defendant's guilt may be established by the fact-finder unless the evidence is so weak and inconclusive that as a matter of law no probability of fact may be drawn from the combined circumstances. The Commonwealth may sustain its burden of proving every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt by means of wholly circumstantial evidence. Moreover, in applying the above test, the entire record must be evaluated and all evidence actually received must be considered. Finally, the trier of fact while passing on the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced, is free to believe all, part or none of the evidence. Commonwealth v. Quel, 27 A.3d 1033, 1037-38 (Pa. Super. 2011). As noted above, Packer argues the Commonwealth did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she possessed the requisite malice needed to convict her of third-degree murder and aggravated assault. Rather, she maintains, the Commonwealth demonstrated her actions were merely reckless. See Commonwealth v. Comer, 716 A.2d 593 (Pa. 1998) (impaired driver, speeding, causing fatality was reckless, reprehensible, but not malicious.)
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Although most traffic accidents, even with an impaired driver, will not provide evidence of malice sufficient to support either third-degree murder or aggravated assault, See Commonwealth v. Kling, 731 A.2d 145 (Pa. Super. 1999) (with heightened mens rea, motor vehicle crashes seldom give rise to proof of malice), the facts attendant to this accident rise to the level of malice. Malice exists where there is a “wickedness of disposition, hardness of heart, cruelty, recklessness of consequences, and a mind regardless of social duty, although a particular person may not be intended to be injured.” Commonwealth v. Pigg, 391 Pa.Super. 418, 571 A.2d 438, 441 (1990), appeal denied, 525 Pa. 644, 581 A.2d 571 (1990) (quoting Commonwealth v. Drum, 58 Pa. [9], 15 (1868)). Where malice is based on a reckless disregard of consequences, it is not sufficient to show mere recklessness; rather, it must be shown the defendant consciously disregarded an unjustified and extremely high risk that his actions might cause death or serious bodily injury. See Commonwealth v. Scales, 437 Pa.Super. 14, 648 A.2d 1205, 1207 (1994), appeal denied, 540 Pa. 640, 6590 A.2d 559 (1995) (regarding third degree murder). A defendant must display a conscious disregard for almost certain death or injury such that it is tantamount to an actual desire to injure or kill; at the very least, the conduct must be such that one could reasonably anticipate death or serious bodily injury would likely and logically result. See [Commonwealth v.] O’Hanlon, supra, 653 A.2d [616] at 618 (regarding aggravated assault). Commonwealth v. Kling, 731 A.2d at 147-48. Here, the evidence showed that Packer was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer while under the influence of a noxious gas. She was described by her fiancé as being in a “zombielike” state immediately prior to the impact. Because of her “zombielike” state, she took no evasive action prior to J-S07020-16 impact, rather she drove directly into Matthew Snyder after narrowly missing the car in front of him.
[*7]While driving impaired and causing a fatal accident alone may demonstrate only a reprehensible recklessness, here, Packer’s own words supply the proof needed to establish malice. Immediately after “huffing” and prior to driving, she asked Shutak if he trusted her. This shows an awareness of her impaired condition and the harm she might cause. This
awareness was acknowledged by Shutak, who had been with her on prior occasions when they “huffed”, and was concerned enough to ask if he was about to die. Nonetheless, she did not wait for the effects to pass before driving. Indeed, while operating the vehicle, not more than minutes after
“huffing” at the Walmart, she “huffed” again. Packer’s debilitated state was confirmed by Shutak who testified she was “zombielike”, showing no awareness she was driving or was in immediate peril. She drove, without
slowing or taking any evasive action directly into Snyder’s vehicle. Then, in confessing to the police, she admitted that she had blacked out after prior occasions of “huffing.” This statement again confirmed Packer’s knowledge of the effects on her that “huffing” produced.
We believe there is a qualitative difference between knowingly driving while impaired and knowingly driving when one is aware of a strong likelihood of becoming unconscious. While impairment denotes a diminished capacity for proper functioning, unconsciousness renders a person incapable J-S07020-16 of functioning, thereby ensuring a person has no opportunity to avoid a collision, and virtually guaranteeing some manner of accident.
[*8]Accordingly, when Packer drove her vehicle immediately after “huffing”
at least three times, knowing the likelihood that she could black out and become unconscious, she “disregarded an unjustified and extremely high
risk” that her actions “might cause death or serious bodily injury.” Kling, supra. Therefore, the evidence presented to the jury was sufficient to prove she displayed the malice needed to support the conviction of third degree murder.
Similarly, those same actions displayed a “conscious disregard for almost certain death or serious bodily injury” needed to demonstrate the malice required to support her conviction of aggravated assault. Id.
Therefore, Packer’s sufficiency challenge fails.
Packer next claims that the trial court erred in instructing the jury, in response to a question from the jury, with different culpability definitions of “knowingly” as that word is applied to third degree murder and aggravated assault. Packer argues that in its response to the question, the trial court should have read 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(2) in its entirety for both crimes.
Section 302(b)(2) states:
(2) A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when:
(i) if the element involves the nature of his conduct or the attendant circumstances, he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist; and
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(ii) if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result. 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(2)(i)-(ii). This question regarding the definition of “knowingly” arose when, during deliberations, the jury sent a question to the court, asking: (1) Count 2- “Knowingly” or “Recklessly” Count 3 – Practically certain[7] Please define “practically certain” - page 3[8] - & confirm or explain why the “or recklessly” – page 2 – is included in Count #2 but not Count #3. (2) Is the term “knowingly” – page 1 – as used in Count 1 [third degree murder] the same as “knowingly” as used in Count 3 [aggravated assault with a deadly weapon] where it is defined with “practically certain that her conduct will cause such a result” If so, why is that definition not included Court’s Exhibit 1, 10/29/2014. Question (2) is the only pertinent question to this appeal. To understand this question, it must be noted that the trial court originally gave a verbatim third degree murder charge as found at ____________________________________________