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Commonwealth v. Dommel6/1/2005
1 The Commonwealth appeals from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County granting Appellee/Defendant John Earl Dommel's motion to suppress evidence obtained subsequent to a warrantless arrest occurring in his home. Dommel's arrest stemmed from an alleged hit and run violation, for which he had been charged with two counts of DUI, accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property, and the summary offenses of drivers required to be licensed and traffic control signals. Herein, the Commonwealth justifies the warrantless arrest on the argument that entry into Dommel's home occurred during hot pursuit, was reasonable to prevent escape, and was supported by probable cause. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
2 When the Commonwealth appeals from a suppression order, we follow a clearly defined standard of review and consider only the evidence from the defendant's witnesses together with the evidence of the prosecution that, when read in the context of the entire record, remains uncontradicted. Commonwealth v. Chernosky, 2005 Pa. Super. Lexis 943 at *2 (Pa. Super. filed April 27, 2005) (en banc). The suppression court's findings of fact bind us if the record supports those findings. Id. The suppression court's conclusions of law, however, are not binding on this Court, whose duty is to determine if the suppression court properly applied the law to the facts. Id.
3 At the suppression hearing, the Commonwealth presented the following uncontradicted testimony: On October 23, 2003 at about 10:20 p.m., Dommel was driving his pick up truck on East Towne Mall highway when his truck stopped halfway at the intersection of East Towne Mall and Route 462 despite having a green light. N.T. 9/7/04 at 4. Kevin Witman, whose Acura Integra was stopped at a red light on Route 462 at the same intersection, proceeded when the intersection lights had changed, only to be broadsided by Dommel's pick up truck, which had resumed travel through a red light. N.T. at 5-6. Witman's Acura spun to the right 180 degrees before he corrected its course just short of hitting a curb, whereupon he saw Dommel's pick up truck leaving the scene. N.T. at 6. Witman quickly assessed that his car could travel safely and he decided to follow Dommel, calling 911 as he set off. N.T. at 7.
4 Witman followed Dommel through four intersections and a left turn onto a residential side street, where Dommel drove his pick up onto a residential driveway. N.T. at 9. Talking with the 911 dispatcher throughout his pursuit, Witman provided authorities with a running report of Dommel's location, and officers arrived at the residence some 15 to 30 seconds after Dommel had stopped his pick up truck. N.T. at 9-10.
5 Officer Bryan Kondras of the East Lampeter Township Police Department responded to the dispatch and arrived, with emergency lights flashing, at the residence, where he saw both a pickup truck and a baseball cap-wearing white male operator, Dommel, fitting descriptions given to him over the radio. N.T. 17-18. Two other officers arrived shortly thereafter. Officer Kondras saw that Dommel had parked the pickup behind the residence, an area that is "kind of open. It leads down into an open field-or open yards, rather." N.T. at 18.
6 Dommel had already walked about fifteen feet from his pick up truck-thirty feet from the officer-and so Officer Kondras twice shouted an order for Dommel to stop where he was because the officer needed to talk to him. N.T. at 18. Dommel continued to walk towards the home despite the flashing lights and police commands, however, giving Officer Kondras the impression that Dommel was deliberately refusing to halt for police. N.T. at
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