Herbert L. Olivieri, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for appellant.
F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, Dist. Atty., Steven H. Goldblatt, Asst. Dist. Atty., Chief, Appeals Div., James Garrett, Philadelphia, for appellee.
Jones, C. J., and Eagen, O'Brien, Roberts, Pomeroy, Nix and Manderino, JJ. Former Chief Justice Jones did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case. Mr. Justice O'Brien filed an Opinion in Support of Affirmance in which Mr. Chief Justice Eagen and Mr. Justice Pomeroy join. Mr. Justice Roberts files an Opinion in Support of Reversal in which Mr. Justice Nix and Mr. Justice Manderino join.
The Court being equally divided, the Judgments of Sentence are affirmed.
Opinion IN SUPPORT OF AFFIRMANCE
Appellant, David Jones, was tried by a judge sitting without a jury and convicted of murder in the second degree, conspiracy, and robbery in connection with the death of Garvin Peters in Philadelphia.
The court sentenced appellant to life imprisonment for the conviction of murder in the second degree, a concurrent sentence of five to ten years' imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, and five to ten years' imprisonment on the robbery charge. This direct appeal followed.*fn1
The facts are as follows. On August 25, 1974, the body of Garvin Peters was found at 1636 Franklin Street, Philadelphia. The medical examiner determined that Peters was murdered the previous evening. Peters
had been stabbed eight times. The investigation further revealed that Peters had been robbed and that one of the items stolen was the decedent's automobile, a 1973 Oldsmobile which was green with a white vinyl roof. On August 28, 1974, police questioned Thurgood Moore regarding an unrelated incident. Moore told the police that on the night of August 24, he saw two friends, known as "Chinaman" and "Hav-gun," driving a 1973 green Oldsmobile with a white vinyl roof. Moore also told the police that "Chinaman" told him that "we stabbed a guy and took his car". Moore identified police photographs of David Jones and Robert Perkins as "Chinaman" and "Hav-gun", respectively. On August 29, 1974, both appellant and Perkins were arrested without the issuance of an arrest warrant.
Appellant argues that the police lacked probable cause to arrest him. We do not agree. In Commonwealth v. Culmer, 463 Pa. 189, 195, 344 ...