Constitutional Law Case Brief Law Essay Research Paper

Constitutional Law Case Brief
Name
Institutional Affiliate
Date
Com. V. Mathew, 2006
Style: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Chaka MATTHEW, Appellant Court:
Citation: Com. v. Matthew, 589 Pa. 487, 909 A.2d 1254 (Pa. 2006)
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Date published: November 22, 2006
Facts: A good Samaritan (George Wachter) stopped to assist the appellant (Chaka Mathew), whose car had lost control and crashed on Interstate 95. The appellant was unconscious when Wachter pulled him from the car wreckage. After a few minutes of first aid, the appellant woke up agitated and continuously questioned Wachter whether he was a police officer trying to arrest him. The situation escalated and he pushed a loaded gun against Wachter’s throat. He then removes the gun from his victim's throat, picked a few items from the car wreckage, and fled the scene while issuing verbal death threats to Wachter. The appellant worked at Nine West Store. Before the accident, he engaged in a confrontation with his supervisor about shoes in his car and the appellant was adamant to produce their receipts. He eventually hit and injured his supervisor before speeding away. The supervisor sustained knee, shin, and thumb injuries.
The Commonwealth charged the appellant with retail theft, theft by unlawful taking, and possession of stolen properties due to his theft from the Nine West store. He was also charged with aggravated assault taking the forms of a second-degree felony, simple assault, and possession of an instrument of crime following the scuffle with the store's security officer. The appellant's thankless interaction with the Samaritan surmounted additional aggravated assault charges including first-de...