Commonwealth v. Popow, 844 A.2d 13 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004)

Cases | Commonwealth v. Popow, 844 A.2d 13 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004) | 2018

The defendant initiated an altercation with his ex-girlfriend and several people, which resulted in one of the participants suffering an injury to his right bicep that required surgery. Among other things, the defendant was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault of the person who injured his right bicep. The defendant was acquitted of both those charges, but was convicted by a jury on several charges related to the altercation, including another simple assault charge. As part of his sentence, the defendant was ordered to pay $12,212.17 in restitution for the injuries sustained by the person who injured his bicep. The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court illegally imposed restitution for the injury, since he was acquitted of the charges for which the injury was the underlying basis. The court agreed that the jury found that the defendant was not directly responsible for the injuries sustained by the man with the injured right bicep. However, he was indirectly responsible for the injuries. The court noted that the imposition of restitution under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 1106(a) when the injuries are an indirect rather than a direct result of the criminal activity is improper. However, restitution could be ordered as a condition of probation under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754. The judgment of sentence was vacated, and the case was remanded for sentencing in accordance with the decision.