Commonwealth v. Griggs

Summary

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed Elijah Griggs’s judgment of sentence for third-degree-felony criminal mischief, including restitution of $9,685.08. The court held that grading under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3304(b) requires proof that the defendant intentionally caused pecuniary loss exceeding $5,000, not proof that he specifically intended to cause losses above that amount.

Holdings

1. No. For criminal mischief under § 3304(a)(5) to be graded as a third-degree felony, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally damaged another's property and that the intentional acts resulted in pecuniary loss exceeding $5,000; it need not prove that the defendant specifically intended to cause losses exceeding $5,000.
2. Yes. The jury's finding that Griggs intentionally damaged the property, together with its finding that the resulting pecuniary loss exceeded $5,000, supplied the facts necessary to support third-degree-felony grading and did not require an additional finding concerning his subjective intent to cause that amount of loss.

Questions Presented

1. Whether grading Griggs's criminal-mischief conviction as a third-degree felony violated Apprendi and Alleyne because the jury did not separately find that he intended to cause pecuniary loss exceeding $5,000.
2. Whether the evidence was insufficient to support third-degree-felony grading because it did not establish that Griggs specifically intended to cause more than $5,000 in pecuniary loss.

Disposition

affirmed