Not Guilty: Attorney Goldstein Wins Full Acquittal in First-Degree Murder Case
Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire - Criminal Defense Lawyer
Philadelphia Criminal Defense Attorney Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire of Goldstein Mehta LLC recently won a full acquittal at trial on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, burglary, and Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act in Commonwealth v. R.B. The jury found the client not guilty on every count.
This was a tough case. The Commonwealth alleged that the client kicked in the door of a Philadelphia row home, walked upstairs, and shot two people in a second-floor bedroom, killing one and shooting the surviving complainant in the head. The surviving complainant was the client's sister. She testified at trial and identified the client as the shooter. There was no obvious reason in the evidence for her to make it up.
The Pre-Trial Motions
A lot of the work in this case happened before the trial. The Commonwealth filed a Pa.R.E. 404(b) motion to introduce evidence that the client had been arrested on unrelated charges involving allegations against the complainant's daughter. Attorney Goldstein filed a brief in opposition arguing that the link to the shooting was speculative and that the prejudice of putting child abuse allegations in front of a homicide jury would be overwhelming. The Court agreed and excluded the evidence. That ruling was critical to the outcome.
The Trial
The complainant testified that her brother shot her. But on cross-examination, Attorney Goldstein pointed out that she had told a very different story for hours after the shooting. She did not name the client on the 911 call. She did not name him to the responding officers or paramedics on scene. She told emergency room staff that she did not know who the shooter was. Even after she identified the client to homicide detectives at the hospital around midnight, hospital records showed her continuing to describe an unknown assailant to the nurse practitioner who took her history and physical hours later.
A neighbor across the street, interviewed within minutes of the shooting, described seeing a thin male around 5'7" in a black hoodie, tan pants, and tan boots running away from the house with his hands in his pockets. The client was 59 years old, 5'11", over 230 pounds, used canes, and was authorized for more than 50 hours per week of home health aide services. He was not running anywhere, and by investigating the case and obtaining the client’s medical records, Attorney Goldstein was able to prove this to the jury.
Attorney Goldstein also emphasized the lack of forensic evidence.e The Commonwealth presented no DNA, no fingerprints, no recovered firearm, no gunshot residue, and no cell site data placing the client at the scene. He had googled information about the shooting the next day, but Attorney Goldstein successfully argued that this was equally consistent with innocence. The front door had been kicked in, but despite testifying that she had had the locks changed before the shooting, the complainant admitted on cross that she had testified at a prior hearing that the client still had a key. Finally, the car the Commonwealth claimed was the client's driving past the house on video cameras was not actually the same car — the roof rack was a different color and the trim did not match, and the lead detective conceded as much on cross-examination, realizing for the first time when the defense pointed it out that the cars were not the same.
Ultimately, the entire case depended on whether Attorney Goldstein was able to use cross-examination to convince the jury that the complainant was lying when she testified that her brother shot her in the head and killed her boyfriend. The cross-examination was successful. The jury came back in about an hour with a verdict of not guilty on first-degree murder, third-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and the firearms charges.
Facing Criminal Charges in Pennsylvania?
Goldstein Mehta LLC Criminal Defense
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We have obtained full acquittals and dismissals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, and First-Degree Murder. We have also won criminal appeals and PCRAs in state and federal court, including the successful direct appeal of a first-degree murder conviction and the exoneration of a client who spent more than a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.
