Pennsylvania Superior Court upholds Altoona man’s sentence on gun charges
Wright convicted of illegally possessing firearms
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The Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld the conviction of an Altoona man on two counts of illegally possessing firearms, although the guns in question were locked in a safe in his home.
Altoona police were called to the home of Kevin Maurice Wright Jr., 40, on the 1100 block of Third Avenue, in June 2023, due to a domestic violence report by Wright's then-girlfriend.
She accused Wright of making threats and hitting her.
The opinion issued Tuesday by the Superior Court reported Altoona police charged him with simple assault as the result of the domestic violence offense report.
During the investigation, the girlfriend agreed that police could search the home and during the search, police were directed to "a large, heavy safe" located in the hallway near the bedroom of the home.
In opening the safe, officers found a long gun AR, along with 20 rounds, and a handgun with nine rounds in its magazine.
Each weapon contained a round in the chamber.
Wright was not permitted to be in possession of firearms due to a prior conviction in Dauphin County.
He was eventually found guilty of the illegal possession of the guns and was sentenced by Blair County President Judge Wade A. Kagarise to a term of six to 12 years.
Wright, through Altoona attorney Tyler A. Rowles, filed an appeal with the Superior Court contending that the evidence presented during his trial was insufficient to show he actually, or constructively, possessed the firearms.
Constructive possession means he controlled use of the firearms.
The Superior Court panel that included Judges Megan Sullivan, Brandon P. Neuman and Correale F. Stevens stated, "We must determine whether, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as the verdict winner, the evidence presented at trial and all reasonable inferences derived from the evidence were sufficient to establish each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt?"
The evidence, according to testimony during the trial, indicated that Wright and his girlfriend were the only occupants of the home.
Testimony showed the safe did not belong to the girlfriend, and she had no access to the contents in the safe.
"The only key to the safe was on Wright's keychain which was in his sole possession," the testimony, as reviewed by the panel, stated.
And, according to the testimony, Wright never opened the safe in the girlfriend's presence.
She concluded that whatever was in the safe "belonged to him."
The Superior Court opinion, written by Stevens, stated, "Our review of this record leads us to conclude that the Commonwealth's evidence, accepted as true by the trial court sitting as the finder of fact and assessing the credibility of all witnesses, was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Wright exercised exclusive control and dominion over the gun safe and firearms stored inside it."
The panel stated Wright's sentence is affirmed.
The sentence included concurrent sentences of five to 10 years on each firearms charge, plus a one- to two-year term for the simple assault of his girlfriend.
He will be on probation for two years following his release on another charge -- obstruction of law enforcement -- which occurred in 2024.