A three-judge state Superior Court panel has upheld the conviction and state prison sentence of a Reading man who participated in the conspiracy to burgle a Pottsville home in July 2014.
Evidence showed Haroun A. Elhadi, 37, helped to plan the burglary, even though he was not present when it occurred, Judge Anne E. Lazarus wrote in the panel’s seven-page opinion.
“We find Elhadi’s argument ... to be without merit,” because his co-conspirators burgled the house, Lazarus wrote.
As a result, Elhadi must spend 18 to 36 months in a state correctional institution plus two additional years on probation, the sentence imposed on April 29, 2015, by county Judge Jacqueline L. Russell, who presided over his trial. Elhadi is serving his sentence at SCI/Graterford in Montgomery County.
On Feb. 4, 2015, a jury found Elhadi guilty of conspiracy and false identification to law enforcement.
Pottsville police had charged Elhadi with conspiring to burgle the 811 W. Race St. home of Jody Gamrak, and then giving them a false name during the investigation, on July 16, 2014.
In the panel’s opinion, Lazarus wrote that the circumstances show Elhadi participated in the conspiracy. The burglary was the overt act necessary to satisfy the legal requirements of a conspiracy, and the fact that Elhadi did not commit the actual break-in is irrelevant legally, she wrote.
“Elhadi’s approach toward Gamrak’s house with the other perpetrators combined with his hiding place in close proximity to the safe provide sufficient circumstantial evidence to demonstrate his intent and agreement with the others,” Lazarus wrote.
Judge Jack A. Panella and Senior Judge Patricia H. Jenkins, the other panel members, joined in Lazarus’ opinion.