J-S82034-18 NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37 COMMONWEALTH OF : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA, : PENNSYLVANIA : Appellee : v. : : : RICARDO MELENDEZ, : : Appellant : No. 1836 EDA 2018 Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered May 29, 2018 in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-46-CR-0004514-2017 BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., OLSON, J. and STRASSBURGER, J.* MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED MARCH 12, 2019 Ricardo Melendez (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence of a maximum of six months of incarceration, with credit for time served, imposed following his convictions for two counts of harassment. We affirm. We provide the following background. Appellant and Pedro Ortiz have been acquaintances for over 10 years. Ortiz and Patrick Tronoski opened a restaurant together in 2017. Norma Romero was also involved in the operation of the business, and Ortiz and Romero have two children together. Sometime in late 2016 or early 2017, Appellant began to assist Ortiz and Tronoski in preparation for the restaurant’s opening. Appellant also asked Ortiz whether Appellant’s mother could work at the restaurant, and Ortiz agreed to hire her as a hostess. By early March 2017, the relationship between Appellant and the three others, Ortiz, Tronoski, and Romero, had ____________________________________ *Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S82034-18 deteriorated. According to Romero, Appellant was bossy and at times “physical … intimidating and creating conflicts between” her, Ortiz and the employees. N.T., 5/17/2018, at 63-64. As a result, Ortiz told Appellant he was no longer permitted on the premises of the restaurant. Despite this, on March 3, 2017, Appellant entered the premises and removed several items, including $400 cash, a credit card, computer monitor, and files. Appellant and Ortiz disputed to whom the items belonged; each man maintained that they were his own. Ortiz contacted Appellant when he discovered the items were missing, and the men exchanged several text messages; Ortiz found Appellant’s messages offensive and insulting. Appellant said he was upset because his mother had not been paid for 20 hours she had worked at the restaurant. On March 15, 2017, Appellant called Ortiz several times while Ortiz was in the car with Romero and his children. Ortiz testified that Appellant began to “insult me, said he was going to kill me, and he was going to have me deported[1] and ... he would leave my children without a father.” N.T., 5/18/2018, at 78-79. Ortiz hung up the phone; Appellant immediately sent ____________________________________________ 1 Ortiz is an undocumented immigrant. N.T., 5/18/2018, at 60. -2- J-S82034-18 numerous text messages to Ortiz, in both English and Spanish, which contained threats and names which Ortiz perceived as derogatory.2 Appellant called [] Ortiz “useless” and texted [] Ortiz, “Keep your mouth shut so I don’t expose you.” Appellant also texted [] Ortiz that he would “bring to your door a pair of institutions”; those institutions were the Department of Labor and [the U.S.] Immigration [and Customs Enforcement]. Appellant continued ...
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