Commonwealth v. Roots

OPINION OF THE COURT

NIX, Justice.

Appellant was arrested on a Sunday afternoon when he was found alone in the basement of a pawnshop by two Philadelphia police officers responding to a radio call. Hinges on the door to the basement had been broken and eleven bicycles had been moved approximately sixty feet from an opposite wall to a point nearer the door. No burglary tools were found and no vehicle was seen in the vicinity. Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of burglary and sentenced to eight to twenty years imprisonment. The conviction was affirmed by the Superior Court, without…