From Friday's decision in Commonwealth v. Collins (Pa. Super. Ct.), written by Judge James Gardner Colins, joined by Presiding Judge Jack Panella:
John William Collins appeals from the judgment of sentence of 15 days' incarceration and a fine of $600 after his non-jury conviction on two counts of harassment….
This case involves a "wanted poster" and five letters that Collins authored and distributed through the United States Postal Service. The poster identifies the "wanted" man as Alan Hoffman, "an individual with whom [Collins] has apparently had a long-running dispute."
The trial court described the poster, letters, and facts of this case as follows:
The posters were copies of the same document … on letter-size paper, featuring a copy of Mr. Hoffman's mug shot and basic booking information for a January 26, 2018, arrest for controlled substance DUI, next to which had been written: "I crossed a Billy goat with a pig. What did you get? See for yourself; it's got a goat face and smells like a pig. $500.00 reward to capture and put in a cage. Call nearest police agency for reward. Trying to impersonate a human being."
The letters were copies of the same package of documents, consisting of: (1) a handwritten note stating the following: "Alan Goat-Face Hoffman, [street address] Three Springs, PA 17264 drives a yellow [car, which] is same color as he is."; and (2) five copies of a page from Mr. Hoffman's Bedford County Court of Common Pleas Court Summary….
