Com. v. Brown, T.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided February 17, 2016·No. 1074 EDA 2015·Unpublished

Opinion

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

TERRENCE VERNELL BROWN Appellant No. 1074 EDA 2015

Appeal from the PCRA Order April 1, 2015 In the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-23-CR-0001238-2011

BEFORE: SHOGAN, J., LAZARUS, J., and STABILE, J. MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 17, 2016 Terrence Brown appeals pro se from the order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County denying his petition filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act, (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546.. After our review, we affirm.

The trial court set forth the facts of this case as follows:

On January 2, 2011 officers from the City of Chester Police Department were dispatched to a residence on Edgemont Avenue after a report of a burglary in progress. Upon their arrival the officers heard screaming coming from inside the residence. The officers covered both entrances to the home and then entered. The Petitioner was apprehended in a second-floor bedroom. He was wearing a ski mask and a dark gray sweat suit. After a brief struggle he was taken into custody. His co-

defendant Fareem Nelson was found hiding under the bed in the same room. He was also arrested after a struggle and at that time he had a black ski mask in his pocket.

The [v]ictim reported that he arrived at his home after basketball practice that evening and that as he put his key in the

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front door lock three males armed with handguns and wearing dark clothes and ski masks forced him into his residence and demanded money and guns. They tied the [v]ictim up and threatened to kill him and took $500.00. He was assaulted and suffered head and facial injuries that were treated later at Crozer Chester Medical Center. Two Smith & Wesson handguns with obliterated serial numbers, rubber gloves and restraints made of wire ties were recovered from the residence following the arrests.

Trial Court Opinion, 5/28/15, at 2.

Brown entered a negotiated guilty plea to charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and possessing an instrument of crime.1 Pursuant to the plea agreement, various other charges were nol prossed and the Honorable James P. Bradley sentenced Brown to ten to twenty years’ imprisonment followed by five years of probation. On direct appeal, Brown challenged the validity of his guilty plea. Brown claimed his attorney did not explain the ramifications with respect to other cases for which he was on probation or parole; he also claimed he was not colloquied by the court with respect to these ramifications. This Court affirmed, noting that the written guilty plea colloquy, which Brown acknowledged reviewing, specifically stated that pleading guilty to the crimes at issue could result in jail time for

1 The Commonwealth’s brief erroneously states that the “[i]ssues of voluntariness of colloquy and guilty plea to first degree murder and conspiracy were previously litigated on direct appeal, so as to preclude relief under [the PCRA]. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2,3) (emphasis ours). See Appellee’s Brief, at 7.

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any crimes for which Brown was on probation or parole. 2 Commonwealth v. Brown, 1564 EDA 2012 (Pa. Super. filed December 4, 2013) (unpublished memorandum). The panel concluded that Brown was informed of the consequences of pleading guilty as it related to cases for which he was already under supervision, and thus his claim was devoid of merit. Brown filed a petition for allowance of appeal, which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied. Commonwealth v. Brown, 9 MAL 2014 (Pa. June 18, 2014).

On July 14, 2014, Brown filed a PCRA petition, which was denied on April 2, 2015. This appeal followed. Brown raises the following issues for our review:

1. Whether the trial court erred in participating in the plea negotiation held January 23, 2012 before the Honorable James P. Bradley, and trial counsel was ineffective for his failure to object to the trial court’s participation in the

2 Paragraph 20 of Brown’s written guilty plea colloquy states the following:

If I was on probation or parole at the time the crimes to which I am pleading guilty or nolo contender were committed, my pleas in this case mean that I have violated my probation or parole and I can be sentenced to jail for that violation in addition to any sentences which I may receive as a result of these pleas.

Guilty Plea Statement, 1/24/12, at ¶ 20. Brown’s initials appear on the line next to that paragraph and both he and his counsel signed and dated the written colloquy. The transcript of his oral colloquy reflects that Brown acknowledged reading and understanding the content of the written sixpage , 29-paragraph guilty plea statement. N.T., Guilty Plea Colloquy, 1/24/12, at 21, 23-24.

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guilty plea negotiation that he (petitioner) had previously rejected thus making the plea coerced, involuntary, and unknowingly entered?

2. Whether the trial court erred in its failure to make an on-

the-record determination concerning the mandatory sentencing statute, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9714, if it was applicable, along with the court’s failure to establish written and oral notice to seek the mandatory sentence, and trial counsel’s ineffectiveness during the plea process and sentence phase?

3. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failure to explain the advantages and disadvantages of accepting a plea of guilt, giving misinformation regarding the permissible range the petitioner was/is subjected to, abandoning his client all through the post-sentence stage, and trial counsel failed to amend petitioner’s PCRA petition which resulted in trial court’s dismissal and ultimately deprived petitioner of his chance at relief?

It is well-settled that “our review of a post-conviction court’s grant or denial of relief is limited to determining whether the court’s findings are supported by the record and the court's order is otherwise free of legal error.” Commonwealth v. Gadsden, 832 A.2d 1082, 1085 (Pa. Super. 2003) (citing Commonwealth v. Yager, 685 A.2d 1000, 1003 (Pa. Super. 1996) (en banc); Commonwealth v. Wilson, 824 A.2d 331, 333 (Pa. Super. 2003). To prevail on a petition for PCRA relief, a petitioner must plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his conviction or sentence resulted from one or more of the circumstances enumerated in 42

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Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2).3 See Commonwealth v. Spotz, 18 A.3d 244, 259 (Pa. 2011). These circumstances include the ineffectiveness of counsel, which “so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.” 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2)(ii).

Once a defendant has entered a plea of guilty, it is presumed that he was aware of what he was doing, and the burden of proving involuntariness is upon him. Therefore, where the record clearly demonstrates that a guilty plea colloquy was conducted, during which it became evident that the defendant understood the nature of the charges against him, the voluntariness of the plea is established. See Commonwealth v. Pollard,

832 A.2d 517, 523 (Pa. Super. 2003) (“A person who elects to plead guilty is

3 (i) A violation of the Constitution of this Commonwealth or the Constitution or laws of the United States which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.

(ii) Ineffective assistance of counsel which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.

(iii) A plea of guilty unlawfully induced where the circumstances make it likely that the inducement caused the petitioner to plead guilty and the petitioner is innocent.

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