Com. v. Chambers, J.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided April 22, 2020·No. 739 EDA 2019·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

JAYSON CHAMBERS :

:

Appellant : No. 739 EDA 2019

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered February 15, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0911081-2003

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

JAYSON CHAMBERS :

:

Appellant : No. 740 EDA 2019

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered February 15, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0911091-2003

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

JAYSON CHAMBERS :

:

Appellant : No. 746 EDA 2019

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered February 15, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-1109611-2004

BEFORE: BOWES, J., MURRAY, J., and McLAUGHLIN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED APRIL 22, 2020 Jayson Chambers appeals from the dismissal of his Post-Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”) petition. After careful review, we affirm.

This Court previously summarized the relevant factual history of these cases as follows:

. . . . Between the summer of 2000 and December 2002, [A]ppellant, approximately [thirty] years of age, sexually abused A.L. . . ., C.E. . . ., and A.R. . . ., all minors under the age of 16.

A.L. resided with [A]ppellant for about three years, from age eight to age eleven. During that time, A.L. slept in the same room as [A]ppellant and his two other children.1 Appellant inappropriately touched A.L. when she was [eleven] years old.

During the act, [A]ppellant unzipped and pulled down A.L.’s pants, pulled down her underwear, and completely undressed himself.

Thereafter, [A]ppellant sexually abused A.L., forcibly penetrating her vagina with his penis while groping her breasts. He continued the assault despite her cries and pleas to cease. A.L. testified that she refrained from immediately telling someone because [A]ppellant threatened to kill her. She felt justified in this belief because [A]ppellant had physically assaulted her on numerous occasions, sometimes using an extension cord. Appellant’s son testified that he witnessed A.L. lying on the bed while [A]ppellant hovered over her unclothed, and that [A]ppellant also had physically abused him. Appellant eventually asked A.L. to leave his residence and return to her mother because of a sexual abuse allegation lodged against him by C.E.

C.E., A.L.’s sister, testified that [A]ppellant inappropriately touched her on two separate occasions. On both occasions, she was visiting for the weekend to spend time with her sister. The first time [A]ppellant touched her breasts. During the second instance of abuse, he placed his hands underneath her shirt and

1 Appellant’s two children share the same initials. Therefore, for ease of identification we refer to them, in order of age, as J.C. and J.C.2. See N.T. Jury Trial Transcript, 12/6/04, at 40 (indicating the dates of birth of J.C. and J.C.2).

groped her breasts while standing behind her and penetrated her vaginally with his fingers. C.E. later relayed these events to her aunt and mother.

A.R., [A]ppellant’s cousin, testified her first sexual relationship with [A]ppellant ensued around November 2012.5 She testified that she considered [A]ppellant her best friend prior to the sexual abuse. On the first occasion, [A]ppellant pushed A.R. down on the bed, pulled her pants and underwear down, and forcibly penetrated her vagina. She testified that despite her cries, [A]ppellant persisted. A.L. and [A]ppellant’s son testified they witnessed [A]ppellant having sexual intercourse with A.R.

Appellant engaged in sexual intercourse a second time with A.R.

and she testified she cried “hysterically, like loud” this time.6 As a result of one of these sexual encounters, A.R. became impregnated and delivered a baby boy on September 23, 2003.7 A.R. did not immediately disclose the identity of the father to her family. Over objection, A.R. testified she fears [A]ppellant because he physically abused her on numerous occasions and choked her mother during a disagreement.

5 During direct examination A.R. testified the first time

she engaged in sex with [A]ppellant was in December 2002, however, during cross-examination she testified that the sexual encounter actually occurred in November 2002.

6 Appellant resided with A.R. and her family at the time of this assault.

7 DNA tests later confirmed [A]ppellant is the father of the child.

Commonwealth v. Chambers, 959 A.2d 458 (Pa.Super. 2008) (unpublished memorandum) (“Chambers II”) (citations to the record omitted).

Appellant was arrested and charged with various sexual offenses as to all three minors. Appellant waived his right to a jury trial and proceeded to a bench trial. At trial, all three victims testified and DNA evidence was introduced that Appellant was the father of A.R.’s baby. At the conclusion of

the trial, the court found Appellant guilty of rape, indecent assault, and endangering the welfare of a child as to A.L.; indecent assault as to C.E.; and statutory sexual assault as to A.R. On March 30, 2005, Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of fifteen to thirty years of incarceration. Appellant filed post-sentence motions, which were denied, and a timely notice of appeal. After Appellant failed to timely comply with the trial court’s Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) order, we dismissed the appeal. See Commonwealth v. Chambers, 913 A.2d 939 (Pa.Super. 2006) (“Chambers I”) (unpublished memorandum).2 On July 17, 2007, Appellant filed a PCRA petition requesting the reinstatement of his direct appeal rights nunc pro tunc, which the PCRA court granted. On appeal, Appellant challenged the trial court’s consolidation of the charges against him; its allowance of A.R.’s testimony regarding Appellant’s physical abuse as an explanation for her delay in reporting the abuse; and that the rape, endangering the welfare of a minor, and two indecent assault verdicts were against the weight of the evidence. We rejected Appellant’s arguments and affirmed his judgment of sentence. See Chambers II, supra. After another successful PCRA petition seeking the reinstatement of appellate rights, Appellant filed a petition for allowance of appeal nunc pro

2While the direct appeal was pending, Appellant filed a pro se PCRA petition which was dismissed.

tunc, which was denied. See Commonwealth v. Chambers, 78 A.3d 1089 (Pa. 2013) (“Chambers III”).

On June 27, 2014, Appellant filed a timely pro se PCRA petition in which Appellant raised numerous allegations of trial counsel, appellate counsel, and PCRA counsel ineffectiveness. Additionally, he alleged the discovery of new evidence that would exonerate him in the form of a witness recantation. Finally, he listed a multitude of alleged instances of prosecutorial misconduct and attached numerous exhibits. On January 22, 2018, following years of litigation and changes of counsel, Appellant, through Peter Levin, Esquire, filed an amended PCRA petition raising the issues alleged by Appellant in his pro se petition. After the Commonwealth filed a motion to dismiss, the PCRA court issued notice of its intent to dismiss the petition as meritless and without a hearing. On February 15, 2019, the PCRA court dismissed the PCRA petition. This timely appeal followed. Appellant was not ordered to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement; however, the PCRA court did file a Rule 1925(a) opinion.

Appellant raises four issues, which we have reordered for ease of disposition:

I. Whether the court erred in not granting relief on the PCRA petition alleging counsel was ineffective.

II. Whether the court erred in not granting relief on the PCRA petition due to newly discovered evidence.

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