Com. v. Cobbs, L.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 2, 2021
Docket869 WDA 2020
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Cobbs, L. (Com. v. Cobbs, L.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. v. Cobbs, L., (Pa. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

J-S27027-21 J-S27028-21

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : LYDELL COBBS : : Appellant : No. 869 WDA 2020

Appeal from the Order Entered July 22, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0013095-2002, CP-02-CR-0013096-2002

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : LYDELL TEEMAN COBBS : : Appellant : No. 936 WDA 2020

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered August 21, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0013095-2002, CP-02-CR-0013096-2002

BEFORE: OLSON, J., NICHOLS, J., and COLINS, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY NICHOLS, J.: FILED: NOVEMBER 2, 2021

In these related pro se appeals, Appellant Lydell Cobbs challenges two

separate orders, and each order was entered at trial court docket numbers ____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S27027-21 J-S27028-21

CP-02-CR-0013095-2002 (13095-2002) and CP-02-CR-0013096-2002

(13096-2002).1 In the appeal at 869 WDA 2020, Appellant appeals from the

order entered on July 22, 2020, clarifying Appellant’s credit for time served

on his sentences at 13095-2002 and 13096-2002. In the appeal at 936 WDA

2020, Appellant appeals from the August 21, 2020 order denying his timely

first petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act 2 (PCRA), and this

order also applied to both trial court dockets.3 After review, we are

constrained to quash the appeal at 869 WDA 2020, and we affirm the order

denying Appellant’s PCRA petition at 936 WDA 2020.

Because Appellant filed a single notice of appeal from each order and

each notice of appeal included both trial court dockets, we must address

____________________________________________

1 These cases present a complicated and overlapping procedural history. However, as will be discussed in more detail below, we note that Appellant is currently pro se in these appeals because he has already pursued a counseled direct appeal and exhausted his direct appeal rights, and the trial court granted Appellant’s PCRA counsel’s motion to withdraw on January 13, 2020.

2 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546.

3 Although the orders underlying the appeals at both 869 WDA 2020 and 936

WDA 2020 involve both trial court dockets and the fact that these cases coincide and have been litigated essentially as a single case, only the certified record at trial court docket CP-02-CR-0013096-2002 was forwarded to this Court in the appeal at 869 WDA 2020, and only the certified record at trial court docket CP-02-CR-0013095-2002 was forwarded to this Court in the appeal at 936 WDA 2020. However, the notes of testimony and most of the documents in these related cases were filed at both trial court dockets and are, therefore, available for review at both dockets. Due to the overlap of the factual and procedural history of the records in these matters and the accompanying dual filings, the state of the certified record does not preclude appellate review.

-2- J-S27027-21 J-S27028-21

whether these appeals are properly before this Court. See Commonwealth

v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969, 977 (Pa. 2018) (providing that where an order

resolves issues on more than one docket, the proper practice under Pa.R.A.P.

341(a) is to file separate notices of appeal, and the failure to do so requires

the appellate court to quash the appeal). To determine whether we are

constrained to quash these appeals, we must first discuss the procedural

history which necessitates a brief summary of the facts underlying Appellant’s

convictions. A prior panel of our Court set forth the facts of these cases as

follows:

During the year 2002, [Appellant] was permitted overnight visits with his six[-]year[-]old biological daughter. During these visits, his daughter would be required to sleep in [Appellant’s] bed and on numerous occasions during the middle of the night [Appellant] would wake up his daughter and force her to perform oral sex on him. The last time that [Appellant] forced her to perform oral sex, she became sick and, in fact, threw up on [Appellant]. [Appellant] became enraged and struck her with a leather belt which he had done on previous occasions to coerce her to perform oral sex on him. After this incident, the six[-]year[-]old daughter went to her grandmother and told her what [Appellant] was doing to her and the grandmother then separated [Appellant] and his daughter and told his daughter to go to sleep in the bedroom with [Appellant’s] ten[-]year[-]old sister. The six[-]year[-]old went into the ten[- ]year[-]old’s bedroom and they discussed what was going on and the ten[-]year[-]old then revealed to the six[-]year[-]old that [Appellant] had been doing the same things to her over an extended period of time. This information was then given to the Allegheny County Police Department, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit, and they went and arrested [Appellant] on these charges. After being given his Miranda rights, [Appellant] freely confessed to the police that he had, in fact, committed these crimes against his six[-]year[-]old daughter and his ten[-]year[- ]old sister.

-3- J-S27027-21 J-S27028-21

Commonwealth v. Cobbs, 193 A.3d 1104, 885 WDA 2017, 2018 WL

3099210, at *1 (Pa. Super. filed June 25, 2018) (unpublished mem.) (citations

and footnote omitted) (some formatting altered).

The Commonwealth charged Appellant at separate dockets for the

crimes committed against each child. On April 6, 2004, Appellant concurrently

entered negotiated guilty pleas encompassing both dockets. At trial court

docket 13095-2002, which involved the crimes Appellant committed against

his daughter, Appellant pled guilty to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual

intercourse (IDSI), two counts of indecent assault, two counts of indecent

exposure, two counts of incest, and a single count each of endangering the

welfare of a child, and corruption of minors.4 At trial court docket 13096-

2002, which involved the crimes Appellant perpetrated upon his sister,

Appellant pled guilty to IDSI, indecent assault, incest, and corruption of

minors.5

On August 5, 2004, the trial court sentenced Appellant at both trial court

dockets. At 13095-2002, the trial court sentenced Appellant to a term of five

to ten years of incarceration followed by five years of probation for IDSI, and

a determination of guilt without further penalty on the remaining counts. N.T.,

8/5/04, at 50; Sentencing Order (13095-2002), 8/5/04. At 13096-2002, the

trial court sentenced Appellant to a term of five to ten years of incarceration ____________________________________________

4 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3123, 3126, 3127, 4302, 4304, and 6301, respectively.

5 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3123, 3126, 4302, and 6301, respectively.

-4- J-S27027-21 J-S27028-21

followed by five years of probation for IDSI, and a determination of guilt

without further penalty on the remaining counts. N.T., 8/5/04, at 50;

Sentencing Order (13096-2002), 8/5/04. The trial court directed the

sentences at 13095-2002 and 13096-2002 to be served concurrently resulting

in an aggregate sentence of five to ten years of incarceration followed by five

years of probation. Appellant served the maximum sentence of ten years of

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