Com. v. Cobbs, L.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 12, 2023
Docket559 WDA 2022
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. 2023).

Opinion

J-S14039-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : LYDELL COBBS : : Appellant : No. 559 WDA 2022

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered April 21, 2022 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: PANELLA, P.J., BENDER, P.J.E., and PELLEGRINI, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY PELLEGRINI, J.: FILED: JUNE 12, 2023

Lydell Cobbs (Cobbs) appeals1 from the PCRA order entered in the Court

of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (PCRA court) denying his motion filed

____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 Cobbs filed one notice of appeal with this Court listing both docket numbers despite the holding of Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969, 971 (Pa. 2018), that “where a single order resolves issues arising on more than one docket, separate notices of appeal must be filed for each case.” However, Cobbs filed the notice of appeal at both dockets in the trial court. Therefore, Cobbs complied with Walker’s mandate. See Commonwealth v. Johnson, 236 A.3d 1141, 1148 (Pa. Super. 2020) (declining to quash appeal where the notice of appeal contained multiple docket numbers that appellant filed at each trial court docket). J-S14039-23

pursuant to the Post-Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541-9546.2 Cobbs

argues that the court erred in denying his motion because the sentence

imposed after the revocation of his probation was illegal where it did not credit

him with time served. We affirm.

This case has a protracted procedural history and we include only those

pertinent facts we glean from our review of the record.

I.

A.

On October 30, 2002, Cobbs was charged at docket number 2002-13095

with two counts of first-degree felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse

(IDSI) and related charges for criminal conduct involving his six-year-old

daughter.3 He was charged at docket number 2002-13096 with one count

2 Cobbs did not title his requests for relief as PCRA petitions. However, “regardless of how a petition is titled, courts are to treat a petition filed after a judgment of sentence becomes final as a PCRA petition if it requests relief contemplated by the PCRA.” Commonwealth v. Fantauzzi, 275 A.3d 986, 995 (Pa. Super. 2022) (citations omitted). “[A] petition challenging the legality of a sentence on the grounds that the sentence exceeded the statutory limit [is] ‘undoubtedly cognizable under the PCRA’ and, therefore, any such petition, regardless of its title [is] to be treated as a PCRA petition.” Id. (citing Commonwealth v. Taylor, 65 A.3d at 467); see also Commonwealth v. Perry, 563 A.2d 511, 513 (Pa. Super. 1989) (“[W]hen a petitioner challenges the legality of a trial court’s alleged failure to award credit for time served as required by law in imposing sentence, that challenge to the sentence [is] deemed cognizable as a due process claim in PCRA proceedings.”).

3 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3123(a)(6), 3126(a)(7), 3127, 4302, 4304 and 6301, respectively.

-2- J-S14039-23

each of IDSI and related charges for the same criminal action against his ten-

year-old sister.4

Cobbs pleaded guilty on April 6, 2004, at both docket numbers with the

assistance of counsel. Sentencing was deferred for the preparation of a

presentence investigation report (PSI) and a Megan’s Law evaluation. At the

August 5, 2004 sentencing and Megan’s Law hearing, the court determined

Cobbs was a sexually violent predator (SVP) and sentenced him in case

number 2002-13095 on Count One IDSI to a term of not less than five nor

more than ten years’ imprisonment5 and a consecutive term of five years of

probation, with credit for time served from August 15, 2002, through

November 23, 2002. At case number 2002-13096, the court sentenced Cobbs

to a concurrent sentence that was identical to the one imposed at case number

2002-13095, i.e., not less than five nor more than ten years’ incarceration on

Count One IDSI with the same credit for time served, and a consecutive period

of five years’ probation.

On August 27, 2004, Cobbs filed an appeal challenging his SVP

designation and on July 5, 2005, the Superior Court affirmed his judgment of

4 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3123(a)(6), 901(a), 3126(a)(7), 4302 and 6301, respectively.

5 At that time the statutory maximum for the first-degree felony conviction was 20 years. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 3123(a)(1); 18 Pa.C.S. § 1103. The statutory maximum sentence for IDSI with a child under 13 years of age was later increased to 40 years. See 2002, Dec. 16, P.L. 1953, No. 226, § 1.1 (eff. Feb. 14, 2003).

-3- J-S14039-23

sentence. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied his petition for allowance

of appeal on December 21, 2005. (See Commonwealth v. Cobbs, 883 A.2d

685 (Pa. Super. filed July 5, 2005) (unpublished memorandum), appeal

denied, 891 A.2d 729 (Pa. 2005).

B.

After serving the ten-year maximum sentence, Cobbs was released on

probation to a halfway house. (See PCRA Court Opinion, 11/17/2022, at 1).

Thereafter, several violation of probation (VOP) hearings were held between

May 6, 2013, and December 7, 2015, for violations ranging from engaging in

assaultive behavior, failing to cooperate with Justice Related Services and

producing an approved housing plan and having a cell phone, contact with

minors and smartphone pictures of minors despite his SVP designation.6

At the March 7, 2016 VOP hearing, after detailing all Cobbs’s violations

while he was on probation, the court revoked his probation and sentenced him

to a term of incarceration of not less than five nor more than ten years on

Count One IDSI at docket number 2002-3095 and a consecutive term of not

less than five nor more than ten years on IDSI at Count One of case number

2002-3096. At the hearing, Probation Officer Lynne stated incorrectly that

6 Cobbs had been ordered “to have no contact with minors, follow lifestyle restrictions as they pertain to avoid risk situations, no alcohol and is not to own or possess any device that has access to the Internet per his charge- specific conditions.” (N.T. VOP Hearing, 12/07/15, at 3).

-4- J-S14039-23

Cobbs had reached the statutory maximum on Count 1 IDSI at docket number

2002-3095, and that it should be imposed at Count Two, to which the court

responded in the affirmative. (See id. at 14-15). However, the VOP

sentencing orders reflect that the five-to-ten-year sentences were properly

imposed for Count One IDSI at both docket numbers. (See VOP Order of

Sentence 2002-3095, at 1-2); (VOP Order of Sentence 2002-3096, at 1-2).

On March 23, 2016, Cobbs filed a pro se motion to reconsider his VOP

sentence in which he challenged its discretionary aspects. (See Pro se Motion

to Reconsider Sentence, 3/23/16, at ¶¶ 1-8). On June 21, 2016, Cobbs filed

a pro se PCRA petition. Appointed counsel filed an amended petition on

February 2, 2017, requesting reinstatement of Cobbs’s appellate rights and

credit for time served. The Commonwealth agreed that Cobb was entitled to

reinstatement of his direct appeal rights on his VOP sentence and to time

credit from September 15, 2015, to October 2, 2015. On May 8, 2017, the

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Com. v. Cobbs, L., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-cobbs-l-pasuperct-2023.