Com. v. Stetter, J.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 22, 2015
Docket1877 WDA 2014
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Stetter, J. (Com. v. Stetter, J.) 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. Stetter, J., (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

J-S52014-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

JEFFREY STETTER,

Appellant No. 1877 WDA 2014

Appeal from the PCRA Order October 7, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0002814-2006

BEFORE: SHOGAN, OLSON, and WECHT, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED OCTOBER 22, 2015

Appellant, Jeffrey Stetter, appeals from the order denying his petition

for collateral relief filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”),

42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. We affirm.

On direct appeal, a prior panel of this Court summarized the factual

and procedural history of this case as follows:

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: Appellant was arrested, and represented by counsel, he proceeded to a bench trial with co-defendant George Maxwell.2 At the trial, sixty-five-year-old Richard Sharp testified that, on September 18, 2005, he was camping at 14 Zimmerman Avenue in Overbrook with Stacey Bulford, who was a known prostitute. At approximately 8:00 p.m., he left the camping trailer; however, Ms. Bulford remained inside of the trailer. At approximately 9:30 p.m., Mr. Sharp returned to the camping trailer, and he testified as follows regarding what transpired upon his return: J-S52014-15

2 Mary Laurence was also charged in connection with this case. Without objection, her case was severed from Appellant’s and Mr. Maxwell’s trial.

Q: And what did you do upon returning to the trailer? A: I opened the door. Q: Which door? A: There’s only one door. It’s a side door. Q: Okay. Was the door locked or unlocked when you arrived? A: It was unlocked. Q: Now, tell the Judge in your own words what you experienced. A: Okay. I walked into the camper, walked up like one step, two steps. I got [sic] hit over the head with I don’t know what; and I fell [on]to the ground; and I continually got [sic] hit on the head and kicked. I fought back as best as I could. Q: At what location were you in the inside of the trailer when this occurred? A: It’s a room that’s called the kitchen. It’s like—I fell right like under by the table, kitchen table. Q: You were knocked to the floor? A: Yes. Q: Were you able to see anybody in and around you when you were knocked to the floor? A: There was [sic] two male sil[h]ouettes. Q: Two male sil[h]ouettes? A: Yes. Q: Were you able to see faces associated with those? A: No. Q: What was the lighting conditions in that particular room where this assault occurred? A: It was dark, because when I left, the battery that powered the lights in the camper trailer was [sic] almost dead. When I came back, it was dead, and there were no lights in the camper trailer. Q: Now, other than being struck and kicked, was there anything else done to you when you were on the floor? A: They stole the waist pack that I had that had pepper spray in it and what’s called a Myotron, looks like a super stun gun.

-2- J-S52014-15

Q: That was attached to what part of your body? A: Around my waist.

Mr. Sharp testified that Ms. Bulford was in the trailer during the attack, and the men fled the scene after the attack. Mr. Sharp called 911, resulting in the police’s arrival upon the scene, and due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. Sharp was taken to a nearby hospital where he received treatment for multiple cuts. Mr. Sharp admitted that he brought Ms. Bulford to the trailer and paid her for sex, and he had done so with other women, including Mary Laurence. Mr. Sharp testified that, after the police had identified Ms. Bulford as a possible accomplice, Ms. Bulford identified Mr. Maxwell and Appellant as the men who had assaulted Mr. Sharp.

Ms. Bulford confirmed that she was at Mr. Sharp’s camping trailer on the day in question, and at some point, he left the trailer while she stayed behind sleeping in the bedroom. After Mr. Sharp left, Ms. Laurence came into the trailer, awoke Ms. Bulford, and told her “not to worry about what [she was] about to see.” Ms. Laurence then left the trailer and Ms. Bulford went back to sleep. Shortly thereafter, she heard Mr. Sharp screaming and she testified the following transpired:

Q: And when you heard that screaming what did you do? A: I jumped up and asked, yelled, what was going on to [Mr. Sharp], and flicked on the light. Q: And when you did that, what, if anything, did you observe? A: I had seen [Mr. Sharp] on the floor, bloody, and two males running out of the trailer. Q: And did you recognize the two males? A: Yes. Q: And who were they? A: George Maxwell and [Appellant] Jeff Stetter.

Ms. Bulford then positively pointed out Mr. Maxwell and Appellant in court as the men she had observed running out of the trailer on the night in question. Ms. Bulford admitted that she has prior convictions for forgery, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking. She further admitted that she uses aliases, was a heroin addict, and received money from Mr. Sharp in exchange for sex. Furthermore, she admitted that she did not

-3- J-S52014-15

tell the police the name of Mr. Sharp’s attackers until approximately one month after the incident occurred.

Detective William Friburger testified that, on September 18, 2005, at approximately 9:30 p.m., he responded to a 911 call at a trailer park on Zimmerman Street. Upon arrival, Mr. Sharp, who was bleeding, reported he had been robbed. Referring to his report, Detective Friburger testified that, on the night of the incident, Ms. Bulford reported that she “did not see anything” and was in a back room when the assault occurred.

Ms. Laurence testified that, on September 18, 2005, she, Mr. Maxwell, Appellant, and a woman were together smoking crack cocaine in a car. Needing more money, Ms. Laurence indicated she would ask Mr. Sharp for money. The group went to Mr. Sharp’s trailer; however, he was not at home, and therefore, they left. A short time later, the group returned to the trailer, and Mr. Maxwell and Appellant went inside to talk to Ms. Bulford while Ms. Laurence and the woman stayed inside of the car. Approximately half an hour later, Mr. Maxwell and Appellant returned to the car. Ms. Laurence noticed Appellant’s arm “looked wet” and he threw something in the woods before entering the car. She also noticed that Mr. Maxwell was carrying a “belly bag.” The men informed Ms. Laurence that Ms. Bulford had invited them into the trailer and they had a couple of beers. The men further indicated that, at some point, Ms. Bulford said, “Here comes Rich,” she shut off the lights, and she directed the men where to stand in anticipation of Mr. Sharp’s arrival.

Ms. Laurence admitted that the Commonwealth charged her as a co-defendant and offered her leniency in exchange for her testimony. Ms. Laurence admitted that she uses illegal drugs, Mr. Sharp paid her for sex, she uses aliases, and she has several criminal convictions.

At the conclusion of the Commonwealth’s case-in-chief, Appellant’s and Mr. Maxwell’s attorneys made a motion for judgment of acquittal, which the trial court denied. Thereafter,3 specifically finding the Commonwealth’s witnesses to be credible, the trial court found Appellant guilty of the crimes indicated supra.4 3 We note the defense put forth no witnesses.

-4- J-S52014-15

4 The trial court also found Mr. Maxwell guilty of robbery, burglary, and criminal conspiracy.

Commonwealth v. Stetter, 711 WDA 2010, 30 A.3d 538 (Pa. Super. filed

May 13, 2011) (unpublished memorandum at 1-6) (internal citations

omitted).

Following Appellant’s above-referenced convictions of burglary,

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