Talbert v. Pennsylvania Attorney General

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 27, 2021
Docket2:20-cv-06330
StatusUnknown

This text of Talbert v. Pennsylvania Attorney General (Talbert v. Pennsylvania Attorney General) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talbert v. Pennsylvania Attorney General, (E.D. Pa. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA ________________________________ : Charles Talbert, : Petitioner : : Civil Action No. 20-6330-CFK v. : : Pennsylvania Attorney General, : Respondent : ____________________________________: MEMORANDUM Kenney, J. July 27, 2021 Charles Talbert (“Petitioner”), representing himself, has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction under Rule 65 (ECF No. 14), along with a habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF Nos. 8 and 15), challenging his current incarceration pending trial for three separate criminal cases of robbery, terroristic threats, and recklessly endangering another person. Upon referral from this Court, Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski issued a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) finding that Petitioner’s claims for habeas relief and his Rule 65 Motion are without merit and recommending that his petition and motion be denied and dismissed. ECF No. 18. Petitioner has timely filed Objections to the R&R. ECF No. 19. After a review of Petitioner’s habeas petition, his Rule 65 Motion, the R&R, and the Objections thereto, and for the reasons set forth below, this Court overrules the Objections, approves and adopts the R&R in its entirety, and denies and dismisses the habeas petition and the Rule 65 Motion. I. RELEVANT BACKGROUND A. Petitioner’s Charges and Procedural History This petition for habeas corpus arises out of three separate criminal cases filed against Petitioner.1 In the Petitioner’s first case (“Case Number 1”), Petitioner was charged with robbery, terroristic threats, and recklessly endangering another person. Crim. Docket 1 at 3. In the Petitioner’s second case (“Case Number 2”), he was charged with robbery, theft by unlawful

taking, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime, and terroristic threats. Crim. Docket 2 at 3. In the Petitioner’s third case (“Case Number 3”), he was charged with robbery, attempted theft by unlawful taking, attempted receipt of stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime, and terroristic threats. Crim. Docket 3 at 3. Petitioner has been in detention on charges related to these cases since his arrest on January 8, 2019. Crim. Docket 1 at 1; Crim. Docket 2 at 1; Crim. Docket 3 at 1. The trial court granted several continuances at the request of both defense counsel and the Commonwealth.2 In March 2020, under the direction of Governor Wolf, Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 600—the “Speedy Trial Statute”—was suspended due to the Covid-19 public health emergency. ECF No. 19 at 5. On February 16, 2021, the trial court continued the

case due to the closure of the courthouse to jury trials during the Covid-19 pandemic. Crim.

1 The Court’s recitation of the procedural history relies upon information provided by the affidavit of probable cause (attached to this memorandum as Attachment A), information provided by Petitioner, and the criminal docket sheets for Petitioner’s underlying criminal cases (see R&R at n.1). 2 In Case Number 1, defense counsel requested a continuance due to Petitioner’s unavailability in June 2019. Crim. Docket 1 at 4. In Case Number 2, defense counsel requested a continuance for further investigation on May 1, 2019. Crim. Docket 2 at 5. Defense counsel then requested two more continuances for further investigation. Id. In Case Number 3, the trial court granted continuances on September 19, 2019 and October 30, 2019. Crim. Docket 3 at 5. The Commonwealth filed a motion for consolidation in all three cases on November 25, 2019, which the court granted on December 13, 2019. Crim Docket 1 at 5; Crim. Docket 3 at 6. Counsel then filed a joint request for continuance in January of 2020. Id. at 5. On July 10, 2020, the Commonwealth requested a continuance for its expert witness. Crim Docket 1 at 6; Crim Docket 2 at 6; Crim Docket 3 at 7. Defense counsel then requested a continuance for further investigation on September 10, 2020. Crim Docket 1 at 6; Crim Docket 2 at 7; Crim. Docket 3 at 7. Docket 1 at 7; Crim. Docket 2 at 8; Crim. Docket 3 at 8. Petitioner’s trial is currently scheduled for September 13, 2021. Crim. Docket 1, 2, & 3 at 2. State court records show that on November 29, 2018, an offender—later identified as Petitioner—walked into a PNC Bank and handed the teller a demand note that stated, “FILL ME

UP A BAG OF MONEY OR I WILL SHOOT.” The teller did not comply and walked behind the teller line and entered the emergency code to alert the police. The offender then walked out of the bank empty handed in an unknown direction. Members of the FBI Task Force responded to the bank robbery within fifteen minutes and processed the scene. The demand note was photographed and recovered, the teller and another witness were interviewed, and video surveillance, including still images, were recovered. The teller was able to describe the offender in detail. Two days later, on December 1, 2018, an offender entered a TD Bank and handed the teller a demand note that stated, “GIVE ME TEN THOUSAND IN 10 SECONDS OR YOU WILL DIE.” The teller complied and gave the offender approximately $3,000.00. The offender

took the money and fled the bank in an unknown direction. About an hour later a detective responded to the bank robbery and processed the scene. The demand note was photographed and recovered, the teller was interviewed, and the still images were recovered. The offender was described in detail by a witness. On December 2, 2018, still images taken from video surveillance from the bank robbery were uploaded to the Philadelphia Police Department’s home page and were submitted to the local media outlets to solicit tips from the public. On December 4, 2018, a police officer from Galloway Police Department in New Jersey was dispatched on a report of a male who wanted to turn himself in for a bank robbery. Upon arrival, the officer made contact with Petitioner, who stated that he robbed the TD Bank in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. The Petitioner was detained and transported to Galloway Township Police Department for investigation, where the officer was able to verify that there was a bank robbery at the TD Bank in Chestnut Hill. The officer was also able to locate a bulletin issued by

the Philadelphia Police FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, which further verified a robbery at the TD Bank. The officer observed that the still image in the bulletin had distinct similarities with the Petitioner, which further corroborated his admission. The Petitioner had $760.00 in his possession. The Petitioner was not arrested at the time and was transported to Atlanticare Mainland Division Hospital, as he reported having ingested cocaine before calling the police. Investigators then compared the driver’s license photograph of Petitioner with images from the surveillance videos from the bank robberies and concluded that the offender was Petitioner. When detectives showed the tellers from the PNC and TD Bank robberies photo arrays that included Petitioner, neither was able to make a positive identification. Then, on December 22, 2018, an offender approached the cash register at a Kentucky

Fried Chicken in Philadelphia and threw a demand note over the front counter. When the cashier asked, “What’s this?” the offender replied, “If you don’t give me the money, I’ll kill you!” The cashier stated that the offender had his jacket pulled up to his face covering his mouth, and she had difficulty understanding him. She asked the offender three times what he said, and on the third time he stated, “If you don’t open the register, I’m gonna kill you!” The cashier then ran to the back of the restaurant and informed the restaurant manager. The cashier and manager then ran to the front of the store and observed the offender fleeing.

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Talbert v. Pennsylvania Attorney General, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talbert-v-pennsylvania-attorney-general-paed-2021.