v.
Willis, S.
J-S22023-22 J-S22024-22 NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : SHAHEEM WILLIS : : Appellant : No. 1621 EDA 2021
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered April 9, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0005238-2009
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : SHAHEEM WILLIS : : Appellant : No. 2034 EDA 2021
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered August 26, 2021 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0005238-2009
BEFORE: BOWES, J., McCAFFERY, J., and SULLIVAN, J. MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.: FILED JANUARY 9, 2023
Following a jury trial in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in July of 2010, Shaheem Willis (Appellant) was convicted of attempted murder1 and related charges for his role in the March 2009, shooting of thirteen-year-old J.S., and sentenced to an aggregate term of 20 to 40 years’ ____________________________________________
1 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 2502(a). J-S22023-22 J-S22024-22
imprisonment. He was later granted partial post-conviction collateral relief as to his sentence and resentenced to the same term on April 9, 2018. The pro se appeal at Docket No. 1621 EDA 2021 is from the judgement of sentence imposed upon resentencing. Appellant contends: (1) the trial court lacked authority to sentence him pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102(c) (attempted murder causing serious bodily injury) and lacked subject matter jurisdiction over that offense; and (2) his sentence is illegal because the court did not consider his juvenile status in imposing a statutory maximum sentence and failed to comply with 18 Pa.C.S. § 1106 when ordering restitution.
The pro se appeal at Docket No. 2034 EDA 2021 is from the August 26, 2021, order entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas dismissing Appellant’s second petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act2 (PCRA) as untimely. Appellant argues the petition was not untimely, but rather, prematurely filed before his April 2018 judgment of sentence was final. He nevertheless asserts the ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to protect him from an aggravated sentence.
For ease of disposition, we address these related appeals in a single memorandum. At Docket No. 1621 EDA 2021, for the reasons discussed below, we vacate, in part, the judgment of sentence imposed at Appellant’s April 2018 resentencing, and remand for resentencing limited to the issue of restitution; in all other respects, we affirm. At Docket No. 2034 EDA 2021, ____________________________________________
2 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546.
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we conclude the trial court had no jurisdiction to consider Appellant’s premature PCRA petition, and, consequently, we quash the appeal.
I. FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY The relevant facts underlying Appellant’s conviction were summarized by this Court in a prior appeal as follows: At 3:30 p.m. on February 25, 2009, [then 17-year-old] Appellant, Christian Williams, and Deshaoun Williams were standing near 6100 Spruce Street in Philadelphia.[1] The victim in this case, thirteen-year-old J.S., arrived in a car driven by his mother, Tamika Anderson. As they circled the block looking for a parking place, J.S. noticed that either Appellant or one of the Williams brothers was pointing at the car. Once the car was parked, J.S. waited in the front passenger seat while his mother entered the school to pick up her daughter. __________
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multiple scars from the surgeries and bullet wounds. After being discharged from the hospital, J.S. then spent several months recovering from his injuries before he could resume some of his normal activities.
When given a photo array on March 3, 2009, J.S. identified Appellant as the shooter and Williams as one of his companions. Tamika Anderson also observed Appellant placing a gun in his pocket as he fled. She gave chase but lost Appellant in a crowd. A nearby bus driver, Jonathan McGill, heard the gunshots and then observed Appellant running from the scene of the crime. McGill called police and gave them a physical description of Appellant.
Acting pursuant to a warrant, police arrested Deshaoun Williams at his home, recovering from Deshaoun a cell phone that contained a photo of him brandishing two firearms. One of those firearms was the same type used to shoot J.S. The cell phone also had Appellant listed as one of Deshaoun’s contacts, under Appellant’s nickname in the neighborhood, “Shy”. In a room shared by the Williams brothers, shown to police by Williams’ mother, a live bullet was found that matched the bullet casings found at the crime scene. Commonwealth v. Willis, 470 EDA 2011 (unpub. memo. at 1-3) (Pa. Super. Jun. 12, 2012), appeal denied, 331 EAL 2012 (Pa. Mar. 12, 2013), cert. denied, 571 U.S. 866 (Oct. 7, 2013).
Appellant was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, firearms not to be carried without a license, carrying a firearm on a public street in Philadelphia, and possession of an instrument of crime (PIC).3 His criminal information did not J-S22023-22 J-S22024-22 specify that the victim of Appellant’s attempted murder suffered serious bodily injury.4
[*4]As noted above, Appellant proceeded to a joint jury trial with Christian Williams and was convicted of the above-stated charges. Furthermore, on the verdict sheet, the jury responded, “Yes” to the question of whether the victim suffered “serious bodily injury.” See Verdict Report, 7/20/10.
On October 8, 2010, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate term of 20 to 40 years’ imprisonment for attempted murder, followed by an aggregate 12 years’ probation for the firearms offenses.5 He was also ordered to pay $34,637.79 in restitution. Appellant’s aggravated assault and conspiracy convictions merged for sentencing purposes, and the court imposed no further penalty for PIC.
Appellant filed a direct appeal challenging the discretionary aspects of his sentence, specifically, asserting the trial court did not “adequately consider
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that Appellant was only 17 years old at the time of the offense.”6 Willis, 470 EDA 2011 (unpub. memo. at 8). This Court affirmed the judgment of sentence, and both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court denied review.7
Appellant filed a timely PCRA petition, pro se, on March 10, 2014, in which he asserted numerous trial court errors, as well as the ineffective assistance of preliminary hearing, trial, and direct appeal counsel. See Appellant’s Petition for Post-Conviction Collateral Relief, 3/10/14, at 6(A)- 6(D). Although counsel was appointed, Appellant, acting pro se, filed both a supplemental and amended petition. On September 15, 2014, Appellant filed a motion to remove counsel and proceed pro se. Following a Grazier8 hearing on February 9, 2016, the court granted Appellant’s request.
Appellant filed an amended pro se PCRA petition on April 28, 2016, followed by a supplemental petition on May 6. In the supplemental petition, Appellant asserted for the first time that he was improperly sentenced to mandatory minimum terms pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9712 (offenses committed with firearms) and 9718 (offenses against infant persons), which ____________________________________________
6 At the April 2018 resentencing hearing, the court noted that Appellant was “in fact, 17 years and ten months” at the time of the shooting. N.T., 4/9/18, at 30. 7For purposes of PCRA review, Appellant’s judgment of sentence was final on October 7, 2013, the date the United States Supreme Court denied Appellant’s petition for writ of certiorari. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(3).
8 Commonwealth v. Grazier, 713 A.2d 81 (Pa. 1998).
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have been deemed unconstitutional pursuant to Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 116 (2013) (any fact that increases mandatory minimum sentence must be submitted to jury and found beyond reasonable doubt).
At some point thereafter, the trial court granted Appellant relief on his sentencing claim.9 On April 9, 2018, the court conducted a hearing to “resentence [Appellant] pursuant to” Alleyne. See N.T., 4/9/18, at 11. Appellant continued to represent himself. At the resentencing hearing, the trial court stated that it “wanted to make sure that it was absolutely clear [it] was not sentencing [Appellant] to a mandatory minimum sentence[.]” Id. After hearing argument from both the Commonwealth and Appellant, the court imposed the same sentence as it did at the original hearing — a standard range sentence of 20 to 40 years’ imprisonment for attempted murder causing serious bodily injury, followed by an aggregate term of 12 years’ probation for the firearms offenses. See N.T., 4/9/18, at 29-30. The court also reimposed the restitution order in the amount of $34,637.79. Id. at 31.
Relevant to the claims before us, the trial court made the following comments regarding the sentence it imposed:
[This] is a guideline range sentence. It is appropriate under the circumstances given the Commonwealth incorporating by reference the testimony from the [October 8, 2010,] sentencing which included the testimony of the mother and impact on the
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9There is no order in the certified record or notation on the docket indicating when the court granted this relief.
[*7]J-S22023-22 J-S22024-22 victim, and the original determination by the jury that they found serious bodily injury caused on the verdict sheet.
The Commonwealth’s memo underlying the fact that the victim was shot in the chest injuring his heart, lung, kidneys and liver and was shot a second time on the left hand. His injuries were severe, numerous, and life altering. The sentence of 20 to 40 years accurately reflects the seriousness of the offense. It will promote respect for the law and provide just punishment for the offense.
[Appellant] argues that he should be treated like the juveniles who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and who are now having their sentences reviewed. [Appellant] was not sentenced on a homicide case, this was not a life sentence where [his] juvenile status would be taken into consideration. I have read [Appellant’s] document called motion for court to take judicial notice of mitigating sentencing factors. [Appellant] was, in fact, 17 years and ten months. He was very close to being 18 years old and . . . this was a crime that [Appellant] deliberately participated in and was the person who shot the victim numerous times.
So I’m reimposing the same sentence of 20 to 40 years on the charge of attempted murder. . . . N.T., 4/9/18, at 29-30.
On April 17, 2018, Appellant filed a timely pro se post-sentence motion, requesting reconsideration of his sentence on the following bases: (1) recent United States Supreme Court decisions regarding juvenile brain development confirm his sentence was manifestly excessive; (2) the court failed to properly consider mitigating factors and paid “lip service” to the “illegality of the mandatory minimums that were initially” imposed, as well as the fact that his co-defendant received a lenient sentence; (3) the court failed to provide adequate reasons on the record for the sentence imposed; (4) the court failed to consider his testimony that he was “extremely remorseful” and “had
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matured and rehabilitated[;]” and (5) the court failed to order an updated presentence investigation report. See Appellant’s Post Sentence Motion for Reconsideration of Sentence, 4/17/18, at 2-3 (unpaginated). The trial court did not promptly rule upon Appellant’s post-sentence motion. Although the motion should have been denied by operation of law on August 15, 2018, there was no order entered on the docket or served on the parties. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 720(B)(3)(a), (c).
Meanwhile, on April 10, 2018, the trial court issued Appellant Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice of its intent to dismiss the remaining claims in his PCRA petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Appellant promptly filed an objection; however, on May 4, 2018, the court entered an order dismissing Appellant's petition as meritless. See Order, 5/4/18. Appellant timely appealed.
On November 15, 2019, a panel of this Court affirmed the order denying PCRA relief.10 See Commonwealth v. Willis, 1555 EDA 2018 (unpub. memo. at 1) (Pa. Super. Nov. 15, 2019), appeal denied, 103 EAL 2020 (Pa. Aug. 18, 2020). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Appellant’s petition for allowance of appeal on August 18, 2020.
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10 We note that Appellant’s first claim challenged the discretionary aspects of his April 2018 resentencing. See Willis, 1555 EDA 2018 (unpub. memo. at 6). However, the panel concluded that issue was not before it because Appellant did not appeal from the new judgment of sentence; rather, the appeal was from the May 4, 2018 order denying his prior PCRA petition. See id. (unpub. memo. at 6-7).
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On August 25, 2020, Appellant filed the present PCRA petition, pro se. He sought relief from his April 9, 2018, resentencing, and asserted the petition was timely filed. See Appellant’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541, et. seq., 8/25/20 (2020 PCRA Petition), at 2. Appellant raised the following two claims: (1) his sentence was illegal because the Commonwealth failed to provide notice that it intended to prove the victim of his attempted murder suffered serious bodily, thus permitting the court to impose a lengthier sentence; and, relatedly, (2) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to a special interrogatory verdict sheet, which asked the jury to determine if the victim suffered serious bodily injury. See id. at 3.
The Commonwealth filed a motion to dismiss on May 12, 2021, asserting: (1) Appellant’s claims regarding his April 2018 resentencing were premature because the clerk of courts never entered an order denying Appellant’s post-sentence motion by operation of law; and (2) Appellant’s challenge to trial counsel’s ineffective assistance was time-barred. See Commonwealth’s Motion to Dismiss Appellant’s PCRA Petition, 5/12/21, at 7-
8. In his pro se response, Appellant “agree[d] with the Commonwealth that his sentencing claim [was] prematurely filed because his post-sentence motion from his resentencing [had] yet to be formally disposed.” Appellant’s Response to Commonwealth’s Motion to Dismiss, 5/24/21, at 2 (capitalization omitted). However, relying on the unpublished decision of this Court in Commonwealth v. Fantauzzi, 19 EDA 2018 (Pa. Super. May 22, 2019), appeal denied, 480 MAL 2019 (Pa. Feb. 3, 2020), Appellant insisted he could
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raise counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing to “protect [him] from the imposition of an illegal sentence.” Appellant’s Response to Commonwealth’s Motion to Dismiss at 3-4.
On July 27, 2021, the trial court entered an order denying Appellant’s April 17, 2018, post-sentence motion by operation of law. See Order, 7/27/21. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on August 3, 2021, 11 and complied with the trial court’s order directing him to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement of errors complained of on appeal. The appeal from the April 9, 2018, judgment of sentence is docketed at 1621 EDA 2021.
Meanwhile, also on July 27, 2021, the court notified Appellant of its intent to dismiss his 2020 PCRA Petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907. See Notice Pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 907, 7/27/21. Appellant did not file a reply, and
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11 “If post-sentencing motions are timely filed, . . . the judgment of sentence does not become final for purposes of appeal until the trial court disposes of the motion, or the motion is denied by operation of law.” Commonwealth v. Borrero, 692 A.2d 158, 159 (Pa. Super. 1997). Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 720, a trial court “shall decide [a timely filed] post-sentence motion . . . within 120 days of the filing of the motion[,]” otherwise the clerk of courts “shall forthwith enter an order” denying the motion by operation of law. Pa.R.Crim.P. 720(B)(3)(a), (c). However, “where the clerk of courts does not enter an order indicating that the post-sentence motion is denied by operation of law and notify the defendant of same, a breakdown in the court system has occurred and we will not find an appeal untimely under these circumstances.” Commonwealth v. Perry, 820 A.2d 734, 735 (Pa. Super. 2003). Thus, Appellant’s notice of appeal, filed within 30 days of the date the trial court belatedly entered an order denying his post-sentence motion by operation of law, was timely filed.
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on August 26, 2021, the court dismissed Appellant’s 2020 PCRA Petition as untimely. Order, 8/26/21. Appellant filed a timely appeal,12 which is docketed at 2034 EDA 2021.