Com. v. Taylor, A. ( 2022 )

J-A27029-21
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANDRE TAYLOR :
:
Appellant : No. 941 EDA 2021
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered May 3, 2021
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-51-CR-0010995-2014
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANDRE TAYLOR :
:
Appellant : No. 942 EDA 2021
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered May 3, 2021
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-51-CR-0011330-2014
BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., LAZARUS, J., and COLINS, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 14, 2022
Andre Taylor appeals1 from the order, entered in the Court of Common
Pleas of Philadelphia, denying his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction
____________________________________________
* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
1 Taylor’s appeal pertains to two separate docket numbers CP-51-CR-
0011330-2014 and CP-51-CR-0010995-2014. He has filed two separate
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Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. We affirm the PCRA court’s
order, and we rely on the opinion authored by the Honorable J. Scott O’Keefe.
On December 28, 2015, Taylor, a serial strangler,2 entered an open
guilty plea to two counts each of aggravated assault, robbery, unlawful
restraint, and possession of instruments of crime. On October 28, 2016, after
reviewing the presentence report, mental health and neuropsychology
evaluations, and sentencing memoranda, the court held a sentencing hearing.
The court sentenced Taylor to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 50 to
100 years. Taylor filed a motion for reconsideration of sentence, which the
court denied. See Order, 11/7/16.
On direct appeal, this Court affirmed Taylor’s judgment of sentence.
Commonwealth v. Taylor, 3478 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. filed April 30, 2018)
(unpublished memorandum decision). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court
denied allowance of appeal. Commonwealth v. Taylor, 195 A3d 563 (Pa.
____________________________________________
appeals, docketed at 941 EDA 2021 and 942 EDA 2021, in compliance with
Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018) (where single order
resolves issues arising on more than one docket, separate notices of appeal
must be filed for each case). See Pa.R.A.P. 341(a). We have consolidated
his appeals, docketed at 941 EDA 2021 and 942 EDA 2021, sua sponte. See
Order, 7/16/21. See also Pa.R.A.P. 513.
2 Taylor has a disturbing history of strangling women, robbing them and
leaving them for dead. His three prior convictions stemmed from offenses on
March 24, 2001, April 10, 2002, and June 25, 2002. Taylor kept a journal,
which “chillingly describes how he has choked dozens of girls, how he regrets
that he did not kill them, lists hundreds of new potential victims and vows to
make sure he does not make the same mistake again–leaving them alive.”
Trial Court opinion, 7/6/21, at 3.
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2019). On January 7, 2019, Taylor filed a pro se PCRA petition. The PCRA
court appointed counsel, who fled an amended petition on February 25, 2019.
The court held an evidentiary hearing on March 30, 2021 and, on May 3, 2021,
the court denied Taylor’s petition. This timely appeal followed.
Taylor raises one issue for our review:
Did the trial court err in denying post-conviction relief [] after an
evidentiary hearing when [Taylor] was never advised that the
sentences for the cases to which he entered open guilty pleas
could run consecutively, meaning that the total possible sentence
was fifty (50) to one hundred (100) years, which was ultimately
imposed, rendering his plea unknowingly entered?
Appellant’s Brief, at 4.
Taylor argues that his plea colloquy was deficient, and that plea counsel
was ineffective for failing to explain the maximum penalty he was facing.
Taylor is not entitled to relief.
When reviewing the PCRA court’s denial of post-conviction relief, we
must determine whether the court’s findings are supported by the record and
free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Treiber, 121 A.3d 435, 444 (Pa.
2015). In doing so, we accord great deference to the PCRA court’s credibility
determinations, and, where supported by the record, they are binding on this
Court. Id.To be entitled to relief on a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel, a PCRA
petitioner must establish all three prongs of the ineffective assistance of
counsel test set forth in Commonwealth v. Pierce, 527 A.2d 973, 975–76
(Pa. 1987). A petitioner must demonstrate: “(1) the underlying claim has
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arguable merit; (2) no reasonable basis existed for counsel’s action or failure
to act; and (3) [the petitioner] suffered prejudice as a result of counsel’s error,
with prejudice measured by whether there is a reasonable probability the
result of the proceeding would have been different.” Commonwealth v.
Chmiel, 30 A.3d 1111, 1127 (Pa. 2011). We begin with the presumption
that counsel rendered effective assistance. Commonwealth v. Ali, 10 A.3d
282, 291 (Pa. 2010).
Where the underlying ineffectiveness implicates a guilty plea, such a
claim provides relief only “if the ineffectiveness caused an involuntary or
unknowing plea.” Commonwealth v. Diaz, 913 A.2d 871, 872 (Pa. Super.
2006). This test is analogous to “the ‘manifest injustice’ standard applicable
to all post-sentence attempts to withdraw a guilty plea.” Id. Because “a plea
of guilty effectively waives all non-jurisdictional defects and defenses,”
Commonwealth v. Gibson, 561 A.2d 1240, 1242 (Pa. Super. 1989), “after
sentencing, allegations of ineffectiveness of counsel in this context provide a
basis for withdrawal of the plea only where there is a causal nexus between
counsel’s ineffectiveness, if any, and an unknowing or involuntary plea.”
Commonwealth v. Yager, 685 A.2d 1000, 1004 (Pa. Super. 1996) (en
banc).
After our review, we agree with Judge O’Keefe’s determination that the
record belies Taylor’s claims. See Trial Court Opinion, supra at 8-10, citing
Written Guilty Plea Colloquy, 12/28/15, at 1 (stating “I know I can go to jail
for up to 100 years and be fined $150k for the crimes I committed”). See
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Commonwealth v. Kpou, 153 A.3d 1020, 1024 (Pa. Super. 2016) (citing
Commonwealth v. Pollard, 832 A.2d 517, 523 (Pa. Super. 2003)) (“A
person who elects to plead guilty is bound by the statement he makes in open
court while under oath and he may not later assert grounds for withdrawing
the plea which contradict the statements he made at his plea colloquy.”).
Moreover, the PCRA court found Taylor’s testimony at the evidentiary hearing
was not credible. Id. at 9. Accordingly, no relief is due.
We affirm the order denying PCRA relief based on Judge O’Keefe’s
opinion. The parties are directed to attach a copy of that opinion in the event
of further proceedings.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 2/14/2022
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