Com. v. Veretnov, A. ( 2021 )

J-S20005-21
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANATOLIY V. VERETNOV :
:
Appellant : No. 1081 MDA 2020
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered July 28, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-14-CR-0001128-2010,
CP-14-CR-0001137-2010, CP-14-CR-0001160-2010
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANATOLIY V. VERETNOV :
:
Appellant : No. 1082 MDA 2020
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered July 28, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-14-CR-0001128-2010,
CP-14-CR-0001137-2010, CP-14-CR-0001160-2010
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANATOLIY V. VERETNOV :
:
Appellant : No. 1083 MDA 2020
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered July 28, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-14-CR-0001128-2010,
J-S20005-21
CP-14-CR-0001137-2010, CP-14-CR-0001160-2010
BEFORE: NICHOLS, J., KING, J., and MUSMANNO, J.
MEMORANDUM BY NICHOLS, J.: FILED AUGUST 04, 2021
Appellant Anatoliy V. Veretnov appeals from the order denying his timely
first Post Conviction Relief Act1 (PCRA) petition. Appellant contends that his
trial counsel was ineffective because counsel failed to object to identification
evidence and failed to object to prejudicial remarks in the Commonwealth’s
closing argument. Appellant also contends his prior PCRA counsel was
ineffective for not raising these claims in his prior PCRA petition. We affirm.
A previous panel of this Court summarized the procedural history of this
case as follows:
Appellant’s trial was joined with the trials of three codefendants,
Alexi Semionov (Semionov), Maksim Illarionov (Illarionov), and
Dmitriy Litvinov (Litvinov), facing similar charges.
On February 9, 2011, the consolidated trial [(first trial)] of the
four codefendants began. After three days of trial, however,
codefendant Semionov decided to enter a guilty plea. The
Commonwealth thereafter informed the trial court of its intention
to call Semionov as a witness against the remaining three
codefendants. Upon the motion of all defendants, the trial court
granted a mistrial on February 14, 2011.
Commonwealth v. Veretnov, 1979 MDA 2012, 2013 WL 11253373, at *1
(Pa. Super. filed Sept. 10, 2013) (unpublished mem.) (formatting altered).
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1 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546.
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During the first trial, the victim for the charges under docket number
CP-14-CR-1128-2010, Min Suh (victim),
had trouble seeing [Appellant] in the courtroom, to which [the
Commonwealth] mused to the [trial] court that the victim should
be able to get a closer look. After the [trial c]ourt recessed for
lunch, the victim was seated on a bench across from the elevators
outside the courtroom with [an assistant district attorney]. It was
during this time that [Appellant] was brought out of the elevator
with his co-defendant, likely in handcuffs and shackles as is
customary procedure in Centre County. . . . [T]he victim . . . did
not identify [Appellant] until immediately after the lunch break
when he stated that he saw [Appellant] in front of the elevator.
PCRA Ct. Op. & Order, 7/28/20, at 5 (record citation omitted).
Appellant’s second joint trial with Illarionov and Litvinov began on June
18, 2012. “During the second trial, the victim again testified that the first
time he identified [Appellant] was in front of the elevator.” Id. (record citation
omitted). “The victim also testified that he immediately recognized
[Appellant] upon exiting the elevator during the [first] trial, despite
[Appellant] having changed his appearance, and stating ‘that one is the
driver.’” Id. at 7 (record citation omitted). The victim also gave a detailed
description of Appellant’s appearance during the night of the robbery. Id. at
7-8.
Also, during Appellant’s second trial, “co-defendant Litvinov’s confession
[was] introduced by way of a transcript of a call between [Litvinov] and
Lindsay Coatman[, which] was . . . redacted to remove all descriptions and
references to [Appellant] other than ‘the guy that was on the computer.’”
PCRA Ct. Op., 11/6/20, at 6. Coatman testified “that when he met
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[Appellant], he saw him at the computer . . . .” Id. at 7. During closing
arguments, the Commonwealth referred to both Litvinov’s redacted confession
and Coatman’s testimony, implying that Appellant was the “guy that was on
the computer” referenced in Litvinov’s redacted confession. Id. at 5, 8; PCRA
Ct. Op. & Order, 7/28/20, at 9.
A subsequent panel of this Court summarized the subsequent procedural
history as follows:
On June 22, 2012, at docket number CP-14-CR-1128-2010,
Appellant was found guilty by a jury of one count each of robbery,
theft by unlawful taking or disposition, receiving stolen property,
kidnapping, and simple assault, and three counts of criminal
conspiracy. At docket number CP-14-CR-1137-2010, the jury
determined that Appellant committed one count of robbery,
criminal attempt, and criminal conspiracy to commit robbery and
two counts of simple assault and reckless endangerment. For
purposes of docket number CP-14-CR-1160-2010, Appellant was
found guilty of one count each of theft by unlawful taking or
disposition, receiving stolen property, and criminal mischief,
seven counts of robbery, and nine counts of criminal conspiracy.
On July 20, 2012, the court imposed a judgment of sentence of
thirty and one-half to sixty-one years imprisonment, and we
affirmed. Our Supreme Court denied allowance of appeal on
February 6, 2014. Commonwealth v. Veretnov, 85 A.3d 484(Pa. 2014). [Ronald McGlaughlin, Esq. (trial counsel) represented
Appellant at trial and on direct appeal.]
On December 24, 2014, Appellant filed a timely PCRA petition,
and [the PCRA court appointed Justin P. Miller, Esq., as PCRA
counsel]. [Attorney Miller] filed an amended PCRA petition
accusing trial counsel of ineffectiveness in one respect: for failing
to call Pennsylvania State Trooper Leigh Barrows as a witness.
The PCRA court issued a notice of its intent to dismiss that petition
without a hearing, and, on November 9, 2015, an order was
docketed denying PCRA relief. In the order, the PCRA court
determined that trial counsel was not ineffective for neglecting to
call the witness in question. On November 2[4], 201[5], Appellant
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filed a document of record complaining about [Attorney Miller’s]
failure to raise other issues that Appellant wanted the court to
consider in that timely PCRA proceeding.
Three months later, on February 11, 2016, Appellant filed a
second petition for PCRA relief, maintaining that he should be
granted the right to file a nunc pro tunc appeal from the denial of
PCRA relief because [Attorney Miller] abandoned him by not
pursuing a requested appeal from the November 9, 201[5] order
denying PCRA relief and because he never received the court’s
Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice of intent to dismiss the PCRA petition
without a hearing. On August 8, 2016, the February 11, 2016
petition was granted, and Appellant’s appellate rights were
reinstated. [The following day, the PCRA court appointed Julian
G. Allat, Esq. as counsel.] . . .
On appeal, Appellant claims that “previous court-appointed PCRA
counsel, [Attorney Miller,] provided ineffective assistance during
collateral review proceedings in the instant matter . . . .”
Commonwealth v. Veretnov, 1467 MDA 2016, 2017 WL 4675918, at *1-2
(Pa. Super. filed Oct. 17, 2017) (unpublished mem.) (some citations and
footnote omitted). The PCRA court filed a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion
requesting that this Court remand the matter for the PCRA court to consider
Appellant’s claims that Attorney Miller rendered ineffective assistance as PCRA
counsel because Appellant did not receive the Rule 907 notice before his
petition was dismissed. Id. at *2. This Court agreed and remanded this
matter to the PCRA court to consider the merits of Appellant’s claims regarding
Attorney Miller’s ineffectiveness. Id.
The PCRA court summarized the procedural history following remand as
follows:
On March 6th, 2018, this court issued a notice of intention to
dismiss [Appellant’s] PCRA [petition] pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P.
907. [Appellant] subsequently filed objections to the notice and
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requested an extension to file an amended PCRA [petition]. [The
PCRA court granted Appellant’s request to file an amended
petition, and Appellant] filed his amended PCRA [petition] on
September 17th, 2018. On February 6th, 2019, this court again
issued a notice of intent to dismiss the PCRA [petition].
[Appellant] filed his objections on March 18th, 2019, and on March
22nd, 2019, this court sustained [Appellant’s] objections and
granted [Appellant] leave to amend his PCRA [petition]. An
evidentiary hearing was held on October 10th, 2019, in which the
Commonwealth conceded [Appellant] would need to be
resentenced pursuant to Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99(2013).
PCRA Ct. Op. & Order, 7/28/20, at 2 (formatting altered). We add that trial
counsel and Appellant testified at the October 10, 2019 evidentiary hearing.
Attorney Miller, Appellant’s previous PCRA counsel, did not testify at this
hearing.
On July 28, 2020, the PCRA granted Appellant’s PCRA petition in part,
ordering that he be resentenced pursuant to Alleyne, and denied the petition
in all other respects.2 Id. at 11. Appellant timely filed notices of appeal.3
Appellant subsequently filed a court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement.
The PCRA court issued a Rule 1925(a) opinion addressing Appellant’s claims.
On appeal, Appellant raises the following issues for our review:
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2 The PCRA court’s July 28, 2020 order granting resentencing and denying
Appellant’s PCRA petition in all other respects is a final order for purposes of
appeal. See Commonwealth v. Gaines, 127 A.3d 15, 19 (Pa. Super. 2015)
(en banc) (holding that the PCRA court’s order, which granted resentencing
but denied all other claims for PCRA relief, was a final appealable order).
3 Appellant filed a separate notice of appeal at each docket number pursuant
to Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018). This Court, sua
sponte, consolidated these cases on October 28, 2020. See Pa.R.A.P. 513.
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1. Whether the [PCRA] court erred by denying Appellant[’s] . . .
PCRA petition alleging the ineffectiveness of trial counsel where
trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the in-person
identification of Appellant by Commonwealth witness Min Suh
on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct where the attorney for
the Commonwealth in bad faith sought to prejudice Appellant
by subjecting Appellant to a suggestive, pretrial “lineup”
procedure without the presence of counsel?
2. Whether the [PCRA] court erred by denying Appellant[’s] . . .
PCRA petition alleging the ineffectiveness of trial counsel where
trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the
prosecutor’s reference during closing arguments to statements
made by a co-defendant that specifically implicated Appellant
in violation of the trial court’s January 14, 2011 order redacting
said statements pursuant to Bruton v. United States?[4]
Appellants’ Brief at 6 (formatting altered).
Following our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the well-
reasoned conclusions of the PCRA court, we affirm on the basis of the PCRA
court’s opinions. See PCRA Ct. Op., 11/6/20, at 2-9; PCRA Ct. Op. & Order,
7/28/20, at 4-10. Specifically, we find that the PCRA court properly concluded
that Appellant failed to establish that he was prejudiced by trial counsel’s
failure to object to the identification evidence because trial counsel cross-
examined the victim about his identification of Appellant and there was other
evidence linking Appellant to the robbery. See PCRA Ct. Op., 11/6/20, at 4-
5; PCRA Ct. Op. & Order, 7/28/20, at 8. Additionally, we agree with the PCRA
court that that Appellant failed to properly plead, in his September 17, 2020
PCRA petition (as amended), all three elements of an ineffective assistance of
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4 Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968).
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counsel claim with respect to Attorney Miller not raising trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness regarding the identification issue in a prior PCRA petition,
which is required as part of a layered claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
See PCRA Ct. Op., 11/6/20, at 2-3, 5. Furthermore, we agree with the PCRA
court that Appellant failed to prove at the evidentiary hearing that Attorney
Miller was ineffective because he did not call Attorney Miller as a witness. See
id. at 3, 5.
We also find that the PCRA court properly concluded that the Bruton
claim underlying Appellant’s second layered claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel is meritless.5 See PCRA Ct. Op., 11/6/20, at 5-9; PCRA Ct. Op. &
Order, 7/28/20, at 8-10.
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5 We note that Appellant also failed to establish his layered claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel with respect to the Bruton issue because he only
pleaded boilerplate claims of Attorney Miller’s ineffectiveness in his September
17, 2020 PCRA petition (as amended) and his appellate brief. See
Commonwealth v. Sandusky, 203 A.3d 1033, 1044 (Pa. Super. 2019)
(stating “[b]oilerplate allegations and bald assertions of no reasonable basis
and/or ensuing prejudice cannot satisfy a petitioner’s burden to prove that
counsel was ineffective” (citation omitted)), appeal denied, 216 A.3d 1029(Pa. 2019); and Commonwealth v. Rykard, 55 A.3d 1177, 1190 (Pa. Super.
2012) (stating “[w]here the defendant asserts a layered ineffectiveness claim
he must properly argue each prong of the three-prong ineffectiveness test for
each separate attorney” (citations omitted)).
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Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 8/4/2021
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Circulated 07/21/2021 01:43 PM