Com. v. Fields, R. ( 2019 )


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  • J. S84039/18
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA           :    IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    :          PENNSYLVANIA
    v.                  :
    :
    REAFEAL FIELDS,                        :          No. 366 EDA 2018
    :
    Appellant      :
    Appeal from the PCRA Order, December 29, 2017,
    in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
    Criminal Division at No. CP-51-CR-0014201-2010
    BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., OTT, J., AND FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
    MEMORANDUM BY FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.:                  FILED MAY 20, 2019
    Reafeal Fields appeals from the December 29, 2017 order entered by
    the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County denying relief pursuant to
    the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. After
    careful review, we affirm.
    The PCRA court provided the following synopsis of the relevant factual
    history:
    Timothy Johnson (“Johnson”) arrived at the Ridge
    Food Market . . . at 10:43 AM on February 11, 2010.
    When he arrived he saw two men, whom he knew as
    June and Shiz, on the corner.      Johnson started
    walking down the street toward 26th Street and then
    heard about three gunshots. He turned around and
    saw the decedent, a friend of his, lying on the
    ground and June and Shiz running away. Johnson
    identified June and Shiz as [Kelvin] Bryant and
    [appellant], respectively.
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    Philadelphia   Police  Officer   Patrick  Gereaghty
    (“Officer Gereaghty”) arrived first at the scene,
    where he found the decedent face-down in the snow
    and unresponsive.     Officer Gereaghty transported
    him to Temple University Hospital, where he was
    pronounced dead at 2:31 PM.
    Both [appellant] and Bryant later told Amin Payne
    (“Payne”) that they had killed the decedent.
    [Appellant] and Bryant told Payne that after they had
    spoken with Johnson outside the store, they had
    killed the decedent over drug territory: “They did
    not want him selling drugs on Bailey Street.”
    [Appellant] and Bryant told Payne that Bryant had
    used his 9mm and that [appellant] had used a
    .38 caliber revolver.
    Later that evening, Bryant and [Milique] Wagner
    were inside Bryant’s mother’s apartment with Payne
    and Herman Adams (“Adams”), where they were
    heat-sealing bags of drugs. Bryant received a phone
    call, and he and Wagner went outside. A short time
    later, Payne looked out the window and, not seeing
    Bryant and Wagner, went outside and looked down
    the street. He saw Bryant and Wagner at the corner
    of 25th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue speaking
    with King and then saw them “just pull out on the
    boy and shoot him up.” The two then ran down the
    street and turned up 26th Street. Adams testified at
    trial that he heard the gunshots about ten minutes
    after Bryant and Wagner had left the apartment.
    Bryant called Payne thirty minutes later and told
    him, “I had to holler at another one.” A few days
    later, Bryant told Payne, “I killed the one, I might as
    well get the rest. I got to get them out of the way.”
    At the scene, police recovered a sandwich bag
    containing four smaller ziplock bags, each containing
    a green, leafy substance, and two heat-sealed bags
    containing an off-white, chunky substance. Police
    Officer Flade testified that, in his experience, the
    substances appeared to be marijuana and crack
    cocaine. Twenty-seven cartridge casings were also
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    found, all fired from two 9mm semi-automatic
    handguns.
    All    three  defendants    left   Philadelphia   after
    February 11, 2010 and were arrested outside the
    county. Detective James Burke (“Detective Burke”)
    testified that on February 20, 2010, he went to
    1712 North Marston Street in Philadelphia, where he
    found Nikki Williams (“Williams”), [appellant’s]
    girlfriend and mother of his children. [Appellant]
    resided at that location, but was not there.
    Detective Burke told Williams that [appellant] was
    wanted, and that he should call Detective Burke or
    turn himself in to police. Ultimately, Detective Burke
    found [appellant] at a house in Norristown,
    Pennsylvania on March 3, 2010.          When he was
    arrested, [appellant] gave 1712 North Marston
    Street as his address.
    PCRA court opinion, 6/19/18 at 3-5 (footnotes and citations to the record
    omitted).
    The PCRA court also summarized the following procedural history:
    On February 6, 2013, following a jury trial before
    [the trial court, appellant] was found guilty of
    murder of the first degree, criminal conspiracy, and
    possessing instruments of crime.[Footnote 2] That
    same date, [the trial court] sentenced [appellant] to
    the mandatory term[Footnote 3] of life imprisonment
    for murder of the first degree.[Footnote 4]       On
    February 19, 2013, [appellant] filed post-sentence
    motions, which [the trial court] denied on May 21,
    2013. On May 29, 2013, [appellant] appealed his
    judgment of sentence to [the] Superior Court, and,
    on February 6, 2015, [the] Superior Court affirmed
    the judgment of sentence. [Appellant] did not seek
    further appellate review, therefore, his judgment of
    sentence became final on March 9, 2015, at the
    expiration of the period for filing a Petition for
    Allowance of Appeal. 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 9545(b)(3) (a
    judgment of sentence becomes final “at the
    conclusion of direct review, including discretionary
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    review in the Supreme Court of the United States
    and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, or at the
    expiration of time for seeking the review.”).
    [Footnote 2] 18 Pa.C.S.[A.] §§ 2502(a),
    903, and 907(a), respectively.
    [Footnote 3] 18 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 1102(a)(1).
    [Footnote 4] As to the remaining charges,
    [the trial court] imposed concurrent
    sentences as follows: as to the conviction
    for criminal conspiracy, [the trial court]
    sentenced [appellant] to a term of not
    less than five years nor more than ten
    years[’] confinement; as to the conviction
    for PIC, [the trial court] sentenced
    petitioner to a term of not less than one
    year nor more than five years[’]
    confinement.
    [Appellant] filed the instant timely counseled PCRA
    petition on March 7, 2016.          Following several
    continuance requests by counsel in order to
    supplement and amend [appellant’s] claims, counsel
    filed an amended petition on February 10, 2017.
    After several requests by the Commonwealth for
    additional time to respond, the Commonwealth filed
    a motion to dismiss on September 1, 2017.
    Following a review of the pleadings, [the PCRA court]
    found that [appellant’s] claims lacked merit, and, on
    November 28, 2017, provided [appellant] a notice
    pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 ([“]907 Notice[”]) of its
    intent to deny his claims and dismiss his petition
    without a hearing. [Appellant] did not respond to
    the 907 Notice. Therefore, on December 29, 2017,
    [the PCRA court] dismissed [appellant’s] petition
    consistent with the 907 Notice. This timely appeal
    followed.
    Id. at 1-2 (citations to exhibits omitted; additional footnotes omitted).
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    The PCRA court ordered appellant to file a concise statement of errors
    complained of on appeal pursuant to a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b).               Appellant
    complied.    The PCRA court subsequently filed an opinion pursuant to
    Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a).
    Appellant raises the following issues for our review:
    [I.]   [Whether] [t]he PCRA court erred because the
    record supported [appellant’s] trial counsel
    ineffectiveness claim regarding trial counsel’s
    failure to consult with [appellant] about the
    possibility of requesting DNA testing on the
    black knit hat collected near the shooting
    scene and subsequently requesting the
    discussed DNA testing[?]
    [II.] [Whether] [t]he PCRA court erred because the
    record supported [appellant’s] trial counsel
    ineffectiveness claim regarding trial counsel’s
    failure to object to the trial court’s flight
    instruction as it related to [appellant?]
    [III.] [Whether] [t]he PCRA court erred because the
    record    supported     [appellant’s]   appellate
    counsel     ineffectiveness    claim   regarding
    appellate counsel’s failure to raise, brief, and
    argue the record-based claim that the trial
    court erred by refusing to issue a Kloiber
    instruction        in       connection       with
    Timothy Johnson’s identification[?]
    [IV.] [Whether] [t]he PCRA court erred because the
    record supported [appellant’s] cumulative
    prejudice claim[?]
    Appellant’s brief at 3-4 (citations omitted).
    PCRA petitions are subject to the following standard of review:
    “[A]s a general proposition, we review a denial of
    PCRA relief to determine whether the findings of the
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    PCRA court are supported by the record and free of
    legal error.” Commonwealth v. Dennis, [] 
    17 A.3d 297
    , 301 ([Pa.] 2011) (citation omitted). A PCRA
    court’s credibility findings are to be accorded great
    deference, and where supported by the record, such
    determinations are binding on a reviewing court.
    
    Id., at 305
     (citations omitted). To obtain PCRA
    relief, appellant must plead and prove by a
    preponderance of the evidence: (1) his conviction or
    sentence resulted from one of more of the errors
    enumerated in 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 9543(a)(2); (2) his
    claims have not been previously litigated or waived,
    id., § 9543(a)(3); and (3) “the failure to litigate the
    issue prior to or during trial . . . or on direct appeal
    could not have been the result of any rational,
    strategic or tactical decision by counsel[,]” id.,
    § 9543(a)(4). An issue is previously litigated if “the
    highest appellate court in which [appellant] could
    have had review as a matter of right has ruled on
    the merits of the issue[.]” Id., § 9544(a)(2). “[A]n
    issue is waived if [appellant] could have raised it but
    failed to do so before trial, at trial, . . . on appeal or
    in a prior state postconviction proceeding.” Id.,
    § 9544(b).
    Commonwealth v. Treiber, 
    121 A.3d 435
    , 444 (Pa. 2015).
    On appeal, appellant alleges ineffective assistance of counsel by both
    his trial counsel and his counsel on direct appeal.        Under the PCRA, an
    individual is eligible for post-conviction relief if the conviction was the result
    of “ineffective assistance of counsel which, in the circumstances of the
    particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no
    reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.”
    42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2)(ii).      When considering whether counsel was
    ineffective, we are governed by the following standard:
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    [C]ounsel is presumed effective, and to
    rebut that presumption, the PCRA
    petitioner    must    demonstrate      that
    counsel’s performance was deficient and
    that such deficiency prejudiced him.
    Strickland v. Washington, 
    466 U.S. 668
     [] (1984). This Court has described
    the Strickland standard as tripartite by
    dividing the performance element into
    two          distinct         components.
    Commonwealth v. Pierce, [] 
    527 A.2d 973
    , 975 ([Pa.] 1987). Accordingly, to
    prove counsel ineffective, the petitioner
    must demonstrate that:           (1) the
    underlying legal issue has arguable
    merit; (2) counsel’s actions lacked an
    objective reasonable basis; and (3) the
    petitioner was prejudiced by counsel’s
    act or omission.       
    Id.
        A claim of
    ineffectiveness will be denied if the
    petitioner’s evidence fails to satisfy any
    one of these prongs.
    Commonwealth v. Busanet, [] 
    54 A.3d 34
    , 45
    ([Pa.] 2012) (citations formatted).     Furthermore,
    “[i]n accord with these well-established criteria for
    review, [an appellant] must set forth and individually
    discuss substantively each prong of the [Pierce]
    test.” Commonwealth v. Fitzgerald, 
    979 A.2d 908
    , 910 (Pa.Super. 2009).
    Commonwealth v. Perzel, 
    116 A.3d 670
    , 671-672 (Pa.Super. 2015),
    order vacated on other grounds, 
    166 A.3d 1213
     (Pa. 2017).
    I.
    First, appellant contends that his trial counsel, Andres Jalon, Esq.,
    rendered ineffective assistance because he did not request pretrial DNA
    testing of a black knit hat found at the scene of the shooting. Specifically,
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    appellant argues that the black knit hat “could possibly provide exculpatory
    information if subjected to DNA testing.” (Appellant’s brief at 8.) Appellant
    further argues that his claim has arguable merit because “the gunman’s
    identity was at issue.” (Id. at 11.)
    In his argument, appellant relies on our supreme court’s decision in
    Commonwealth v. Williams, 
    899 A.2d 1060
     (Pa. 2006). In Williams, the
    court determined that the defendant’s PCRA claim had arguable merit
    because the DNA testing at issue would have challenged the victim’s
    identification of the defendant.       Id. at 1064.   Williams, however, is
    distinguishable from the case presently before us. The victim in Williams
    was raped four times and the defendant alleged ineffective assistance of
    counsel for failing to request DNA testing. Id. at 1062. The DNA testing at
    issue in Williams had the ability to “settle whether there will be a conviction
    or not. It [could have] demolish[ed] the prosecution’s case, [or] it [could
    have] cast it in concrete as well.” Id. The PCRA court concluded that the
    DNA testing at issue here would not have been as conclusive as the DNA in
    Williams.
    Indeed, as the PCRA court notes,
    [T]he evidence in question was a black knit cap
    found at the scene of the shooting.             While
    [appellant] offered evidence that one witness
    described the shooter to police[Footnote 14] as
    having worn a black knit cap at the time of the
    shooting, this was insufficient to establish that the
    cap found at the scene is the same cap which was
    worn by the shooter. Upon this record, [the PCRA
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    court] found nothing to establish that the hat
    recovered at the scene was actually connected to the
    shooting, and not a merely unrelated hat which had
    been discarded in the area for an unknown period of
    time. In order for DNA testing on the found hat to
    have any relevance to [appellant’s] case, there must
    be evidence to establish that this is not merely a hat,
    but, rather, the hat. See Pa.R.E. 401 (providing
    that evidence is relevant if it has “any tendency to
    make a fact more or less probable than it would be
    without the evidence,” and if “the fact is of
    consequence       in   determining     the   action.”);
    Pa.R.E. 402 (providing that evidence that is not
    relevant is not admissible). Without such evidence
    linking the cap itself to the shooter, even if the cap
    was tested for DNA and the results were inconsistent
    with [appellant], those results would not be
    exculpatory. As [appellant] did not establish that it
    is more likely than not that the cap recovered from
    the shooting scene was the same cap allegedly worn
    by the shooter, and, therefore, that DNA testing of
    the cap would have been consequential in
    challenging the identification of [appellant], this
    evidence is irrelevant. As DNA testing of the cap
    could not have corroborated [appellant’s] alibi
    defense, and would not have been admissible on this
    record, this claim lack[s] arguable merit, and it fails.
    [Footnote 14] Indeed, [the PCRA court]
    notes that [appellant’s] evidence more
    strongly suggests that the cap found at
    the scene was not the same cap worn by
    the shooter:    On February 11, 2010,
    Anthony Benton gave a statement to
    [h]omicide [d]etectives asserting that, at
    the time of the shooting, he looked out
    the first floor window of his residence
    after hearing 4-5 gunshots, and saw a
    [b]lack male in his late 20s to early 30s,
    with a full beard, standing near the
    decedent with a gun in his hand and
    wearing a black coat, a black knit hat,
    and blue jeans. Amended PCRA Petition,
    2/10/17, at Exs. 1 and 2.          Benton
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    asserted that he then saw the shooter
    run south down Taney Street as he was
    attempting to put the handgun in his
    waistband. Id. Benton asserted that he
    kept his focus on the fleeing shooter “to
    make sure he didn’t come back,” and
    that the shooter’s “face really st[ood] out
    to me.”      Id.    Considering Benton’s
    opportunity to view the shooter, [the
    PCRA court] finds it telling that nowhere
    in Benton’s account did Benton assert
    anything to suggest that the shooter
    discarded his black cap, or that the cap
    fell off the shooter’s head during his
    flight from the scene.
    PCRA court opinion, 6/19/18 at 8-9 (emphasis in original).
    Based upon our review of the record, we find that the PCRA court’s
    conclusions are well based in the record. Unlike the defendant in Williams,
    appellant has failed to establish that the DNA evidence from the black knit
    cap would have the ability to either demolish the Commonwealth’s case or,
    inversely, set the Commonwealth’s case in concrete.        See Williams, 899
    A.2d at 1064. Accordingly, appellant’s first issue lacks arguable merit.
    II.
    In his second issue on appeal, appellant argues that Attorney Jalon
    rendered ineffective assistance for failing to object to the trial court’s flight
    instruction to the jury as it related to appellant. (Appellant’s brief at 16.)
    Specifically, appellant contends that the flight instruction was improper
    because the Commonwealth did not present any evidence that appellant
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    knew that he was wanted by the police or that the police had obtained a
    warrant for his arrest. (Id. at 21.)
    When reviewing a trial court’s instructions to the jury, we are
    governed by the following standard:
    [W]hen evaluating the propriety of jury instructions,
    this Court will look to the instructions as a whole,
    and not simply isolated portions, to determine if the
    instructions were improper. We further note that, it
    is an unquestionable maxim of law in this
    Commonwealth that a trial court has broad discretion
    in phrasing its instructions, and may choose its own
    wording so long as the law is clearly, adequately,
    and accurately presented to the jury for its
    consideration.    Only where there is an abuse of
    discretion or an inaccurate statement of the law is
    there reversible error.
    Commonwealth v. Roane, 
    142 A.3d 79
    , 95 (Pa.Super. 2016), quoting
    Commonwealth v. Trippett, 
    932 A.2d 188
    , 200 (Pa.Super. 2007) (citation
    omitted).
    When addressing jury instructions pertaining to flight, we have held
    that:
    [a] flight instruction is proper when:
    a person has reason to know he is
    wanted in connection with a crime, and
    proceeds to flee or conceal himself from
    the law enforcement authorities, such
    evasive conduct is evidence of guilt and
    may form a basis, in connection with
    other proof, from which guilt may be
    inferred.
    Commonwealth v. Harvey, [] 
    526 A.2d 330
    , 334
    ([Pa.] 1987). “A defendant's knowledge may be
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    inferred from the circumstances attendant [to] his
    flight.” Commonwealth v. Johnson, [] 
    838 A.2d 663
    , 681 ([Pa.] 2003).
    Commonwealth v. Thoeun Tha, 
    64 A.3d 704
    , 714 (Pa.Super. 2013).
    Here, appellant argues that the trial court erred when it gave a flight
    instruction to the jury because the Commonwealth failed to present
    sufficient evidence that a jury instruction on flight was justified. (Appellant’s
    brief at 21-22.)
    On this issue, the PCRA court reached the following conclusion:
    Here, Detective James Burke tried to find [appellant]
    at his girlfriend’s house on February 19, 2010.
    [Appellant’s] girlfriend, Nikki Williams, told Detective
    Burke that [appellant] lived there, but was not home
    at the time. Detective Burke informed Williams that
    [appellant] was wanted, that he should turn himself
    in or otherwise contact [the] police, and asked
    Williams to relate this information to [appellant] if
    she was able to make contact with him.[Footnote 15]
    [Appellant] was not arrested until March 3, 201[0],
    when Detective Burke found him at a house in
    Norristown. When he was asked his address after
    his arrest, [appellant] gave Williams’ address. This
    evidence was sufficient to show that [appellant] had
    disrupted his normal pattern of living following the
    shooting in this case.
    [Footnote 15] At trial, Detective Burke
    testified that, on February 20, 2010, he
    also        approached       [appellant’s]
    grandmother,      another   girlfriend  of
    [appellant’s] named Lisa Green, and
    [appellant’s] wife Nicole Carter, at their
    respective residences and that he told
    them all the same information which he
    told Williams. Detective Burke further
    testified that he and other members of
    the Homicide Division, Fugitive Squad,
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    put    up    wanted    posters   around
    [appellant’s] neighborhood on that same
    date.
    PCRA court opinion, 6/19/18 at 10-11 (citations to the record and
    footnote 16 omitted).
    Based on our review of the record, we find that the Commonwealth
    presented sufficient evidence that appellant either knew or had reason to
    know that he was wanted in connection with the February 11, 2010
    shooting.    Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it
    provided the jury with the flight instruction.           Therefore, appellant’s
    ineffective assistance of counsel claim pertaining to counsel’s failure to
    object to the trial court’s jury instructions is without arguable merit.
    III.
    Appellant next avers that appellate counsel1 rendered ineffective
    assistance for failing to raise, brief, and argue before this court “the
    record-based claim that the trial court erred by refusing to issue a
    1   Attorney Jalon represented appellant both at trial and on direct appeal.
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    Kloiber[2] instruction in connection with Timothy Johnson’s testimony.”
    (Appellant’s brief at 25.)
    “We evaluate whether a Kloiber instruction is necessary under an
    abuse of discretion standard.” Commonwealth v. Sanders, 
    42 A.3d 325
    ,
    332-333 (Pa.Super. 2012), appeal denied, 
    78 A.3d 1091
     (Pa. 2013), citing
    Commonwealth v. Jones, 
    954 A.2d 1194
    , 1198 (Pa.Super. 2008), appeal
    denied, 
    962 A.2d 1196
     (Pa. 2008).
    Appellant specifically argues that the trial court erred when it failed to
    give the jury a Kloiber instruction because Johnson: (1) failed to identify
    appellant at the preliminary hearing as one of the men fleeing the scene
    immediately following the shooting; (2) testified at the preliminary hearing
    that he only picked appellant out of a photo array because appellant was
    someone he knew from the neighborhood; (3) failed to testify at trial that
    appellant was one of two men leaving the scene of the shooting; and
    (4) may   have    mistakenly   identified   appellant   when   he   actually   saw
    2 See Commonwealth v. Kloiber, 
    106 A.2d 820
     (Pa. 1954). The Kloiber
    court held that in cases where the:
    witness is not in a position to clearly observe the
    assailant, or he is not positive as to identity, or his
    positive statements as to identity are weakened by
    qualification or by failure to identify defendant on
    one or more prior occasions, the accuracy of the
    identification is so doubtful that the Court should
    warn the jury that the testimony as to identity must
    be received with caution.
    Id. at 826-827.
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    appellant’s brother, Eric Fields, the day of the shooting.     (Appellant’s brief
    at 30.)
    The PCRA court concluded as follows:
    Here, Johnson unequivocally identified [appellant] in
    a statement to police as one of two men standing on
    the corner before the decedent was shot, and then
    running from the scene.          Johnson had known
    [appellant] for two years. However, at trial, Johnson
    first said he did not recall who was on the corner or
    who specifically ran away. Later, Johnson admitted
    that he had told detectives that he saw [appellant]
    running away and that that was the truth. He also
    stated on cross-examination that it “could be
    possible” that he confused [appellant] with
    [appellant’s] brother, Eric Fields.
    These qualifications do not neccessitate [sic] the
    cautionary instruction under Kloiber. Johnson never
    failed to identify [appellant] as one of the people on
    the corner running from the scene. Although he
    began to recant his original identification at trial, he
    ultimately admitted that what was in his original
    statement was the truth.
    In any event, [the trial court] gave the jury the
    following identification instruction:
    There were two identifications in this
    case which I will address with you. I am
    referring to the testimony you heard
    from Police Officer Rios, who identified
    Kelvin Bryant from a photo array as the
    person he chased on the night of
    February 11, 2010, and to the testimony
    you heard concerning Timothy Johnson’s
    identification of [appellant] as one of the
    persons he had seen on the corner of
    Ridge and Taney Streets on the morning
    of February 11, 2010.
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    As you may recall, on cross-examination,
    Mr. Johnson indicated that he might have
    confused [appellant] with his brother,
    Eric Fields, and indicated that they do
    look alike.
    In evaluating the testimony, in addition
    to the other instructions I have provided
    to you for judging the testimony of
    witnesses, you should consider the
    additional following factors.
    Did the witness have a good opportunity
    to observe the person he identified? Was
    there sufficient lighting for that witness
    to make those observations? Was the
    witness close enough to the individuals
    to know the physical characteristics or to
    see that it was the person that he
    knows?     When the identification was
    made, was it positive or was it qualified
    by any hedging or inconsistencies?
    In considering whether or not to accept
    the testimony of these two witnesses,
    you     should   consider  all of   the
    circumstances      under   which    the
    identifications were made.
    [Notes of testimony], 2/6/13 at 30-31.
    PCRA court opinion, 6/19/18 at 13-14 (additional citations to the record
    omitted).
    Based upon our review of the record, we find that the PCRA court did
    not abuse its discretion when it refused to provide the jury with a Kloiber
    instruction, and we further find that its conclusions are well based in the
    record. Therefore, appellant’s third issue lacks arguable merit.
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    IV.
    In his fourth and final issue on appeal, appellant raises a cumulative
    prejudice claim.     Specifically, appellant contends that the “cumulative
    prejudice    from   the    multiple   trial   errors   rendered   [appellant’s]   trial
    fundamentally unfair.” (Appellant’s brief at 37.)
    [Our supreme court has] often held that “no number
    of failed [] claims may collectively warrant relief if
    they fail to do so individually.” [Commonwealth v.
    Johnson, 
    966 A.2d 523
    , 532 (Pa. 2009)] (quoting
    Commonwealth v. Washington, [] 
    927 A.2d 586
    ,
    617 ([Pa.] 2007)).         However, [the court has]
    clarified that this principle applies to claims that fail
    because of lack of merit or arguable merit.
    [Commonwealth v. Sattazahn, 
    952 A.2d 640
    , 671
    (Pa. 2008)]. When the failure of individual claims is
    grounded in lack of prejudice, then the cumulative
    prejudice from those individual claims may properly
    be assessed. Id.; Johnson, supra at 532 (citing
    Commonwealth v. Perry, [] 
    644 A.2d 705
    , 709
    ([Pa.] 1994), for the principle that a new trial may
    be awarded due to cumulative prejudice accrued
    through multiple instances of trial counsel’s
    ineffective representation.
    Commonwealth v. Spotz, 
    18 A.3d 244
    , 321 (Pa. 2011).
    Here, none of appellant’s three issues pertaining to ineffective
    assistance of counsel was disposed of due to a lack of a showing of
    prejudice.    Rather, all three issues failed because they lacked arguable
    merit. Accordingly, appellant’s claim of cumulative prejudice from multiple
    errors is without merit.
    Order affirmed.
    - 17 -
    J. S84039/18
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 5/20/19
    - 18 -