Com. v. Mathues, W. ( 2017 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
v. :
:
WILLIAM MATHUES, : No. 3193 EDA 2016
:
Appellant :
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence, September 13, 2016,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County
Criminal Division at No. CP-15-CR-0003397-2015
BEFORE: PANELLA, J., OLSON, J., AND FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
MEMORANDUM BY FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.: FILED JUNE 15, 2017
William Mathues appeals from the September 13, 2016 aggregate
judgment of sentence of 3 to 7 years’ imprisonment imposed after a jury
found him guilty of three counts of aggravated assault, one count of
resisting arrest, and one count of manufacturing a controlled substance.1
Contemporaneously with this appeal, counsel has requested leave to
withdraw in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),
Commonwealth v. McClendon, 434 A.2d 1185 (Pa. 1981), and their
progeny. After careful review, we grant counsel’s petition to withdraw and
affirm the judgment of sentence.
1
18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2702(a)(3), 5104, and 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30),
respectively.
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The relevant facts and procedural history of this case, as gleaned from
the certified record, are as follows. On August 17, 2015, three members of
the West Chester Police Department -- Corporal James Gorman,
Sergeant Jeffrey Dietz, and Patrolman Dave Frantz (collectively,
“the officers”) -- were dispatched to the residence of Kathleen Kozlowsky
after she reported that appellant was outside her residence. (Notes of
testimony, 5/16/16 at 64-66, 85-86.) Kozlowsky had a protection from
abuse order against appellant that prohibited him from contacting her. (Id.
at 65, 86.) The officers attempted to take appellant into custody, and an
altercation ensued which ultimately resulted in Corporal Gorman tasing
appellant multiple times. (Id. at 66-70.) During the course of this
altercation, appellant kicked Sergeant Dietz in the groin and continued to
kick and spit at the officers while on the ground. (Id. at 66-68, 89-91.)
Appellant was subsequently arrested and charged with resisting arrest,
manufacturing a controlled substance, false imprisonment, and three counts
of aggravated assault. On May 16, 2016, appellant proceeded to a jury trial
and was found guilty of all the aforementioned offenses except false
imprisonment. As noted, appellant was sentenced on September 13, 2016,
to an aggregate term of 3 to 7 years’ imprisonment. Appellant did not file
any post-sentence motions. On October 11, 2016, appellant filed a timely
notice of appeal. That same day, the trial court directed appellant to file a
concise statement of errors complained of on appeal, in accordance with
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Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). In lieu of a Rule 1925(b) statement, counsel 2 filed a
statement of her intention to file an Anders/McClendon brief, in
accordance with Rule 1925(c)(4), on October 31, 2016. On November 1,
2016, the trial court filed a Rule 1925(a) statement in lieu of an opinion.
Thereafter, on March 10, 2017, appellant’s counsel filed a petition and brief
to withdraw from representation. Appellant did not respond to counsel’s
petition to withdraw.
In her Anders brief, counsel raises the following issues on appellant’s
behalf:
I. Should the charges have been dismissed with
prejudice due to allegations of impersonation
of police officers and prosecutorial misconduct?
II. Should the charges have been dismissed due
to ineffective assistance of counsel?
Anders brief at 2.
“When presented with an Anders brief, this Court may not review the
merits of the underlying issues without first passing on the request to
withdraw.” Commonwealth v. Daniels, 999 A.2d 590, 593 (Pa.Super.
2010) (citation omitted). In order to withdraw pursuant to Anders,
“counsel must file a brief that meets the requirements established by our
Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349, 361 (Pa.
2009).” Commonwealth v. Harden, 103 A.3d 107, 110 (Pa.Super. 2014)
2
At all pertinent times in this case, appellant was represented by Kelly A.
Thompson, Esq.
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(parallel citation omitted). Specifically, counsel’s Anders brief must comply
with the following requisites:
(1) provide a summary of the procedural history
and facts, with citations to the record;
(2) refer to anything in the record that counsel
believes arguably supports the appeal;
(3) set forth counsel’s conclusion that the appeal is
frivolous; and
(4) state counsel’s reasons for concluding that the
appeal is frivolous. Counsel should articulate
the relevant facts of record, controlling case
law, and/or statutes on point that have led to
the conclusion that the appeal is frivolous.
Id. (citation omitted).
Pursuant to Commonwealth v. Millisock, 873 A.2d 748 (Pa.Super.
2005), and its progeny, “[c]ounsel also must provide a copy of the Anders
brief to his client.” Commonwealth v. Orellana, 86 A.3d 877, 880
(Pa.Super. 2014) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The brief
must be accompanied by a letter that advises the client of the option to
“(1) retain new counsel to pursue the appeal; (2) proceed pro se on appeal;
or (3) raise any points that the appellant deems worthy of the court[’]s
attention in addition to the points raised by counsel in the Anders brief.”
Id. “Once counsel has satisfied the above requirements, it is then this
[c]ourt’s duty to conduct its own review of the trial court’s proceedings and
render an independent judgment as to whether the appeal is, in fact, wholly
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frivolous.” Commonwealth v. Goodwin, 928 A.2d 287, 291 (Pa.Super.
2007) (en banc) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
Instantly, we conclude that counsel has satisfied the technical
requirements of Anders and Santiago. Counsel has identified the pertinent
factual and procedural history and made citation to the record. Counsel has
also raised two claims that could arguably support an appeal, but ultimately
concludes that the appeal is wholly frivolous. Counsel has also attached to
her petition a letter to appellant, which meets the notice requirements of
Millisock. Accordingly, we proceed to conduct an independent review of the
record to determine whether this appeal is wholly frivolous.
Appellant first contends that his charges should have been dismissed
because the Commonwealth committed prosecutorial misconduct and the
individuals who testified at trial were impersonating the police officers who
arrested him on the day in question. (Anders brief at 7-8.) The record
reflects that appellant failed to raise either of these claims at trial or in a
post-sentence motion. Accordingly, we agree with counsel that these claims
are waived. See Pa.R.A.P. 302(a) (providing that issues not raised in the
lower court are waived and cannot be raised for the first time on appeal).
Appellant also argues that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance
during the jury trial. (Anders brief at 8-9.) “[A]s a general rule, a
petitioner should wait to raise claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel
until collateral review.” Commonwealth v. Straub, 936 A.2d 1081, 1082
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(Pa.Super. 2007) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), appeal
denied, 963 A.2d 470 (Pa. 2007). Consequently, we deny appellant’s relief
on this claim, without prejudice for appellant to assert his ineffectiveness
claim in a timely petition for relief filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief
Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541–9546.
Based on the foregoing, we agree with counsel’s assessment that this
appeal is wholly frivolous and that appellant is entitled to no relief on his
claims. After our own independent review of the record, we discern no
additional issues of arguable merit. Accordingly, we grant counsel’s petition
to withdraw and affirm the September 13, 2016 judgment of sentence.
Petition to withdraw granted. Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 6/15/2017
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