Opinion
J-S13028-17 No. 1798 EDA 2016
04-18-2017
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee v. PAUL A. BROWN Appellant
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
Appeal from the PCRA Order May 25, 2016
In the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-45-CR-0002030-2014 BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and FITZGERALD, J. JUDGMENT ORDER BY LAZARUS, J.:
Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
Paul Brown appeals from the order, entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County, denying his petition for collateral relief filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-46 ("PCRA"). Upon review, we affirm
On September 3, 2014, Brown attacked his wife after she rebuffed his sexual advances. When the couple's son came to his mother's aid, Brown retrieved a machete and attacked him, cutting his arm and leg. Brown then attacked his wife with the machete as she and their son ran down the street to escape. Brown's wife suffered a laceration to her head and a partially amputated finger. Brown fled into the woods; he was apprehended three days later and charged with two counts of attempted homicide and related offenses.
Brown entered a guilty plea to attempted homicide-serious bodily injury with respect to the attack on his wife, and aggravated assault-serious bodily injury for his attack on his son. Following a written guilty plea colloquy and an on-the-record oral colloquy, the court accepted Brown's plea. On July 28, 2015, the court sentenced Brown to fifteen to forty years' incarceration. Brown did not file post-sentence motions or a direct appeal.
On February 4, 2016, Brown filed a pro se PCRA petition; the PCRA court appointed counsel. Counsel filed an amended petition on Brown's behalf on March 8, 2016, The PCRA court held a hearing and, on May 25, 2016, denied Brown's petition for relief. This appeal followed.
Brown raises one issue for our review:
In his PCRA petition and in his concise statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), Brown also raised counsel's ineffectiveness for failing to file a direct appeal. See Amended PCRA Petition, 3/8/16, at ¶5. Although the PCRA court addressed this issue in its Rule 1925(a) opinion, Brown has abandoned that claim in his brief on appeal. See Pa.R.A.P. 2116. --------
Whether the [PCRA] court erred by finding that trial counsel's actions and inaction in connection with [Brown's] entry of his guilty plea did not cause [Brown] to enter an involuntary or unknowing plea?Appellant's Brief, at 4.
We review an order dismissing a petition under the PCRA in the light most favorable to the prevailing party at the PCRA level. Our review is limited to determining whether the findings of the PCRA court are supported by the evidence of record. We will not disturb a PCRA court's ruling if it is supported by evidence of record and is free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Ford , 44 A.3d 1190, 1194 (Pa. Super. 2012). To establish ineffectiveness of counsel in the context of a guilty plea, Brown must demonstrate that counsel's ineffectiveness caused him to enter an involuntary or unknowing guilty plea. Commonwealth v. Lutz , 424 a.2d 1302, 1305 (Pa. 1981).
After careful review of the record, the parties' briefs and the relevant case law, we conclude that President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington's opinion accurately and thoroughly addresses the merits of Brown's claim on appeal. See PCRA Court Opinion, 5/25/16, at 4-8. Brown's claim that he was "confused" and believed he was entering a plea to two counts of aggravated assault, is contradicted by the record. Accordingly, we affirm the PCRA court's May 25, 2016 order on the basis of that decision. We direct the parties to attach a copy of the PCRA court's Rule 1925(a) Opinion in the event of further proceedings in this case.
Order affirmed. Judgment Entered. /s/_________
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary Date: 4/18/2017
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