J-S23039-18

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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

v.

JUAN C. SOSA 

Appellant

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

 No. 2280 EDA 2017

Appeal from the PCRA Order June 23, 2017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at 

No(s): CP-51-CR-0006214-2012

BEFORE: SHOGAN, J., NICHOLS, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY STEVENS, P.J.E.: FILED MAY 15, 2018

Appellant Juan C. Sosa files this pro se appeal from the order of the 

Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County denying Appellant’s petition 

pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541–9546. After 

careful review, we affirm.

On September 23, 2013, a jury convicted Appellant of robbery, 

conspiracy, robbery of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, possessing 

an instrument of crime, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm 

in public in Philadelphia, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial 

number. 

On December 9, 2013, the trial court sentenced Appellant to four to 

eight years’ imprisonment for the robbery conviction, four to eight years’ 

imprisonment for the conspiracy conviction, three to six years’ imprisonment 

for robbery of a motor vehicle, and one to two years’ imprisonment for 
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carrying a firearm without a license. No further penalty was imposed on the 

remaining convictions. As the sentences were set to run consecutively, 

Appellant received an aggregate sentence of twelve to twenty-four years’ 

imprisonment. On September 28, 2015, this Court affirmed the judgment of 

sentence. Appellant chose not to file a petition for allowance of appeal in the 

Supreme Court.

On August 1, 2016, Appellant filed a pro se PCRA petition.1 The lower 

court appointed counsel, who subsequently filed a petition to withdraw and a 

no-merit letter pursuant to Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 

(Pa.Super. 1988). On June 23, 2017, the PCRA court dismissed the petition 

without a hearing and allowed counsel to withdraw. Appellant filed this pro se

appeal and complied with the lower court’s direction to file a concise statement 

of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b).

In his appellate brief, Appellant lists three issues for our review:

1) As applied, is 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543 unconstitutional?

2) Have the Petitioner’s Rights been violated under the 

Pennsylvania Constitution?

3) Have the Petitioner’s Rights been violated under the United 

States Constitution?

Appellant’s Brief, at 12. 

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1 Appellant’s petition was timely filed. Generally, a PCRA petition “including 

a second or subsequent petition, shall be filed within one year of the date 

the judgment of sentence becomes final. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). 
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When reviewing the denial of a PCRA petition, we are guided by the 

following standard:

The standard of review for an order denying post-conviction relief 

is limited to whether the record supports the PCRA court's 

determination, and whether that decision is free of legal error. The 

PCRA court's findings will not be disturbed unless there is no 

support for the findings in the certified record.

Commonwealth v. Allen, 48 A.3d 1283, 1285 (Pa.Super. 2012) (citations 

omitted). 

As an initial matter, we note the following:

although this Court is willing to construe liberally materials filed

by a pro se litigant, pro se status generally confers no special

benefit upon an appellant. Commonwealth v. Maris, 427 

Pa.Super. 566, 629 A.2d 1014, 1017 n. 1 (1993). Accordingly, a 

pro se litigant must comply with the procedural rules set forth in 

the Pennsylvania Rules of the Court. Id. This Court may quash 

or dismiss an appeal if an appellant fails to conform with the 

requirements set forth in the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate 

Procedure. Id.; Pa.R.A.P. 2101.

Commonwealth v. Freeland, 106 A.3d 768, 776–77 (Pa.Super. 2014)

(quoting Commonwealth v. Lyons, 833 A.2d 245, 252 (Pa.Super. 2003)). 

Appellant’s pro se brief does not comply with our rules of appellate 

procedure. Although Appellant’s brief contains three issues in the questions 

involved section, his argument is undivided, rambling, and substantially 

incoherent. Pa.R.A.P. 2119 (“[t]he argument shall be divided into as many 

parts as there are questions to be argued ... followed by such discussion and 

citation of authorities as are deemed pertinent”). Nonetheless, we will review 

the argument Appellant appears to address in his defective brief.
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Appellant appears to argue that he was denied the opportunity to 

challenge the legality of his sentence pursuant to Alleyne v. United States, 

570 U.S. 99, 133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013) (holding that any fact that increases the 

mandatory minimum sentence is an element of the crime and must be 

submitted to the jury and found beyond a reasonable doubt).

However, Appellant’s claim is clearly meritless as he was not sentenced 

to a mandatory minimum sentence. As noted above, Appellant was sentenced 

to consecutive terms of four to eight years’ imprisonment for the robbery 

conviction, four to eight years’ imprisonment for the conspiracy conviction, 

three to six years’ imprisonment for robbery of a motor vehicle, and one to 

two years’ imprisonment for carrying a firearm without a license. No further 

penalty was imposed on Appellant’s remaining convictions. There is no 

support in the record for Appellant’s claim that he received a mandatory term 

of imprisonment pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. 9712.1 (Sentences for certain drug 

offenses committed with firearms). As a result, Appellant has not shown he 

is entitled to collateral relief.

Accordingly, we affirm the lower court’s decision to deny Appellant’s 

PCRA petition.

Judgment of sentence affirmed.
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Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 5/15/18