J-S53033-18

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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

KEVIN COIT 

Appellant

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

No. 2979 EDA 2017

Appeal from the PCRA Order August 11, 2017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County 

Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0001938-2012, 

CP-51-CR-0012646-2011

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., OTT, J., and PLATT*, J.

MEMORANDUM BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED OCTOBER 09, 2018

Appellant, Kevin Coit, appeals from the order entered in the Philadelphia 

County Court of Common Pleas, which denied his first petition filed under the 

Post Conviction Relief Act at 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. We affirm and grant 

counsel’s petition to withdraw. 

The PCRA court opinion sets forth the relevant facts and procedural 

history of this case as follows:

On February 13, 2013, [Appellant] appeared before this 

court and entered a negotiated guilty plea to two robberies. 

CP 51-CR-0012646-2011 occurred on July 31, 2011 at a bar 

on the 4200 block of North 8th Street, Philadelphia, at 11:50 

p.m. [Appellant] and a companion entered the bar, fired 

gunshots, and demanded that the employees give them 

cash from the register. They also took a purse from a 

patron. 

CP 51-CR-00[01938-2012] occurred on October 18, 2011, 
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at 11:25 p.m., at Lober and Dorset Streets in Philadelphia. 

[Appellant] stopped a vehicle, pointed a gun at the two

passengers inside the vehicle, threatened to blow their 

heads off, and ordered them to remove part of their 

clothing, give the clothing to him, and leave their valuables 

inside the garments. 

At the guilty-plea colloquy, the [c]ourt advised [Appellant]

that pursuant to the plea agreement, [Appellant] was to 

plead guilty to two counts of robbery as a felony of the first 

degree, criminal conspiracy as a felony of the first degree, 

and possession of an instrument of crime. The negotiated 

sentence would be concurrent terms of incarceration of five 

to ten years on one robbery and four to ten years on the 

other robbery. ... 

[Appellant] stated that he was 22 years old, had completed 

the 11th grade, and was not under the influence of drugs, 

alcohol or medication. [Appellant] said that he had never

been treated for a mental illness. 

[Appellant] was informed that he had the absolute right to 

plead not guilty and go to trial and that by pleading guilty 

he was giving up his right to confront and cross-examine

witnesses against him, call witnesses in his behalf, and 

testify or not testify. 

[Appellant] was further informed that at trial, the 

Commonwealth had the burden to prove the charges beyond 

reasonable doubt, that he had the right to a jury trial or a

bench trial and that a jury verdict would have to be 

unanimous. 

[Appellant] stated that he understood that by pleading 

guilty he was giving up his right to litigate pre-trial motions 

to suppress physical evidence, statements and 

identifications. 

[Appellant] had separate attorneys for each case. 

[Appellant] stated that he had spoken with his attorneys and 

was satisfied with their representation. Each attorney 

stated that he or she had discussed with [Appellant] his right 

to plead not guilty and go trial. Each attorney stated that 

[Appellant] appeared to understand his rights. Each 
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attorney stated that he or she believed that [Appellant] was 

competent and qualified to enter the negotiated plea. 

[Appellant] acknowledged that by pleading guilty he was 

giving up his right to appeal except for the voluntariness of 

the plea, the jurisdiction of the court and the legality of the 

sentence. [Appellant] acknowledged that by pleading guilty 

he was giving up any defense of justification.

As to each case, the prosecutor read a summary of the 

evidence. The [c]ourt asked [Appellant] whether he was 

able to hear and understand the facts as summarized by the

prosecutor. [Appellant] said that he did. The [c]ourt asked 

whether what the prosecutor had summarized was 

“essentially” what had happened. [Appellant] said that it 

was. The [c]ourt accepted the guilty pleas. The [c]ourt

sentenced [Appellant] to an aggregate [term] of five to ten 

years of incarceration, as set forth in the plea agreement. 

[Appellant] did not file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. 

[Appellant] did not file a notice of appeal to the Superior 

Court. 

On December 16, 2014, [Appellant] filed a pro se PCRA 

Petition. [Appellant] alleged that his sentence was illegal 

and that counsel had not properly advised him of his 

options. [Counsel] was appointed to represent [Appellant]. 

On May [26], 2016, [counsel] filed an Amended PCRA 

Petition, alleging that the plea was unlawfully induced and 

that guilty plea counsel were ineffective for allowing 

[Appellant] to enter an involuntary plea. 

[Appellant’s] PCRA Petition was properly dismissed as 

untimely. 

(PCRA Court Opinion, filed January 10, 2018, at 1-5) (internal citations 

omitted). Additional procedural history of the case includes the following. On 

July 11, 2017, the PCRA court issued notice of its intent to dismiss the petition 

without a hearing, per Pa.R.Crim.P. 907, and formally dismissed the petition 

as untimely on August 14, 2017. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal on 
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September 11, 2017. The court ordered Appellant on December 18, 2017, to 

file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal, per Pa.R.A.P. 

1925(b); counsel timely complied on Monday, January 8, 2018. 

Preliminarily, counsel has filed a “no-merit” letter/brief on appeal and a 

petition to withdraw as counsel,1 pursuant to Commonwealth v. Turner, 

518 Pa. 491, 544 A.2d 927 (1988); Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 

(1988). Before counsel can withdraw representation under the PCRA, the law 

requires counsel to satisfy the mandates of Turner/Finley. Commonwealth 

v. Karanicolas, 836 A.2d 940, 947 (Pa.Super. 2003). 

...Turner/Finley counsel must review the case zealously. 

Turner/Finley counsel must then submit a “no-merit” 

letter to the trial court, or brief on appeal to this Court, 

detailing the nature and extent of counsel’s diligent review 

of the case, listing the issues which the petitioner wants to 

have reviewed, explaining why and how those issues lack 

merit, and requesting permission to withdraw. 

Commonwealth v. Wrecks, 931 A.2d 717, 721 (Pa.Super. 2007). 

Withdrawal as counsel in this context also includes certain notice 

requirements: Counsel must contemporaneously serve on Appellant copies of 

the “no-merit” letter or brief, the petition to withdraw, and a letter with a 

statement advising Appellant that he has the immediate right to file a brief in 

this Court pro se or with new privately-retained counsel within 30 days. 

Commonwealth v. Muzzy, 141 A.3d 509 (Pa.Super. 2016). To withdraw, 

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1 This Court later directed counsel to file an amended petition to withdraw, 

which counsel has done. 
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counsel must assure this Court of counsel’s compliance with these technical 

requirements. Id. 

Instantly, counsel’s amended petition to withdraw states he has made 

a conscientious examination of the record in this case and determined the 

appeal is totally frivolous. In the withdrawal petition, via the transmittal letter 

attached as Exhibit A, counsel also confirmed he served the Commonwealth 

and Appellant with a copy of the Turner/Finley Letter Brief and counsel’s 

petition to withdraw, and advised Appellant of his right to proceed immediately 

pro se or with privately retained counsel to file a brief within thirty (30) days 

and raise any additional points Appellant’s deems worthy of review. In his 

Turner/Finley brief on appeal, counsel listed the issue Appellant wished to 

raise and explains that Appellant’s PCRA petition is untimely, without any valid 

exception to the statutory time bar, and why the issue raised would not merit 

relief in any event. Thus, appellate counsel has now substantially complied 

with the Turner/Finley requirements. See Karanicolas, supra. 

Accordingly, we proceed to an independent evaluation. See Turner, supra

at 494-95, 544 A.2d at 928-29 (stating appellate court must conduct 

independent analysis and agree with counsel that appeal is frivolous). 

Appellant has not responded to counsel’s petition. 

Appellant raises one issue in the Turner/Finley brief:

WHETHER PLEA COUNSEL RENDERED INEFFECTIVE 

ASSISTANCE WHICH RESULTED IN APPELLANT ENTERING 

AN INVOLUNTARY AND UNLAWFULLY INDUCED GUILTY 

PLEA? 
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(Turner/Finley Brief at 5). 

Initially, the timeliness of a PCRA petition is a jurisdictional requisite. 

Commonwealth v. Hackett, 598 Pa. 350, 956 A.2d 978 (2008), cert. 

denied, 556 U.S. 1285, 129 S.Ct. 2772, 174 L.Ed.2d 277 (2009). 

Pennsylvania law makes clear no court has jurisdiction to hear an untimely 

PCRA petition. Commonwealth v. Robinson, 575 Pa. 500, 508, 837 A.2d 

1157, 1161 (2003). The PCRA requires a petition, including a second or 

subsequent petition, to be filed within one year of the date the underlying 

judgment becomes final. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). A judgment of sentence 

is final “at the conclusion of direct review, including discretionary review in 

the Supreme Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of 

Pennsylvania, or at the expiration of time for seeking review.” 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 

9545(b)(3). 

Generally, to obtain merits review of a PCRA petition filed more than 

one year after the judgment of sentence became final, the petitioner must 

allege and prove at least one of the three timeliness exceptions. See 42 

Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii). The petitioner must allege and prove:

(i) the failure to raise the claim previously was the result 

of interference by government officials with the presentation 

of the claim in violation of the Constitution or laws of this 

Commonwealth or the Constitution or laws of the United 

States;

(ii) the facts upon which the claim is predicated were 

unknown to the petitioner and could not have been 

ascertained by the exercise of due diligence; or
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(iii) the right asserted is a constitutional right that was 

recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States or 

the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania after the time period 

provided in this section and has been held by that court to 

apply retroactively.

42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii) (emphasis added). “[W]hen a PCRA petition 

is not filed within one year of the expiration of direct review, or not eligible for 

one of the three limited exceptions, or entitled to one of the exceptions, but 

not filed within 60 days of the date that the claim could have been first 

brought, the trial court has no power to address the substantive merits of a 

petitioner’s PCRA claims.” Commonwealth v. Gamboa-Taylor, 562 Pa. 70, 

77, 753 A.2d 780, 783 (2000). Counsel, who is appointed to represent a PCRA 

petitioner on any petition that is untimely on its face, has the initial duty to 

consider the timeliness of the petition, investigate whether the petition is 

actually untimely, and if so, whether any of the statutory exceptions to the 

time bar applies to the petitioner’s case. See generally Commonwealth v. 

Smith, 572 Pa. 572, 818 A.2d 494 (2003). 

Instantly, on February 13, 2013, the trial court accepted Appellant’s plea 

and, in accordance with the agreement, imposed the agreed-upon sentence 

of five to ten years’ incarceration. Appellant filed no post-sentence motion or 

direct appeal. Therefore, the judgment of sentence became final on or about 

Monday, March 17, 2013, when the 30-day appeal period expired. See 42 

Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(3); Pa.R.A.P. 903(c)(3). Thus, Appellant had until March 

17, 2014, to file a timely PCRA petition. Appellant filed his first petition on 
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December 16, 2014, which is patently untimely, claiming his plea counsel gave 

Appellant erroneous advice regarding the plea deal. Appellant’s bare 

ineffectiveness of counsel claim does not satisfy an exception to the timeliness 

requirements of the PCRA. See Commonwealth v. Wharton, 584 Pa. 576, 

588, 886 A.2d 1120, 1127 (2005) (stating generally that bare “allegations of 

ineffective assistance of counsel will not overcome the jurisdictional timeliness 

requirements of the PCRA”); Gamboa-Taylor, supra at 80, 753 A.2d at 785 

(holding standard ineffectiveness of counsel claims generally do not constitute 

exceptions to PCRA time requirements). Compare Commonwealth v. 

Bennett, 593 Pa. 382, 930 A.2d 1264 (2007) (identifying very limited 

exception to Gamboa-Taylor line of cases on this point, where counsel 

abandoned petitioner on appeal, abandonment was unknown to petitioner,

and petitioner filed for PCRA relief within sixty days of learning of counsel’s 

abandonment; this exception is viewed under “new fact” exception) and more 

recently Commonwealth v. Peterson, ___ Pa. ___, ___ A.3d ___, 2018 WL 

4515440 (filed September 21, 2018) (applying Bennett to petitioner’s case, 

where he promptly filed second PCRA petition upon learning that counsel had 

filed petitioner’s first PCRA petition one day late, causing loss of petitioner’s 

PCRA review rights; affirming PCRA court’s restoration of rights upon 

petitioner’s proof of “new fact” and due diligence). 

Following our independent review of the record, we conclude Appellant’s 

petition met no statutory exception and remains time barred. Thus, we agree 
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with counsel that Appellant’s appeal is frivolous. Accordingly, we affirm and 

grant counsel’s petition to withdraw. 

Order affirmed; counsel’s petition to withdraw is granted. 

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 10/9/18