J-S61017-16

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

RICHARD ADAM HARTLEB

Appellant No. 1823 WDA 2015

Appeal from the PCRA Order October 19, 2015

In the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County

Criminal Division at No(s): CP-25-CR-0000856-2013 CP-25-CR-0001217-

2013

BEFORE: PANELLA, J., LAZARUS, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED MARCH 10, 2017

Richard Adam Hartleb appeals from the trial court’s order denying his 

petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA).1 Upon 

review, we affirm and grant counsel’s petition to withdraw pursuant to 

Turner/Finley.

2

On September 23, 2013, a jury convicted Hartleb of four counts of 

terroristic threats,3four counts of simple assault,4one count of possessing 

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1 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546.

2 Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988); Commonwealth 

v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc).

3 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706.

4 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701.
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an instrument of a crime,5and one count of a person carrying a firearm 

without a license.6 These convictions stemmed from an incident that 

occurred on February 8, 2013, in which Hartleb pointed a handgun at several 

individuals at Haggerty’s Bar in Erie. On November 5, 2013, Hartleb pled 

guilty to one count of recklessly endangering another person7and another 

count of a person carrying a firearm without a license, following an unrelated 

incident on January 13, 2013, in which Hartleb fired a handgun toward a 

vehicle on the 1100 block of Wallace Street in Erie. 

On November 14, 2013, the Honorable John Garhart sentenced Hartleb 

to an aggregate term of 6 to 14 years’ incarceration. On November 22, 

2013, Hartleb filed a motion to modify and reduce sentence, which Judge 

Garhart denied on December 6, 2013. Counsel filed a statement of intent 

to file an Anders/McClendon8 brief in lieu of a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) 

statement. On August 22, 2014, this Court granted counsel’s petition to 

withdraw and affirmed Hartleb’s judgment of sentence. Commonwealth v. 

Hartleb, No. 1966 WDA 2013 (Pa. Super. filed Aug. 22, 2014). 

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5 18 Pa.C.S. § 907.

6 18 Pa.C.S. § 6106.

7 18 Pa.C.S. § 2705.

8 Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); Commonwealth v. 

McClendon, 434 A.2d 1185 (Pa. 1981).
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On May 16, 2015, Hartleb filed a pro se “Motion to Correct Formal 

Error,” arguing that his sentence was illegal. The trial court treated 

Hartleb’s motion as a PCRA petition and the trial court appointed PCRA 

counsel. Hartleb’s PCRA counsel subsequently filed a motion to supplement 

Hartleb’s PCRA petition, suggesting that Hartleb’s claim that his prior record 

score was incorrectly calculated lacked legal merit.9 PCRA counsel 

apparently attempted to withdraw from the matter; however, we found that 

counsel did not satisfy all of the demands of Turner/Finley. Accordingly, 

we ordered counsel to either comply with the mandates of Turner/Finley or 

file an advocate’s brief. See Commonwealth v. Hartleb, No. 1823 WDA 

2015 (Pa. Super. filed Nov. 15, 2016). PCRA counsel has now filed an 

advocate’s brief.

On appeal, Hartleb raises the issues of “[w]hether the lower court 

erred in denying PCRA relief based on the finding of waiver and in otherwise 

failing to find that the offense gravity score calculated and applied as to the 

instant sentence was incorrect[.]” Brief of Appellant, at 2.

The PCRA court found that because the issue of whether the correct 

offense gravity score was used is a challenge to the discretionary aspects of 

sentence, Hartleb waived this claim by “fail[ing] to preserve [it] following 

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9 Hartleb also argued that the offense gravity score for his conviction of one 

count of a person carrying a firearm without a license should have been 

calculated as a 5 rather than a 7. 
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sentence or on direct review[.]” Notice of Intent to Dismiss Without a 

Hearing Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907, 9/23/15, at 3. 

We agree that Hartleb’s claim entitles him to no relief under the PCRA. 

See Commonwealth v. Fowler, 930 A.2d 586, 593 (Pa. Super. 2007) 

(“Challenges to the discretionary aspects of sentencing are not cognizable 

under the PCRA.”). Accordingly, the court did not err in dismissing Hartleb’s 

PCRA petition. 

Order affirmed.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 3/10/2017