J-S63042-16

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

PENNSYLVANIA

v.

KAREEM ALI GARRETT

 Appellant No. 1684 EDA 2015

Appeal from the PCRA Order April 14, 2015

in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Criminal Division

at No(s): CP-23-CR-0001998-2013

BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., SHOGAN, J., and FITZGERALD,*J.

MEMORANDUM BY FITZGERALD, J.: FILED OCTOBER 26, 2016

Appellant, Kareem Ali Garrett, appeals pro se from the order entered 

in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas denying his first Post 

Conviction Relief Act1(“PCRA”) petition. We remand for a determination as 

to whether Appellant is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment, 

probation, or parole for the crimes he committed and retain panel 

jurisdiction over this appeal.

The trial court summarized the relevant facts and procedural history as 

follows:

On August 20, 2013, [Appellant] entered a negotiated 

guilty plea to [d]efiant [t]respass and one count of 

[h]arassment and was sentenced to a term of 6 to 12 

months [imprisonment] followed by 1 year of probation. 

 

*

Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

1 42 Pa.C.S §§ 9541-9546. 
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On August 21, 2014 [Appellant] filed a timely [PCRA] 

petition alleging (1) ineffective assistance of counsel, (2) 

that his guilty plea was unlawfully induced, and (3) newlydiscovered evidence.[2]

The [PCRA court] appointed counsel, Stephen D. 

Molineux, Esq., to review [Appellant’s] PCRA petition. 

Pursuant to [Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 

(Pa. 1988) and Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 

(Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc)] , counsel submitted a “No 

Merit” letter after determining [Appellant’s] PCRA petition 

was meritless and filed a Motion to Withdraw As Counsel. 

This Court dismissed [Appellant’s] PCRA petition without 

holding an evidentiary hearing and granted Mr. Molineux’s 

Withdrawal Motion. [Appellant] filed a timely Notice of 

Appeal and Concise Statement of Matters complained of on 

Appeal in compliance with Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b).[3] 

Trial Ct. Op., 7/31/15, at 1-2.

The trial court issued a responsive Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion on July 

31, 2015. Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:

1. Trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance, which 

failure violated the Pennsylvania and/or United States 

Constitution by undermining the truth determining 

process, such that no reliable adjudication of guilt or 

innocence could have taken place?

2. A plea of guilty was unlawfully induced for the crimes to 

which he entered a guilty plea, where the circumstance 

 

2

In his PCRA petition, Appellant indicated that his sentence was to 

commence August 20, 2013, but he failed to answer the question of whether 

he was still serving his sentence. Appellant’s Mot. for Post Conviction 

Collateral Relief, 8/21/14, at 2. 

 

3 We note that although the PCRA court states that Appellant filed a 

Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement, we can find no such document in the record or 

indicated on the docket. Further, also not present in the record received by 

this Court is Attorney Molineux’s “no merit” letter. 
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made it likely that the inducement caused [Appellant] to 

plead guilty and [Appellant] is innocent?

3. Whether the unavailability at the time of exculpatory 

evidence would have changed the outcome of the trial if it 

had been introduced?

Appellant’s Brief at 3 (unpaginated).4

As a prefatory matter, we must determine whether Appellant is eligible 

for relief under the PCRA. Pursuant to the PCRA, a petitioner must be 

“currently serving a sentence of imprisonment, probation or parole for the 

crime” or waiting to serve the disputed sentence in order to be granted 

relief. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(1)(i), (iii). Further, as soon as a petitioner’s 

sentence is complete, he becomes ineligible for relief, regardless of whether 

he was serving his sentence at the time he filed his PCRA petition. 

Commonwealth v. Hart, 911 A.2d 939, 942 (Pa. Super. 2006). Indeed, 

our Supreme Court has held that to grant relief at a time when a petitioner 

is not currently serving a sentence would ignore the plain language of the 

statute. Commonwealth v. Ahlborn 699 A.2d 718, 720 (Pa. 1997). 

Accordingly, if a petitioner is no longer serving or waiting to serve a 

sentence for the crimes at issue, our Courts lack jurisdiction and the 

petitioner’s PCRA petition must be dismissed. Id.

In this case, Appellant was convicted in August 2013 and sentenced to 

serve a term of six to twelve months’ imprisonment followed by one year of 

 

4

 Appellant’s brief was not mailed from a prison. See Certificate of Service, 

3/11/16, to Appellant’s Brief (identifying address).
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probation. We note that in his initial PCRA petition Appellant indicated that 

his sentence was to commence on August 20, 2013, but did not designate 

whether he was currently serving, or waiting to serve, his sentence. 

Appellant’s Mot. for Post Conviction Collateral Relief, 8/21/14, at 2. Indeed, 

even if Appellant served his maximum sentence, it is likely that currently, 

over three years later, he may no longer be serving a sentence of 

imprisonment, probation, or parole for the crimes here at issue. See also 

Certificate of Service, 3/11/16, to Appellant’s Brief (identifying address). 

Accordingly, within thirty days of the date this Memorandum is filed, we 

direct the PCRA court to determine whether Appellant is currently serving or 

waiting to serve a sentence of imprisonment, probation, or parole for the 

crimes he committed. If the PCRA court determines that Appellant is serving 

or waiting to serve his sentence, we request that the court forward 

Appellant’s Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement, Attorney Molineux’s “no merit” 

letter, and any other documents missing from the certified record as a 

supplemental record. 

Case remanded for a determination by the PCRA court consistent with 

this Memorandum. Panel jurisdiction retained. 
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Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 10/26/2016