Court Opinion

ID: 9407340
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-06 16:10:01.598725+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:37.077931
License: Public Domain

J-S11029-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA               :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
                                               :
    CHAL D. KENNEDY SR.                        :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :   No. 1423 EDA 2022

               Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered May 2, 2022
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
                       No(s): CP-51-CR-0015289-2009

BEFORE: OLSON, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and KING, J.

MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.:                             FILED JULY 06, 2023

        Chal D. Kennedy, Sr., appeals pro se from the order dismissing his Post

Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”)1 petition without a hearing. Kennedy argues

the Commonwealth elicited false testimony at his trial and failed to disclose

the results of the DNA and latent fingerprint testing of a firearm. Kennedy also

asserts that the trial court violated his right to a speedy trial and that the

PCRA court erred in failing to grant his motion for recusal. We affirm.

        The PCRA court recounted the operative underlying facts as follows.

        . . . [Kennedy] and his son/co-defendant Kennedy, Jr. forced
        themselves into the victims’ home after pretending to be house
        arrest officers. [Kennedy] held the victims and their children at
        gun point in their home, searched for valuables, and took money
        and jewelry. [Kennedy] was arrested inside the victims’ home,
        sitting on the couch, with a loaded gun underneath him.

____________________________________________

1   See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546.
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PCRA Court Opinion, filed September 15, 2022, at 6 (“1925(a) Op.”).

      Kennedy waived his right to counsel and represented himself at trial.

Relevant to this appeal, police officer Jesus Cruz of the Firearms Identification

Unit testified as a firearms expert. He stated that the firearms seized by the

police during the incident were operable, and that the serial number on the

firearm which was found under Kennedy was defaced. See N.T., 10/22/13, at

189-217. Officer Cruz also testified that he had submitted the firearm for DNA

and fingerprint testing:

      [Prosecutor]: Now, you made a note underneath. What does your
      note indicate?

      [Officer Cruz]: Items on Property Receipt No. 2871987 was
      submitted for latent examination on December 24th, 2009, and
      returned January 19th, 2010. So everything that was submitted
      on Property Receipt No. 2871987 was submitted for DNA and
      latent prints.

      [Prosecutor]: What was it submitted for?

      [Officer Cruz]: It was submitted for DNA and latent prints.

      [Prosecutor]: What did you actually --

      [Officer Cruz]: Well, here it actually says for latent examination.
      That’s what we use. But that's what they [sic] supposed to do
      upstairs.

      [Prosecutor]: Okay. And that gets to crime scene to do what their
      examination is going to be?

      [Officer Cruz]: Exactly.

      [Prosecutor]: And, again, was that before you test-fired both of
      those firearms?

      [Officer Cruz]: Yes. Everything was submitted to firearms before
      I test-fired [the] weapons.

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N.T., 10/22/13, at 210-11. Kennedy cross-examined Officer Cruz regarding

the DNA/fingerprint testing as follows:

      [Kennedy]: Good afternoon, Officer Cruz.

      [Officer Cruz]: Good afternoon, sir.

      [Kennedy]: How are you, sir? Are you responsible for sending
      these weapons out to be fingerprinted?

      [Officer Cruz]: If it’s requested by either a district attorney,
      private counsel or even Your Honor here, we submit it to crime
      scene. Yes, sir.

      [Kennedy]: Okay. And how about DNA testing, same thing?

      [Officer Cruz]: Yes. It’s all submitted to crime scene. It was
      submitted to crime scene for DNA and latent because that’s what
      they do upstairs at crime scene.

      [Kennedy]: Okay. All right. Thank you. . . . No further questions.

Id. at 217.

      Officer Charles Yeager, who had recovered the firearm in question from

the scene, also testified to the altered condition of the serial number. N.T.,

10/21/13, at 30-31. On cross-examination, Kennedy asked Officer Yeager

whether the firearm was ever tested for fingerprints or DNA. Officer Yeager

responded, “No.” Id. at 57. The Commonwealth did not introduce the results

of any DNA or fingerprint testing of this firearm into evidence, and in his

closing argument, Kennedy argued that the Commonwealth’s evidence was

not credible because the police had not tested the firearm for his fingerprints

or DNA. N.T., 10/23/13, at 55 (“And my question also is why did you not

fingerprint the weapon that you said belonged to me? Why? Why didn’t you

do a DNA test?”).

                                     -3-
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       The jury convicted Kennedy of five counts each of robbery, unlawful

restraint, and false imprisonment, and one count each of aggravated assault,

burglary, criminal conspiracy, possession of an instrument of crime, carrying

a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm with an altered

manufacturer’s number, and possession of a firearm prohibited.2 The court

sentenced him to 50 to 100 years’ imprisonment. We affirmed the judgment

of sentence, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied allowance of appeal

in August 2016.3 Kennedy thereafter filed two PCRA petitions, in 2017 and

2020, neither of which resulted in relief.4

       Kennedy filed the instant petition pro se on August 24, 2021. In it, he

alleged that on August 16, 2021, the Commonwealth had provided him with

copies of racist social media postings that Officer Cruz made two years after

Kennedy’s trial. Kennedy claimed that the information constituted after-

discovered evidence and evidence of a Brady5 violation. PCRA Pet., 8/24/21,

at 3. He alleged that Officer Cruz had committed misconduct, manufactured

evidence, and offered false testimony. Id. at 3-4; see also id. at 8 (alleging

____________________________________________

218 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3701, 2902, 2903, 2702, 3502, 903, 907, 6106, 6110.2,
and 6105, respectively.

3 See Commonwealth v. Kennedy, No 1262 EDA 2014, 2016 WL 1120051
at *5 (Pa.Super. 2016), appeal denied, No. 165 EAL 2016 (Pa. 2016).

4Kennedy appealed from the denial of relief on his first PCRA petition, and we
affirmed. See Commonwealth v. Kennedy, No. 193 EDA 2018, 2019 WL
1785681 (Pa.Super. 2019), appeal denied, No. 425 EAL 2019 (Pa. 2020).

5   See Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963).

                                           -4-
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“Officer Cruz not only testified at [Kennedy’s] trial but he in fact handled

sensitive evidence that was used to persuade the [j]udge and jur[y] [and]

booster [the] case against [him]”).

      Kennedy also filed a motion for discovery and an amended motion for

discovery. He requested any information regarding Officer Cruz’s involvement

in his case, and the results of any DNA and fingerprint testing of the evidence

in his case.

      Kennedy also filed a motion for recusal and an amended motion for

recusal. He claimed the court demonstrated bias by continuing his trial for

three and a half years and then denying him a hearing on his right to a speedy

trial. He claimed the court had failed to respond to a previous subpoena and

motion to compel for the “daily runsheets” he needed to prove the speedy trial

violation. Mot. for Recusal, 5/10/21. at 1.

      The Commonwealth filed an answer. In relevant part, it stated that in

response to Kennedy’s discovery motions, it mailed him a copy of the Firearms

Investigation Unit report regarding the firearm that was found under Kennedy,

that Officer Cruz had examined. The Commonwealth stated that it had already

provided a copy of the report to Kennedy during pretrial discovery. It stated

it also sent Kennedy a copy of a page of handwritten notes by the prosecutor

regarding Officer Cruz. The Commonwealth asserted that the firearm

recovered from under Kennedy had never been tested for DNA or fingerprints,

and therefore there were no test results to disclose. Commonwealth’s Answer,

2/1/22, at 10.

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      The court issued notice of its intent to dismiss the petition. See

Pa.R.Crim.P. 907. Kennedy responded, generally arguing that Officer Cruz was

biased against him and had given false testimony. The court dismissed the

petition.

      Kennedy appealed. In his Rule 1925(b) statement of errors, Kennedy

raised that the Commonwealth had intentionally elicited false testimony from

Officer Cruz and had knowingly suppressed the results of DNA/fingerprint

testing of the firearm, and that the PCRA court should have granted his motion

for recusal based on its violation of his speedy trial rights.

      In its Rule 1925(a) opinion, the court explained that it found Kennedy’s

petition timely under the new facts exception, citing the racist social media

postings the Commonwealth had recently provided to Kennedy. See 42

Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(ii).

      The court nonetheless found the petition lacked merit. Regarding the

after-discovered evidence claim, the court concluded Kennedy had failed to

show that the racist social media postings would compel a different verdict if

a new trial was granted. 1925(a) Op.at 4-5. The court observed that Officer

Cruz testified solely regarding “the make, model, and operability” of the

recovered firearm, and its obliterated serial number. Id. at 4. It noted that

Officer Cruz had not investigated Kennedy’s case, interviewed witnesses,

executed any search warrants, or made any arrests. Id. It also noted that

Officer Cruz’s testimony regarding the serial number was corroborated by

Officer Charles Yeager, who had responded to the scene. Id. at 5.

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      As for the Brady claim, the PCRA court found it was meritless because

Kennedy had not proven that the Commonwealth withheld any information

about Officer Cruz at the time of trial. Id. at 6. It pointed out that the offensive

social media postings were made two years after Kennedy’s trial. Id. It also

found the postings were not material evidence of Kennedy’s guilt or innocence,

and that the evidence of guilt adduced at trial was overwhelming. Id.

      Regarding the additional claims Kennedy included in his Rule 1925(b)

petition—that     the   Commonwealth       had    suppressed     the   results   of

DNA/fingerprint evidence, and that the court had violated his speedy trial

rights—the PCRA court noted that these claims were unsubstantiated by the

record and untimely. Id. at 3 n.1.

      Kennedy presents the following issues:

      [1.] Did the prosecutor put forth prejudicial and false evidence to
      obtain a tactical advantage over the petitioner[?]

      [2.] Did the PCRA court deny petitioner a hearing on DNA
      evidence[?]

      [3.] Did the trial court abuse [its] discretion by pushing
      petitioner’s trial back on to [its] docket thereby denying him a fair
      and impartial trial[?]

Kennedy’s Br. at 2 (unpaginated) (unnecessary capitalization and answers

below omitted).

      “When reviewing the denial of a PCRA petition, this Court’s standard of

review is limited to whether the PCRA court’s determination is supported by

evidence of record and whether it is free of legal error.” Commonwealth v.

                                       -7-
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Hart, 199 A.3d 475, 481 (Pa.Super. 2018) (quotation marks and citation

omitted). “[W]hen there are no disputed factual issues, an evidentiary hearing

is not required.” Id. (citation omitted) (alteration in original).

       Kennedy’s first two issues are interrelated. He first argues that the

Commonwealth violated Brady by withholding exculpatory DNA and latent

fingerprint evidence. Kennedy’s Br. at 5.           He also    argues that the

Commonwealth violated Brady by knowingly allowing Officer Cruz to offer

false testimony; however, the only testimony Kennedy highlights is Officer

Cruz’s testimony that the firearm had been submitted for DNA and fingerprint

testing. Id.6 Kennedy claims that because Officer Cruz testified that the

firearm was submitted for this testing, but no results were produced, the PCRA

court should have held an evidentiary hearing. Id. at 7.

       We find these issues waived by Kennedy’s failure to present them to the

PCRA court. See Pa.R.A.P. 302 (issues not presented to the court below are

waived). Kennedy’s petition revolved around the racist social media posts that

Officer Cruz made two years after Kennedy’s trial. The first time he claimed

that the Commonwealth had failed to turn over results of DNA or fingerprint

testing was in his Rule 1925(b) statement. And, while his PCRA petition

generally suggested that Officer Cruz’s testimony was of questionable

____________________________________________

6  We note the contradiction between Kennedy’s assertions that the
Commonwealth suppressed the results of the DNA/fingerprint testing and that
Officer Cruz’s testimony that the firearm was tested for DNA/fingerprint
evidence was false.

                                           -8-
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veracity, he never argued that a new trial was warranted because Officer Cruz

had testified that the firearm had been tested for DNA/latent fingerprints.

       Even if Kennedy had raised these issues to the PCRA court, he would be

due no relief, as these claims are untimely. Any PCRA petition must be filed

within one year of the date the judgment of sentence becomes final, unless

the petitioner pleads and proves one of three statutory timeliness exceptions.

See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). Only two exceptions could conceivably apply

here. The first is for instances in which “government officials” have interfered

with the presentation of a claim. See id. at § 9545(b)(1)(i). The second

exception applies when the facts on which the claim is based were unknown

to the petitioner and he could not have learned them earlier, despite the

exercise of due diligence. Id. at § 9545(b)(1)(ii).7

       Here, Kennedy was on notice at the time of trial that there was a

discrepancy between Officer Cruz’s testimony that he had submitted the

firearm for DNA/latent fingerprint testing, and Officer Yeager’s testimony that

no such testing had occurred. No DNA/fingerprint results for this firearm were

provided to Kennedy during pretrial discovery, introduced at trial, or produced

in response to Kennedy’s recent motion for discovery, and Kennedy has not

provided any new evidence to support his assertion that any results exist. Nor

has Kennedy alleged any facts to suggest that the Commonwealth prevented

____________________________________________

7 The third exception, that the claim is based on a newly recognized
constitutional right, is wholly inapplicable in this scenario. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §
9545(b)(1)(iii).

                                           -9-
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him from pursuing a claim regarding the lack of test results until now. Rather,

Kennedy made the lack of test results part of his defense theory.

      Thus, any assertion of the governmental interference or unknown facts

exception would have failed. The PCRA court therefore could not have

entertained these claims, even if Kennedy had presented them to the PCRA

court. See Commonwealth v. Anderson, 234 A.3d 735, 737 (Pa.Super.

2020) (stating that if a PCRA petition is untimely, neither PCRA court nor

appellate court has jurisdiction to address the substantive claims).

      In his third issue, Kennedy argues that the trial court pushed his trial

date back, violating his right to a speedy trial. He contends his motion for

recusal raised this issue, arguing the PCRA court “allowed this case to fester

for years notwithstanding [its] biasness [sic] toward [Kennedy] throughout

the pendency of these cases.” Kennedy’s Br. at 7. He maintains that this claim

is timely under the PCRA’s governmental interference exception, because “the

government interfered with his ability to properly prepare his case for

collateral review.” Id.

      Assuming, arguendo, that Kennedy preserved this claim by including it

in his recusal motion, Kennedy has failed to prove that his speedy trial claim

and related allegations of bias were timely under the governmental

interference exception. He has not alleged any facts to suggest that the court

prevented him from pursuing a speedy trial claim or recusal prior to the instant

PCRA proceeding. Nor are these claims timely under the newly discovered fact

exception, as Kennedy has not presented any newly discovered evidence to

                                     - 10 -
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substantiate his speedy trial and bias claims. Moreover, the underlying speedy

trial claim failed on direct appeal. We found he had failed to substantiate his

assertions that the court had violated his right to a speedy trial and that the

court had denied him the opportunity to present evidence or argument on this

issue. See Kennedy, 2016 WL 1120051, at *10.

      As Kennedy’s argument for recusal hinges solely on the claim that the

court violated his right to a speedy trial, Kennedy has failed to demonstrate

that the PCRA court should have granted his recusal motion. See

Commonwealth v. Dip, 221 A.3d 201, 206 (Pa.Super. 2019) (“It is the

burden of the party requesting recusal to produce evidence establishing bias,

prejudice or unfairness which raises a substantial doubt as to the jurist’s ability

to preside impartially”) (citation omitted). We therefore affirm the order of the

PCRA court dismissing his petition.

      Order affirmed.

Judge King joins the memorandum.

Judge Olson concurs in the result.
Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 7/6/2023

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