Court Opinion

ID: 9388001
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-19 16:08:11.82513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:16.904476
License: Public Domain

J-S33024-22

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA               :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                       Appellee                :
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
    SHAUN C. WARRICK                           :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :       No. 545 EDA 2022

             Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered February 4, 2022
              In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
              Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0004005-2011

    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA               :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                       Appellee                :
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
    SHAUN C. WARRICK                           :
                                               :
                       Appellant               :       No. 546 EDA 2022

             Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered February 4, 2022
              In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
              Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0004006-2011

BEFORE: KUNSELMAN, J., KING, J., and SULLIVAN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY KING, J.:                                  FILED APRIL 19, 2023

        Appellant, Shaun C. Warrick, appeals from the order entered in the

Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, which dismissed his first petition

under the Post-Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).1 We affirm.

____________________________________________

1   42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546.
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     In its opinion, the PCRA court fully and correctly set forth the relevant

facts and procedural history of this case. (See PCRA Court Opinion, filed

4/25/22, at 1-5). Therefore, we do not restate them here.

     Appellant raises the following issues for our review:

        1. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
        petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
        ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
        counsel failed to object to an erroneous jury charge in
        relation to first-degree murder which improperly conflated
        the concepts of specific intent to kill and malice?

        2. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
        petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
        ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
        counsel failed to request a cautionary instruction relating to
        other crimes/bad acts evidence wherein Appellant was
        alleged to have threatened witness Alicia Watkins regarding
        potential cooperation with police?

        3. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
        petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
        ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
        counsel failed to object to the trial court’s incomplete jury
        instruction on consciousness of guilt when the court failed
        to instruct the jury that such evidence, by itself, is
        insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict?

        4. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
        petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
        ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
        counsel failed to object to the trial court’s and prosecutor’s
        remarks which improperly bolstered the Commonwealth’s
        case?

        5. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
        petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
        ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
        counsel failed to investigate Appellant’s potential defense
        that Appellant was at Traffic Court when the underlying
        crimes occurred?

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         6. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
         petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
         ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because the trial
         prosecutor deprived Appellant of a fair trial by engaging in
         racially improper jury selection which was highlighted by
         new access to such practices during the PCRA process?

         7. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
         petition without a hearing because trial counsel was
         ineffective and Appellant suffered prejudice because trial
         counsel failed to object to the speculative testimony of Kelly
         Hunt that implicated Appellant?

         8. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
         petition without a hearing because new evidence shows that
         the Commonwealth failed to disclose exculpatory materials
         from two of its key witnesses, Kiana Walker and Octavia
         Dugger?

         9. Did the PCRA court err in dismissing Appellant’s PCRA
         petition without a hearing because new evidence shows that
         multiple corrupt homicide detectives with a habit of
         corrupting the judicial process were involved in the
         investigation in Appellant’s case and an evidentiary hearing
         and new trial are warranted because there are discovery and
         ineffectiveness issues associated with the failure to present
         this evidence at trial?

(Appellant’s Brief at 4-6) (reordered for purpose of disposition).

      Our standard of review of the denial of a PCRA petition is limited to

examining whether the evidence of record supports the court’s determination

and whether its decision is free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Conway,

14 A.3d 101, 108 (Pa.Super. 2011), appeal denied, 612 Pa. 687, 29 A.3d 795

(2011). This Court grants great deference to the findings of the PCRA court if

the record contains any support for those findings. Commonwealth v. Boyd,

923 A.2d 513, 515 (Pa.Super. 2007), appeal denied, 593 Pa. 754, 932 A.2d

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74 (2007).     We give no similar deference, however, to the court’s legal

conclusions.   Commonwealth v. Ford, 44 A.3d 1190, 1194 (Pa.Super.

2012).

      After a thorough review of the record, the briefs of the parties, the

applicable law, and the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Glenn B.

Bronson, we conclude Appellant’s claims merit no relief.       The PCRA court

opinion comprehensively discusses and properly disposes of the claims raised.

(See PCRA Court Opinion at 5-26). Specifically, regarding Appellant’s first

issue, the court determined that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to

object to the court’s instruction defining specific intent to kill and malice.

Appellant claims the court conflated the two concepts, and argues that in cases

of self-defense or voluntary manslaughter, a killing can be intentional but not

with malice. Nevertheless, the court noted that self-defense and voluntary

manslaughter were not at issue in this case so there was no possibility of

confusion for the jury on the grounds alleged by Appellant. Moreover, the

court’s instruction accurately stated the law and tracked the exact language

in the Pennsylvania Standard Criminal Jury Instruction.

      With respect to Appellant’s second issue, the court found that trial

counsel was not ineffective for failing to request a cautionary instruction after

Alicia Watkins testified that a few days after the shooting, Appellant told her

that she “didn’t have to say anything because they don’t know nothing,” in

relation to speaking with the police.       The court found that a cautionary

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instruction about prior bad acts was unnecessary because Ms. Watkins did not

testify that Appellant threatened her or intimidated her to prevent her from

speaking with the police.     While encouraging Ms. Watkins to stay silent

evidenced consciousness of guilt, it was not a criminal act that required a

Pa.R.E. 404(b) instruction.

      Regarding Appellant’s third issue, the court found no merit to Appellant’s

claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object when the court did

not instruct the jury that consciousness of guilt, by itself, is insufficient

evidence for a conviction. Notably, the court did not suggest to the jury that

they could convict based solely on consciousness of guilt but properly stated

that it could be considered with all the other evidence in the case.

      As it pertains to Appellant’s fourth issue, the court found no merit to

Appellant’s claims of ineffective assistance regarding statements made by the

court and the prosecutor that Appellant insists improperly bolstered the

Commonwealth’s case. Specifically, the court’s comment instructing the jury

not to converse with “anybody [who] is here to support the prosecution, family

members of the decedent, for example” was in the context of cautioning jurors

from speaking with anyone related to the case and did not serve to bolster

the Commonwealth’s case.       Additionally, the prosecutor’s comment to the

Commonwealth witnesses to answer defense counsel’s questions to the best

of their ability did not improperly imply the prosecutor’s personal belief that

the Commonwealth’s witnesses were credible.

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        Concerning Appellant’s fifth claim that trial counsel failed to investigate

Appellant’s alibi evidence, the court noted that the fact that Appellant was at

traffic court on the same day as the shooting did not preclude the possibility

that Appellant had time to arrive at the scene of the murders. Further, Ms.

Watkins testified that she accompanied Appellant to traffic court, where they

remained     for   only   approximately        an   hour   and   there   were   multiple

eyewitnesses who placed Appellant at the scene of the murders.

        With respect to Appellant’s sixth issue, the court found that Appellant

failed to establish that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a

Batson2 challenge because the mere fact that the prosecutor noted the race

and gender of the prospective jurors in his notes does not demonstrate actual

purposeful discrimination. Further, there were no issues of race in the case,

the final racial makeup of the jury was well balanced, and the prosecutor only

utilized six of twenty preemptory strikes.

        Regarding Appellant’s seventh issue, the court determined that trial

counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise a hearsay objection to Kelly

Hunt’s testimony that she overheard the decedent, Mercedes Ivery, speaking

with Appellant on the phone prior to the murder. Ms. Ivery’s statements were

not offered for the truth of the matter asserted but as evidence of Appellant’s

state of mind and the court promptly instructed the jury to consider the

____________________________________________

2   Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986).

                                           -6-
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evidence only for this purpose.    Further, Appellant was not prejudiced by

deficiencies in the prosecutor’s form of questioning during Ms. Hunt’s

testimony because there is no indication that the prosecutor could not have

elicited the same information even if trial counsel had objected.

      With respect to Appellant’s eighth issue, the court determined that

Appellant did not suffer prejudice as a result of the Commonwealth’s failure

to disclose handwritten notes made by the prosecutor indicating that Kiana

Walker and Octavia Duggar spoke to the prosecutor prior to the trial and

stated that they did not see or remember anything from the shooting.

Notably, Ms. Walker testified consistently at trial with the prosecutor’s note,

stating that she did not see the man leave the house where the killings took

place, and that most of the information she recalled from the incident was

based on information she received from a friend. Although the Commonwealth

introduced an eyewitness account from Ms. Walker that she had provided to

police, Ms. Walker disavowed that statement at trial. Thus, the handwritten

note regarding the prosecutor’s call with Ms. Walker stating that Ms. Walker

did not see anything was substantially consistent with her in-court testimony,

cumulative, and had little probative value. Additionally, it is clear from the

totality of the notes regarding the prosecutor’s conversation with Ms. Dugger,

that Ms. Dugger’s statement that she did not remember anything merely

demonstrated an understandable reluctance to testify in court. Ms. Dugger’s

statement to the prosecutor that she did not remember anything was

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inconsistent with her detailed statement to police and her trial testimony.

While Appellant could have used the prosecutor’s notes to impeach Ms.

Dugger’s testimony, the impeachment value would have been de minimus,

and this evidence does not give rise to a reasonable probability that had the

notes been disclosed, the outcome of trial would have been different.

      Finally, the court found that Appellant is not entitled to relief based on

after-discovered evidence of misconduct by various detectives involved in

Appellant’s case because the instances of misconduct cited by Appellant are

unrelated to the instant case. Further, none of the witnesses in this case who

were interviewed by these detectives claimed any kind of coercion or

intimidation by police.    Thus, Appellant’s evidence of unrelated police

misconduct would not likely result in a different verdict if a new trial were

granted.

      The record supports the PCRA court’s findings. See Conway, supra.

Accordingly, we affirm on the basis of the PCRA court’s opinion.

      Order affirmed.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 4/19/2023

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