Chase v. Supt., State Corr. Inst. at Albion

• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Writing for the Court: Martin C. Carlson, United States Magistrate Judge
• Decision Date: 29 October 2021
• Docket Number: CIVIL 4:18-CV-101
• Parties: LEONARD CHASE, JR., Petitioner, v. SUPT., STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AT ALBION, et al. Respondents.

LEONARD CHASE, JR., Petitioner, v. SUPT., STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AT ALBION, et al. Respondents.

CIVIL No. 4:18-CV-101

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania

October 29, 2021

Brann Chief Judge

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Martin C. Carlson, United States Magistrate Judge

I. Introduction

This case began with the armed robbery of a Wine and Spirits store in East York. On April 24, 2010, two men entered the Wine and Spirits store, faces covered with bandannas and guns drawn instructing the people present in the store to “fuckin hit the ground.” Thereafter, the two men approached numerous employees and stole money from the cash register and a safe in the store's office. An eyewitness saw the two men exit the store and approach a vehicle that was parked behind the store. He then saw the same vehicle and began following it while on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, providing details on where the car was located. Officers with Springettsbury Township Police Department located the vehicle, which “took off, ” at which point the officers engaged in a pursuit. When the car spun out of control and stopped, officers located the petitioner, Leonard Chase, in the driver's seat, his co-defendant Travis Bryant in the passenger seat, and a third individual, Troy Thomas, in the back seat.

Chase and Bryant were searched, and over $600 in cash was recovered, some of which was still in coin wrappers. Chase was charged with robbery and criminal conspiracy. In April of 2011, a jury found Chase guilty of five counts of robbery and one count of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery. On June 27, 2011, the trial court sentenced Chase to seven to 14 years' imprisonment on each of the robbery charges, to run consecutive, and six to 12 years' imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, to run concurrent with the robbery. This resulting in an aggregate sentence of 35 to 70 years' imprisonment.

The evidence connecting Chase to the robbery was clear and compelling. While no eyewitnesses directly linked Chase to the crime, when the high-speed pursuit ended, Chase was pulled from the driver's seat of the vehicle wearing a tan or sand-colored hooded sweatshirt similar to the attire of one of the robbers. A total of $312.56, some of which was in coin wrappers, was found on his person. His codefendant, Thomas, was removed from the passenger seat and had $326 on his person and $42.50 in a black coat with a fur hood that was on the passenger seat. Some of the money in the coat was also in coin wrappers.

The money recovered from Chase and Thomas was within two dollars of the amount reported stolen from the Wine and Spirits store. Two bandanas were recovered in the vehicle, one of which had Chase's DNA on it, the other of which had Thomas' DNA on it. Their outfits also matched the descriptions of the robbers from the employees and customers in the store at the time and two handguns were also recovered from the vehicle-one on the driver's seat where Chase was sitting and one in the center console area between the driver and passenger seats.

Due to the fact that Chase was charged with several individual counts of robbery as they applied to different employees and customers in the store at the time the robbery occurred, the jury was specially instructed on the robbery counts. Instructed in this fashion the jury convicted Chase of these separate counts.

Chase now challenges his state convictions, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction on all five robbery counts; challenging the special jury instruction; arguing that the search of the vehicle was unreasonable and unconstitutional; challenging the trial judge's application of the deadly weapon enhancement; challenging the computation of his prior record score and the deadly weapon enhancement; arguing that he was improperly convicted on all five counts of robbery stemming from one act of theft; arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective in numerous ways; arguing that the trial court improperly interpreted the robbery statute, turning the robbery of one store into five; and alleging prosecutorial misconduct because the Commonwealth allowed an office to testify in contradiction with the police reports. However, we find these arguments to be without merit, and for the following reasons, we recommend that this petition for habeas corpus be denied.

II. Statement of Facts and of the Case

The factual background of the instant petition was aptly summarized by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in its decision denying Chase's direct appeal:

Chase's convictions stem from the robbery of a Wine &amp Spirits store, located in East York, Pennsylvania, at approximately 10:00 p.m. on April 24, 2010. We summarize the trial testimony as follows: On that night, Chase and Travis Lamont Bryant, his co-defendant, entered the liquor store through the front door, both brandished a gun, and told store employees and patrons to “Fuckin['] hit the ground.” The two men then approached two employees, Petra Meckley and Kelli Herman, who were on the ground by the first register. One of the men, later determined to be Bryant, put a gun to the temple of Meckley's head and told her to “Open the fuckin['] cash register now, bitch.” Meckley stated she had difficulty opening the register because she was unable to see it. Bryant then pulled Herman to press the open key for the register. After Herman hit the key, Bryant pushed her to the floor. He took the money, including bills and coins, out of the register and shoved it in his pocket.

While this activity was going on, the other perpetrator, subsequently determined to be Chase, had gone into the store's office where Dave Smith, a store employee, was working. Chase said to Smith, “Give me the money.” Chase then pointed a gun at Smith's face and tried to open the main door to the safe. When Smith could not open the door, Chase grabbed Smith and shoved him against a stereo. Smith eventually opened the door and Chase removed all the money from the safe, including bills and rolled coins. When Chase brought Smith out of the office, Smith observed Bryant taking money out of the first cash register.

Other witnesses testified about the robbery, making the following observations: BJ Milliken, another employee at the store, was working on the night of the robbery. She testified she heard a commotion coming from the front of the store and as she walked towards the area. Milliken saw an individual, wearing a pumpkin-colored hoodie, in the office and customers laying on the floor. She then turned around, walked to the back of the store, and crouched behind a stack of boxes. She stated she did not encounter either of the perpetrators face-to-face. She also did not see them with guns, and they did not say anything to her.

Sabrina Robinson, a clerk at the liquor store, stated that she was working on the night in question. She was located approximately 15 to 20 feet from the first register. As she was working, she observed the one individual, Chase, in the office. She stated that she did not see the other individual, Bryant. She saw Chase had a gun up in the air and she then froze. She testified that he was wearing a hoodie and had on a black mask. She stated “she went to go run in the back to hit the emergency button, but as soon as I went to go run up the rum aisle, which was the next aisle over, that's when we were told to get down.” She said that she then got down on the ground, grabbed her cell phone, and called 91-1. On cross-examination, she stated that neither robber specifically approached her or threatened her.

Stefanie Santana, a customer, testified that she was present in the liquor store at the time of the robbery. She was at one of the registers when the two males came in with guns. She testified that the men “were darkskinned and they had hoodies and bandanas.” She stated that she “backed up from the register” and then “dropped down.” She testified that the two perpetrators told them “to come down and to get on the ground.” She stated she heard the one male “that was by the safe, he was screaming at the lady and asking her to open the safe. If not he would blow her brains out.” She testified that the two men did not take anything from her person and did not say anything directly to her.

Stephanie Hernandez went to the store with Santana and Santana's two cousins. She testified that right before the store closed, she was at one of the registers when “two gentlemen walked in the store with guns and was telling-screaming, telling everybody, ‘Relax, calm down, nobody's going to get hurt[.]'” She observed that one had a yellow hoodie on and the other male wore a black hoodie with fur around it. She said the man with the black jacket wore a bandana over his face. She stated she then started ducking and running towards the back of the store where she saw an exit. She said that she set off the emergency button when she tried to go through the exit but the door was locked and the alarm went off. She then went towards another door, which opened, and she ran into a nearby building, hid, and called 9-1-1. As she hid, she saw the getaway vehicle, a long light-colored Lincoln car, flee from behind the liquor store. On cross-examination, she testified the men did not threaten her directly and nothing was taken from her person.

Richard Shirey, the general manager of the store, also testified at the trial. He had accessed and authenticated surveillance video regarding the robbery. He testified that $679.51 was taken from the store on the night of the incident.

Donte Pittman testified that he went to the liquor store with his cousin and his cousin's friend on the night of the robbery. While his cousin went into the store, Pittman parked the vehicle, facing the door. H

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