Commonwealth v. Neely
| Decision Date | 23 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | 1910 EDA 2021,J-A24008-22 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. KHALIYFA NEELY Appellant |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
BENDER, P.J.E.
Khalifya Neely ("Appellant") appeals from the judgment of sentence of twenty to forty years of incarceration, entered following his convictions for homicide in the third degree for the murder of De'Vonn Pickett, aggravated assault against Eric Reese, and possession of an instrument of crime. We affirm.
Pickett died as the result of multiple stab wounds following an altercation in the early morning hours of February 18, 2015 outside Che's Bar, located in the West Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Pickett had been drinking in the bar with Eric Reese, Marcus Kincy, Detrick Lowman, and Devon Doram. Pickett, Reese, and Kincy worked in the music industry and were in Philadelphia rehearsing for an upcoming tour with Nicki Minaj. Lowman was also employed in the music business and knew the three men. He was living in Philadelphia and the four decided to meet and catch up with each other. Lowman's cousin, Devon Doram, joined them.
The five men initially met at another bar, Cavanaugh's. At some point, the group decided to visit Che's Bar, partly because the bartender, Travia Allen, knew several of the men, including Reese. Allen and Reese had known each for two or three years and had a romantic relationship. N.T., 2/24/20, at 56. Allen and Reese tended to get together when they were in the same town. Id. at 57. Allen was also friends with Appellant, who was drinking at Che's that evening, along with Anthony Torain and Pierce Boykin. Allen and Appellant had been friends since around 2000 and the two had a "friends with benefits" relationship. N.T., 2/19/20, at 107-08. Appellant also met up at Che's with another woman, Kenra Taylor.
At some point in the evening, the former owner of Che's arrived and caused a disruption when she went behind the bar to serve herself free drinks. As a result of this incident, the owner decided to close the bar down for the evening. Video surveillance established that Appellant and his friends left before Pickett and his group.
The details vary as to who said what outside, but it is undisputed that a melee broke out between the two groups of men, and that Reese and Pickett were stabbed during the altercation. According to Reese, after the owner closed the bar down, he and the rest of his group returned to Lowman's vehicle. N.T., 2/24/20, at 26. He texted Allen to ask if she was okay, and she replied that she would be outside soon. Id. at 27. He went to escort Allen to her vehicle, as he wanted "to make sure she was okay after seeing what happened behind the bar." Id. at 28. Reese heard Pickett ask Allen, Id. at 30. Reese followed Allen to her car, and Reese "got halfway in" the passenger side. Id. at 32. He heard someone say, "Fuck you mean is she good?" Id. He walked back into the street. At this point, everyone from his group except Doram was there, along with Appellant, Boykin, and Torain. Id. at 34. Reese saw Appellant throw the first punch, targeting Pickett. Reese, who was next to Pickett, saw the two men square up to fight. Id. at 37. Reese saw Boykin Id. He and Boykin, who he was able to identify because Boykin was the only one of the men wearing glasses, then fought. The two "pretty much were throwing fists" and Boykin managed to put Reese in a headlock. Id. at 39. Both men ended up tussling on the ground. At some point Reese "felt like I was getting kicked, maybe four[,] ... five times." Id. at 42. He felt this sensation on his "whole left side, and then in the middle of my back toward my right." Id. at 43.
Reese believed that Lowman picked him up shortly thereafter. He saw Pickett on the ground and observed blood through his clothes. As he attempted to talk to Pickett, "Boykin ... starts coming after [him]." Id. at 46. Boykin chased him, and Reese became lightheaded and slowed. Id. at 47. Boykin approached Reese and accused him of sucker punching him; Reese replied that he did not want any problems and struck Boykin to defend Pickett. Reese did not see Boykin with a knife at any point. Id. at 47-48. Boykin told him, "When I catch you, you dead like your cousin." Id. at 48. Reese started to run away, and Lowman pulled up in his car and picked up Reese. Id. Boykin was walking towards the car when they left. Id. at 49.
Lowman testified that he ended up tussling with Torain. N.T., 2/25/20, at 31. The two did not engage much physically. It ended when a woman yelled "[y]our friend is on the ground." Id. at 35. He and Torain let go of each other, and Lowman thought that Pickett may have been knocked unconscious. He told Dorman to get the car. He and Dorman then put Pickett in the car. Id. at 40. He recalled Marcus Kincy jumping in the car at some point, and then picking up Reese. Id. He saw a man near Reese, whom he recognized as "the person that [Reese] was tussling with." Id.
Kincy testified that he ran down an alley during the melee. He returned to the area about a minute later and saw Pickett on the ground. N.T., 2/20/20, at 139. Some fighting was still going on, and he "heard someone say something about going to … get a gun." Id. at 144. That was one of the reasons he, Lowman, and Doram put Pickett in the car and drove to Einstein Hospital. Id. At approximately 2:42 a.m., Officer Thomas Dempsey arrived at Einstein Hospital concerning two stabbing victims. Id. at 84. Staff informed him that Pickett died at 2:45 a.m. Id. at 89.
The police initially arrested Boykin and charged him with murder, in part because Kincy identified Boykin as the man who stabbed both Reese and Pickett. Kincy testified that he assumed Boykin did so, based on seeing "the guy with the glasses start[] swinging" on Pickett, and when he returned to the scene and saw Pickett on the ground, he assumed that Boykin was responsible. Id. at 211. Additionally, police searched Boykin's home and found a small amount of Reese's blood on Boykin's jacket. Boykin was held for trial following a preliminary hearing. Approximately eighteen months later, with his trial date three days away, he met with representatives of the District Attorney's office and implicated Appellant as the murderer. Boykin ultimately pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault for his role in fighting Reese. Boykin testified that he threw the first punch at Pickett but missed. N.T., 2/25/20, at 215. Reese then punched him and the two started fighting. Id. at 218. During the ensuing fight, he saw Appellant facing Pickett, and observed Appellant thrusting his arm once or twice. Id. at 225-26. Boykin saw a "glimmer" in Appellant's hand, and Pickett buckled and fell to the ground. Id. at 227. Appellant then ran over to break up Pickett and Reese, yelling at Reese to "[g]et off him." Id. at 230. Boykin stated that Appellant stabbed Reese. Id.
The Commonwealth apparently learned from Boykin[1] that Appellant had called after the attacks and said that he would be going to Abington Hospital. Heather Abebe, a physician's assistant at Abington Hospital, testified that she treated Appellant on February 18, 2015. The triage form indicated that Appellant arrived at 3:07 a.m. Id. at 141. Appellant stated he had been drinking and tried to slash his girlfriend's tires with a knife. Id. at 142-43. Ms. Abebe observed a large gash over Appellant's knuckle, at the base of his index finger on his right hand. Id. at 143. She testified that the injury was consistent with a knife folding over on the top part of Appellant's hand. Id. at 172. Appellant's blood was found near the location where Pickett was stabbed. N.T., 2/24/20, at 258-59.
Appellant's first jury trial resulted in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Boykin did not testify at the second trial at issue here, and the trial court permitted the Commonwealth to read in his testimony from the first trial.
Following his convictions, Appellant filed post-sentence motions, which were denied. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal and complied with the court's order to file a concise statement. The trial court filed its opinion, and the matter is now ready for our review. Appellant raises the following issues:
To continue reading
Request your trial