Com. v. Cardenas-Torres, G.


J-S26019-22 NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : GILBERTO CARDENAS-TORRES : : Appellant : No. 355 MDA 2022 Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered January 27, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-28-CR-0001604-2020 BEFORE: KUNSELMAN, J., McCAFFERY, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.* MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.: FILED: OCTOBER 11, 2022 Gilberto Cardenas-Torres (Appellant) appeals from the order entered on January 27, 2022, in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, dismissing his petition for collateral relief filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA).1 Appellant seeks relief from the judgment of sentence of three to 18 months of county imprisonment, imposed on December 3, 2020, after he pled guilty to one count of terroristic threats (intent to terrorize another).2 Appellant’s court-appointed counsel, Christopher L. Reibsome, Esquire (PCRA counsel), has filed a petition to withdraw from representation and a brief ____________________________________________ * Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. 1 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. 2 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706(a)(1). J-S26019-22 pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349 (Pa. 2009).3 We grant PCRA counsel’s petition to withdraw, and affirm the order dismissing Appellant’s petition. A recitation of the underlying facts is not necessary to our disposition. Briefly, on October 31, 2020, Appellant was charged with three counts each of terroristic threats and harassment. See PCRA Ct. Op., 4/11/22, at 1. On December 3rd, he entered a negotiated guilty plea to one count of terroristic threats and “agreed to the additional terms of 3-18 months incarceration.” Id. As part of the agreement, the Commonwealth dismissed the remaining charges. Id. Appellant did not file a direct appeal. Subsequently, Appellant filed several pro se documents: (1) a “motion in request for a Padilla[4] hearing,” filed on August 18, 2021; and (2) two PCRA petitions, both filed on September 13, 2021, and alleging ineffective ____________________________________________ 3 Preliminarily, we note that PCRA counsel erroneously seeks to withdraw under Anders, supra, instead of the proper procedure espoused in Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988), and Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc). Generally, we accept an Anders brief in lieu of a Turner/Finley letter because an Anders brief provides greater protection to the defendant. See Commonwealth v. Fusselman, 866 A.2d 1109, 1111 n.3 (Pa. Super. 2004). 4 See Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356, 374 (2010) (holding that failure of criminal defense attorney to advise their non-citizen client of immigration consequences of guilty plea constitutes constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel). -2- J-S26019-22 assistance of counsel for failing to advise him of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea. On January 7, 2022, the PCRA court held an evidentiary hearing on the matter. Both plea counsel, Christopher J. Mosebrook, Esquire, and Appellant testified. See PCRA Ct. Op. at 1. The PCRA court summarized their testimony as follows: [Appellant] testified …

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