Commonwealth v. Menhart

�1 This is an appeal from the order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County denying Appellant’s first petition filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. �� 9541-9546. On appeal, Appellant contends (1) Appellant’s sentence is illegal, and (2) the PCRA court erred in finding Appellant’s sentencing claim to be waived. We affirm.

�2 The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: From October of 1990 to February of 1991, Appellant and his cohort, Jonathan Schuffert, burglarized several churches and church schools in Allegheny County. At two of the burglary locations, blood evidence was found, which matched Appellant’s blood. With regard to the remaining burglaries, Schuffert indicated that he would testify against Appellant, but he later indicated that he would not do so. As such, the charges against Appellant, which related to the burglaries for which the Commonwealth had no blood evidence, were withdrawn.

�3 On June 26, 1992, Appellant pleaded guilty to the burglaries at the locations where his blood was found, and Appellant was sentenced to two concurrent terms of thirty-nine months to seventy-eight months in prison. Subsequently, Schuffert pleaded guilty to the same two burglaries to which Appellant pleaded guilty, and he was sentenced. Once Schuffert’s rights against self-incrimination expired, the Commonwealth filed new charges against Appellant with regard to the remaining burglaries.