J-A28014-14
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
ERIC VALENTIN-PEREZ
Appellant No. 3462 EDA 2013
Appeal from the Order Entered October 31, 2013
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0008931-2007
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., WECHT, J., and JENKINS, J.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED OCTOBER 28, 2014
Appellant, Eric Valentin-Perez, appeals from the order entered in the
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, dismissing his petition for writ
of habeas corpus. We remand for further proceedings.
On July 17, 2007, a confidential informant gave police a description of
a man who would be delivering heroin to a certain address in a white Ford
Taurus between 11:00 p.m. and midnight that day. Police officers observed
Appellant arrive at the address in a white Ford Taurus at approximately
11:00 p.m., lift up the right side of the dashboard, and tell the confidential
informant over the phone, “I’m out front. I got it.” A dog sniff resulted in a
positive identification for drugs. Police executed a search warrant on the
vehicle and recovered fifty-nine grams of heroin, a handgun, and cash.
On January 20, 2011, Appellant entered a nolo contendere plea to
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possession with intent to deliver, firearms not to be carried without a
license, carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia,
and possessing instruments of crime.1 That same day, the court imposed
the negotiated sentence of two-and-one-half (2½) to five (5) years’
incarceration, followed by five (5) years of probation. The court also granted
Appellant’s requested surrender date of February 18, 2011, on the condition
that if Appellant failed to appear, the court would vacate the original
sentence and impose a sentence of sixteen (16) to thirty-two (32) years’
incarceration. Appellant failed to surrender on February 18, 2011. On that
date, the court vacated Appellant’s sentence and resentenced him in
absentia to an aggregate term of fifteen (15) to thirty (30) years’
incarceration. Appellant was ultimately apprehended on September 21,
2012. On February 7, 2013, Appellant filed a petition for writ of habeas
corpus, seeking to have his original negotiated sentence be reinstated. The
court dismissed the petition on October 31, 2013. Appellant filed a timely
notice of appeal on November 26, 2013. On September 29, 2014, Appellant
filed a motion for a new trial based on after-discovered evidence pursuant to
Pa.R.Crim.P. 720(c), alleging the investigating officers were indicted in
federal court on July 30, 2014, on charges of robbery, falsification of
records, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations, and
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1
35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30); 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6106(a)(1), 6108, and 907(a),
respectively.
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related offenses. On October 3, 2014, Appellant filed an unopposed
application for remand of this case to the trial court for further proceedings
based on the newly discovered evidence. We grant the petition for remand.
Accordingly, we remand this matter for further proceedings regarding
Appellant’s allegations of after-discovered evidence, and without prejudice to
Appellant to reinstate his appeal from the order of October 31, 2013,
depending on the outcome of the remand proceedings.
Case remanded for further proceedings. Jurisdiction is relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 10/28/2014
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