Com. v. Bryant, J., 995 WDA 2016

On June 18, 2011, Julian Bryant fired six shots at Kareem Howard, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds and extensive injuries requiring hospitalization and surgeries.
Howard and Bryant knew each other; Howard was involved with Bryant’s sister and was the father of two of her children.
After being shot, Howard retrieved a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol and fired back; a 9mm bullet found in Bryant’s leg matched that pistol.
Bryant was convicted by a jury of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced on October 29, 2012 to 20–40 years’ imprisonment; this Court previously affirmed the conviction on direct appeal.
Bryant filed a timely PCRA petition raising (1) that his sentence violated Alleyne because a mandatory minimum was invoked/required jury findings and (2) that the sentencing court improperly applied the sentencing guidelines’ deadly-weapon matrix despite an acquittal on firearm-possession charges.
The PCRA court dismissed the petition without a hearing; Bryant appealed pro se and the Superior Court affirmed the denial of PCRA relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Alleyne requires vacatur of sentence on collateral review because a fact triggering a mandatory minimum was not found by a jury	Bryant: Alleyne requires jury findings of any fact that invokes a mandatory minimum; his sentence is illegal	Commonwealth/PCRA court: Alleyne is not retroactive on collateral review; moreover a mandatory minimum was invoked but not actually imposed	Court: Alleyne is not retroactive on PCRA review and no Alleyne violation occurred because the mandatory minimum was not the basis of the sentence
Whether the deadly-weapon enhancement in the sentencing guidelines was improper because Bryant was acquitted of firearm possession	Bryant: Deadly-weapon matrix should not apply after acquittal on weapon-possession charge	Commonwealth/PCRA court: Issue was not raised in the PCRA proceedings and is therefore waived	Court: Issue is waived under Pa.R.A.P. 302(a); not preserved for appeal

Alleyne v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2151 (2013) (mandatory-minimum facts must be found by a jury under the Sixth Amendment)
Commonwealth v. Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016) (Alleyne is not retroactive on collateral review)
Commonwealth v. Ziegler, 112 A.3d 656 (Pa. Super. 2015) (if a mandatory minimum is invoked but the sentence is imposed under a higher guideline term based on deadly-weapon enhancement, the sentence is not unlawful on Alleyne grounds)
Commonwealth v. Whitehawk, 146 A.3d 266 (Pa. Super. 2016) (standard of review for PCRA dismissal)
Commonwealth v. Bryant, 106 A.3d 159 (Pa. Super. 2014) (direct appeal decision affirming convictions)