Com. v. Caban, C., Com. v. Caban, C. No. 1820 EDA 2016

In early morning Dec. 28, 2014, Caban entered an apartment complex in West Chester and gained entry to unit B-12 through an unlocked door. Video showed earlier unsuccessful attempts to enter other units.
After entry, Caban encountered a young man sleeping in a bedroom and committed multiple sexual assaults; charges included burglary, criminal trespass, attempted burglary, indecent assault, and disorderly conduct.
Caban pled guilty to one count each of the listed offenses and received an aggregate sentence of 2 to 4 years’ imprisonment on March 9, 2016.
Ten days before trial Caban filed a timely post-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea; the trial court held an evidentiary hearing and denied the motion.
Caban appealed, arguing the trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion to withdraw because withdrawal was required to prevent a manifest injustice; the trial court and Superior Court examined the plea colloquy and record.
The certified record included a 12‑page written guilty plea colloquy that Caban signed and an oral on-the-record colloquy where he admitted the factual basis, affirmed counsel’s competence, and stated the plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying post-sentence motion to withdraw guilty plea	Commonwealth: plea was valid; colloquy and record show plea was knowing, voluntary, intelligent	Caban: plea withdrawal necessary to avoid manifest injustice; he consistently asserted innocence, filed timely motion, and Commonwealth not prejudiced	Denial affirmed — plea was knowing, intelligent, voluntary; Caban bound by his colloquy statements; no manifest injustice shown

Commonwealth v. Prendes, 97 A.3d 337 (Pa. Super. 2014) (standards for post‑sentence withdrawal and plea voluntariness)
Commonwealth v. Barnes, 687 A.2d 1163 (Pa. 1997) (defendant bound by statements made during plea colloquy)
Commonwealth v. Moser, 921 A.2d 526 (Pa. Super. 2007) (plea need only be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent; dissatisfaction with outcome insufficient)