Cellucci v. Commonwealth

Bradford T. Cellucci, Appellant, v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Appellee.

No. 0195-21-4

Court of Appeals of Virginia

May 17, 2022

Order Filed Date June 14, 2022

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY James P. Fisher, Judge

Catherine French Zagurskie, Chief Appellate Counsel (Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, on briefs), for appellant.

Rohiniyurie Tashima, John Marshall Fellow (Mark R. Herring ^[1] Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.

Present: Chief Judge Decker, Judges Ortiz and Causey Argued at Fairfax, Virginia

Circuit Court No. CR00031718-00

Upon a Petition for Rehearing En Banc

Before the Full Court

On May 31, 2022 came the appellee, by the Attorney General of Virginia, and filed a petition requesting that the Court set aside the judgment rendered herein on May 17, 2022, and grant a rehearing en banc on the issue(s) raised in the petition. On consideration whereof and pursuant to Rule 5A:35 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the petition for rehearing en banc is granted and the appeal of those issues is reinstated on the docket of this

Court. The mandate previously entered herein is stayed pending the decision of the Court en banc. The parties shall file briefs in compliance with the schedule set forth in Rule 5A:35(b). The appellant shall attach as an addendum to the opening brief upon rehearing en banc a copy of the opinion previously rendered by the Court in this matter. An electronic version of each brief shall be filed with the Court and served on opposing counsel.^[1]

MEMORANDUM OPINION ^[*]

DANIEL E. ORTIZ, JUDGE

A trial court's decision to modify a sentence after a horrific crime is a weighty matter. The decision's solemn and case-specific nature often requires an appellate court to defer to the lower court's judgment. Yet, this Court cannot turn a blind eye to a trial court's erroneous legal conclusions and failure to consider all relevant factors when deciding whether to modify a sentence under Code § 19.2-303. In these rare circumstances, an appellate court must reverse for the trial court's abuse of discretion.

Bradford T. Cellucci entered an Alford^[2] plea to aggravated malicious wounding after he attacked his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, Bryan Pedroza, with a claw hammer and paralyzed Pedroza from the chest down. The Loudoun circuit court sentenced Cellucci to life in prison and a $100, 000 fine.

Cellucci challenges the circuit court's denial of his motion to reconsider his sentence under Code § 19.2-303. Cellucci contends the circuit court abused its discretion in determining Cellucci failed to prove any circumstances in mitigation, despite evidence demonstrating Cellucci's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, lack of criminal history, and demonstrated ability to be rehabilitated. Further, he contends the circuit court erred by failing to address whether modifying Cellucci's sentence was compatible with the public interest because the original sentence violates the United States Constitution's Eighth Amendment and Due Process Clause. Because the circuit court abused its discretion in making the erroneous legal conclusion that Cellucci failed to prove any mitigating circumstances and in failing to consider Cellucci's mitigating circumstances evidence, we reverse the denial of the motion to reconsider.

Background

On July 28, 2015, twenty-three-year-old Cellucci entered the Ralph Lauren Polo Outlet store in Leesburg where Pedroza worked. Cellucci believed an allegation that Pedroza raped Cellucci's girlfriend and had decided to do something about it. Cellucci walked around the store for nearly twenty minutes until the then eighteen-year-old Pedroza approached him. Cellucci told Pedroza he wanted to try on a shirt, and Pedroza escorted Cellucci to the fitting rooms. When Pedroza turned his back to Cellucci, Cellucci punctured Pedroza's neck with a claw hammer and ran from the Polo store. Pedroza instantly fell and realized he could not control his body. After Pedroza arrived at the hospital, doctors determined that his spinal cord was severed between his C5 and C7 vertebrae.

As a result of the attack, Pedroza is paralyzed from the chest down, cannot walk, and struggles to write or open and close objects because his hands are in a "constant claw state." He experiences "very intense involuntary spasms" that cause his legs to "jump, shake, and stiffen up," and he suffers from nerve pain. He also needs various medicines, medical treatments, and equipment for daily life. Since the attack, Pedroza suffers from depression and anxiety. Additionally, due to his injury, Pedroza and his family faced immediate and long-term financial difficulties.

In early 2020, Cellucci entered an Alford plea of guilty. Approximately eight months later, Cellucci provided evidence to the circuit court at his sentencing hearing through his sentencing memorandum, the presentencing investigation report, a forensic psychological evaluation prepared by Dr. Ina D. Patton, statements from Cellucci's family, including his wife's testimony, and Cellucci's allocution.

This evidence revealed that Cellucci was diagnosed with ASD at a very young age and did not speak until he was at least five years old. As a child, he got frustrated easily and had difficulty understanding social nuances and jokes. He also attended special education classes and qualified for Individualized Educational Plans. As he grew up, Cellucci struggled with substance abuse, starting with marijuana use and eventually escalating to heroin and OxyContin use. He received treatment for substance abuse several times. Despite his struggles with addiction, he did not have a juvenile or adult criminal record.

In 2015, he began dating a woman, and she told him that Pedroza had raped her. After learning about the rape allegation, Cellucci tried to ignore it but instead fixated on and obsessed about the alleged rape. He told the woman that Pedroza should face consequences. In the months leading up to the attack, Cellucci continued to abuse drugs, and his behavior became more erratic and agitated. Several weeks before the attack, he decided to "act on this twisted fantasy" to make Pedroza pay.

Nine days after the attack, Cellucci flew to Honduras where he kept abusing various prescription drugs. When he returned to the United States about five months later, he moved in with his now-wife, Jennifer Cellucci (Jennifer), and her family. While living with Jennifer's family, Cellucci became a Christian, started going to church, and then stopped abusing drugs. Four months later, Cellucci and Jennifer married, and their daughter was born less than a year later. Cellucci also started working and attending school part-time.

Dr. Patton interviewed Cellucci and concluded that Cellucci met the DSM-5 criteria for an ASD diagnosis based on his history, tests, and behavior during the interview. She observed that Cellucci had adopted certain behaviors "to distract from socially awkward behavior or misunderstood social cues" and that he had limited facial and emotional reactions throughout the interview. Dr. Patton also noted that Cellucci "may mask his frustration with impulsivity" to avoid dealing with his emotions and may struggle to link "his thoughts and feelings with his behavior and their consequences." Dr. Patton concluded that a combination of Cellucci's difficulty empathizing with others, substance abuse, and failure to take psychiatric medications created a "perfect storm."

After reviewing all the evidence, the circuit court imposed the statutory maximum of a life sentence and a $100, 000 fine, despite the sentencing guidelines recommending a range between five years and eight months and twelve years and eight months' incarceration. The circuit court deviated up from the sentencing guidelines because it felt the guidelines insufficiently addressed the grievousness of Pedroza's injury and Cellucci's "level of planning/premeditation." The circuit court conceded that a combination of ASD and substance abuse may have played a role but decided that the ASD diagnosis "pale[d] in comparison" to the "blow to civil society."

Cellucci moved to reconsider the sentence. He pointed to his sentencing memorandum, the presentencing report, and evidence and argument at the sentencing hearing to generally argue that he presented circumstances in mitigation; however, he did not specifically identify those circumstances. Further, Cellucci argued modifying his sentence was compatible with the public interest because the sentence violated his due process rights and was cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, partly due to his ASD.

The circuit court denied the motion to reconsider (the denial order), focusing solely on whether Cellucci's ASD was a mitigating circumstance. It reasoned Cellucci "has not presented sufficient evidence to establish . . . that he now, or at the time of the offense, suffers from ASD." Alternatively, the circuit court determined that even if Cellucci had ASD, the diagnosis did not qualify as a mitigating circumstance under Wilson v. Commonwealth, 54 Va.App. 631 (2009), and had no logical nexus to the offense. The circuit court characterized Cellucci's ASD evidence as a "dying ember," "vacant, wanting of substance, and only now being emphasized as a post-hearing 'hail Mary.'" It concluded that, after considering all the evidence, "as a matter of fact and law that [Cellucci] . . . failed to prove any circumstance in mitigation of his offense." Because it found no mitigating circumstances, the circuit court declined to address whether a sentence modification was compatible with the public interest.

Analysis

On the motion to reconsider, the circuit court was required to review all the evidence Cellucci...