Helmick v. Smith

1

PAUL CHARLES HELMICK, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, BARRY SMITH, Superintendent State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale, and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, Respondents.

Civil Action No. 19-722

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania

February 1, 2023

CORRECTED MEMORANDUM OPINION

RE: ECF NO. 1

MAUREEN P. KELLY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRAT JUDGE

Paul Charles Helmick ("Petitioner") is a state prisoner currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer ("SCI-Mercer") in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Petitioner initiated this action by filing a Petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody (the "Petition"), ECF No. 1, in which he challenges his 2012 convictions in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania, for attempted homicide in violation of 18 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 901(a) and 2501; aggravated assault in violation of 18 Pa C.S.A. § 2701(a)(1); aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in violation of 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 2702(a)(4); and burglary in violation of 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 3502(a). ECF No. 1 at 2. See Sentencing Tr., ECF No. 34-6 at 29-31; see also Com, v. Helmick, Docket No. CP-63-CR-552-2012 (available at https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Report/CpDocketSheet?docketNumber=CP-63-CR-0000552-2012&dnh=rOfx08tFWk31g3X9NlmTaw%3D%3D (last visited Feb. 1, 2023)).

On July 18, 2012, Petitioner was convicted after a jury trial at which he testified. Trial Tr. dated July 18,2012, ECF No. 34-3 at 9 and 128-29. On October 10, 2012, he was sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 15 to 30 years, with financial penalties imposed as well. ECF No. 1 at 1; Sentencing Tr., ECF No. 34-6 at 29-31.

For the reasons stated below, the Petition will be denied, and a certificate of appealability will be denied.^[1]

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Pennsylvania Superior Court summarized the relevant factual and procedural history of this case as follows.^[2]

This case stems from the victim, Lori Phillips, being struck in the head with a sledgehammer by Petitioner on the morning of January 29, 2012. The victim testified that her two-year relationship with Petitioner ended a few weeks before the incident occurred but stated that they remained friends. [Trial Tr. dated July 17, 2012] at 34. She testified that Petitioner had asked to speak with the victim on a daily basis so he could hear her voice to help him get over the breakup. Id. at 35.

The victim testified that on January 28, 2012 she invited Petitioner to her apartment after he called her upset over the break-up. When Petitioner arrived, the victim's friend, Tammy Sprowls ("Sprowls"), was also at the apartment. Id. The victim could not recall how long Petitioner was there as she had experienced memory loss since the incident. Id. at 36-37. However, she did remember instructing Petitioner and Sprowls to leave after Petitioner spilled vodka on her during an argument. Petitioner and Sprowls left after the victim threatened to call the police.

Louis "Louie" Phillips ("Louie"), the victim's ex-brother-in-law, visited her at the apartment around 5:00 a.m. Petitioner and Sprowls then began repeatedly calling the victim. Id. at 39. Louie eventually quit answering the phone, but not before Petitioner told the victim "I know there is somebody up there, I'm going to kill you." Id. at 40. Soon after this phone call, the victim heard a loud vehicle in the parking lot which she thought sounded like Petitioner's pickup truck. She looked out the window of her apartment and saw Petitioner park his truck, exit the truck, and grab a sledgehammer while saying "I'm coming to get you." Id. at 41.

Petitioner made his way into the apartment building where he proceeded to strike the victim's apartment door with the sledgehammer. The victim testified that she remained in the middle of the entranceway that led up to her front door, and that she never got near the front door while Petitioner was hitting it with the sledgehammer. Petitioner broke the door down when the sledgehammer connected on its third hit. Id. at 42. The last thing the victim remembers while being in her apartment was Petitioner standing in her front door after he broke it open. The next thing she remembered was waking up in a medical helicopter, feeling blood trickling down the back of her head, and hearing the flight medic say "You're not going to die on my shift." Id.

The victim was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital where she remained for eleven days. She testified that her injuries were significant and consisted of a right side skull fracture, six staples in her head, trauma in the middle ear calcium deposits in her ear due to broken bones, consistent ringing in her right ear, a cracked rib, and a blood clot in the left side of her head. She stayed at her mother's house for about two weeks after being released from the hospital. The victim still experiences dizzy spells, headaches, her jaw cracking, her ear feeling like it is full of cotton, and persistent ringing in her right ear. Id., at 43-44.

On cross-examination, the victim testified that she was with Petitioner and Sprowls the night before the injury drinking vodka mixed with Coke; the victim drank about three glasses but was still aware of what was going on around her. The victim testified that she thought the incident may have been an "accident" due to the involvement of alcohol. Id. at 49. The victim does not remember seeing a sledgehammer when Petitioner broke down the door, and may have turned around when Petitioner entered her apartment. Id. at 50-51.

Trisha Church ("Church"), the victim's neighbor, also testified for the Commonwealth. Church recalled that she had previously seen Petitioner in the building. Id., at 64-65. On the morning of January 29, 2012, she heard three or four loud bangs on the victim's front door accompanied by screaming. She recalled hearing someone say, "I killed the bitch dead" right before she exited her apartment and entered the hallway. Id. at 66. Church found the victim lying on the floor bleeding and unconscious. She stayed with the victim until paramedics arrived. On cross-examination, she testified that she had told a state trooper that during the banging she heard a male voice say, "Where's Louie, I'm going to find him and kill him." Id. at 69.

Tara Whiteman ("Whiteman") lived directly across the hall from the victim. Whiteman testified that while sleeping on the night of January 29, 2012, she awoke to the sound of four very loud banging or pounding sounds about 30 feet from her bedroom. Id., at 75-76. Whiteman left her bedroom and walked out into the building hallway where she saw Petitioner, who she had known most of her life, walk out of the victim's apartment with a sledgehammer and close the door slowly behind him. When Whiteman asked what he was doing, Petitioner responded, "I killed that bitch dead" as he proceeded to leave the apartment building. Id., at 78. Whiteman then pushed open the victim's door and found the victim lying face down at the end of an entryway in a pool of blood with her feet pointing towards the front door.

Photographs were taken of the dented front door, the stairwell leading up to the hallway, the broken dead bolt and door frame, a pool of blood on the floor toward the end of the entranceway, and blood spatter marks on the wall next to the pool of blood. Petitioner was apprehended and his truck was seized. The sledgehammer was found behind the seat. Petitioner's clothing and shoes were also placed into evidence and sent for DNA testing.

Video surveillance footage of the apartment complex was obtained and depicted Petitioner's truck, Petitioner carrying an object with a long handle, and Petitioner wearing clothing matching what was recovered from his person. The footage showed Petitioner walking on the sidewalk and going up the stairs which lead to the side door near the victim's apartment. Based on the video, Petitioner was in the building for 90 seconds; he was seen returning to his truck and placing something in his truck bed.

Petitioner testified on his own behalf He detailed his romantic relationship with the victim and denied her characterization of their break-up, averring that she lied about his request for daily telephone calls. Trial Tr. dated July 18, 2012, at 206-207. He characterized their relationship as "friends with benefits." Id. at 237. Petitioner averred that he had never laid a hand on the victim. Id. at 243.

[Petitioner testified that] on Saturday, January 28th, he was at the victim's apartment drinking vodka with her and Sprowls until one or two in the morning. A verbal argument took place and the victim asked Petitioner and Sprowls to leave. Id., at 209-13. Petitioner and Sprowls left but continued drinking together; he testified that at this point he had been awake for 30 to 36 hours. Petitioner explained that phone calls with the victim and Louie ensued and they all began to argue. Petitioner alleged that Louie threatened to damage his truck by placing ball bearings in his gas tank. Id. at 218. Petitioner noted the problems he had with Louie in the past. Id. at 214-17. Petitioner testified that his anger toward Louie motivated him to return to the victim's apartment in an effort to confront Louie and "smack him around a little bit." Id. at 221.

Petitioner went to the victim's apartment before noon on the 29th and took his sledgehammer with him in case Louie refused to come out of the apartment. Petitioner testified he only intended to use the sledgehammer to knock the door down, not as a weapon. Petitioner stated that he began to hit the door with the sledgehammer and yelling, "where the H is Louie at ... where you at, b-i-t-c-h, where you at, where you at Louis ..." Id. at

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