Commonwealth v. Lawrence

OPINION BY

PANELLA, J.:

¶ 1 Appellant, James Lawrence, appeals from the order entered on July 2, 2007, by the Honorable David R. Cashman, Court of Common Pleas of Alegheny County, which dismissed his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).1 After careful review, we affirm.

¶ 2 A panel of this Court summarized the disturbing facts of this case on direct appeal as follows:

On July 2, 1999, at approximately 5:00 p.m., the victim, Beverly Spencer, was approached by [Lawrence] in a bar in Braddock, Pennsylvania. After she left the bar, [Lawrence] grabbed her and forced her…