Ellis

A Philadelphia native who was the alleged mastermind behind a 2013 robbery and murder of an Altoona man in his Walnut Avenue home will not get a new trial, according to a ruling late last week by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Kashif Omar Ellis, now 38, argued before the appeals court that his trial attorney made several errors and that he did not receive a fair trial before a Blair County jury that heard his case in 2019.

After a five-day trial, Ellis was sentenced by former Blair County President Judge Elizabeth Doyle to serve a prison term of life without parole for first- degree murder.

The judge added another 23.5 to 47 years to the sentence on charges of robbery, burglary, discharging a firearm into a structure, witness intimidation, conspiracy and recklessly endangering another person.

Ellis is serving his sentence as an inmate of the State Correctional Institution Phoenix in Montgomery County.

Two co-defendants, Qasim Green, 31, and Taylor Griffith, 34, entered pleas to third-degree murder.

Green was sentenced to a term of 10 to 25 years behind bars while Griffith, who testified for the prosecution, received a prison sentence of 15 to 30 years.

According to the Superior Court opinion, Griffith was the girlfriend of the intended victim, Stephen Lamont Hackney, a 37-year-old father of three.

During the early morning of July 13, 2013, Hackney was in the bedroom of his home preparing to attend a birthday party in Erie for one of his children.

The Superior Court narrative stated, “At Ellis’ direction, Griffith visited (the Hackney residence). While inside, Griffith texted Ellis, informing him she saw large quantities of narcotics and U.S. currency and that Hackney was alone and unarmed.”

Ellis and Green entered the unlocked rear door of Hackney’s home, and, the narrative continued, “Around 1 a.m., Ellis barged into Hackney’s bedroom and shot him three times, resulting in his death. Griffith and her co-defendants then stole the cash and narcotics and fled.”

Police later that morning found Hackney’s body, as well as large amounts of cash.

In the alley behind the home, they also found a Samsung cellphone.

The cellphone belonged to Green and it became a key piece of evidence against him.

City detectives, also in their investigation, used a software geolocation mapping program known as CellHawk to eventually determine that cellphones belonging to Ellis and Griffith were in the Walnut Avenue area on the night of the murder.

Since his conviction, Ellis has continued to file appeals, including the post-conviction petition that was heard and decided last week by Superior Court Judges Deborah A. Kunselman, Mary P. Murray and Jill Beck.

Ellis, in his petition filed by Altoona attorney Benjamin P. Khan, listed several areas in which his trial attorney was “ineffective.”

In his post-conviction petition, Ellis contended:

— His trial attorney failed to call a witness who could have contested Griffith’s testimony about events that night.

— His attorney should have attempted to suppress the information about the location of the various cellphones that night because they did not obtain a warrant to search Ellis’ phone, which they used to pinpoint his activities during the night of the murder.

— Ellis continued, his attorney should have challenged the affidavit of probable cause leading to a search warrant because the detective who filed the affidavit indicated he received information during the investigation from another detective that Hackney was set up by Ellis and Griffith. That alleged tip was not mentioned in any other police document which, to Ellis, meant there was “clearly something bizarre” about the tip.

— Also, his trial attorney, Ellis claimed, should not have stipulated during the trial the authenticity of the cellphone data.

— In addition, Ellis argued, his attorney should have challenged the jury selection process because initially Ellis and Green (before he entered a guilty plea) were to be tried together. Attorneys for both shared the challenges to potential jurors. Green then entered a plea. Ellis in his petition maintained a new jury should have been empaneled.

The Superior Court panel hearing the Ellis appeal rejected each of the defense claims against the trial attorney, Ralph Thomas Forr of Altoona.

For instance, in addressing the lawyer’s failure to summon a witness who allegedly offered a challenge to Griffith’s testimony about the timeline of events that night, even if true, “would not negate Griffith’s testimony that she saw Ellis shoot Hackney three times in his bedroom,” the panel explained.

Addressing the cellphone location evidence, the appeals court opined that any error in admitting the evidence was “harmless … in view of the totality of the overwhelming evidence against Ellis.”

As to the alleged false statement in the officer’s affidavit, the appeals court stated, “It does not constitute a substantial preliminary showing of perjury or a reckless disregard for the truth. … It would not have negated Griffith’s eyewitness testimony.”

And finally, the panel upheld the jury selection process.

It concluded Ellis did not prove any of his five complaints against his lawyer.