SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department

368/15 

KA 13-01176 

PRESENT: CENTRA, J.P., PERADOTTO, LINDLEY, AND DEJOSEPH, JJ. 

 

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, RESPONDENT, 

V MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MATTHEW A. DAVIS, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. 

 

PATRICIA M. MCGRATH, LOCKPORT, FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. 

MATTHEW A. DAVIS, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT PRO SE.

NIAGARA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, LOCKPORT (THOMAS H. BRANDT

OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT. 

 

Appeal from a judgment of the Niagara County Court (Matthew J.

Murphy, III, J.), rendered April 18, 2013. The judgment convicted

defendant, upon a jury verdict, of murder in the second degree (two

counts), burglary in the first degree and robbery in the first degree. 

The judgment was modified by order of this Court entered March 27,

2015 in a memorandum decision (126 AD3d 1516), and defendant and the

People on September 3, 2015 were granted leave to appeal to the Court

of Appeals from the order of this Court (26 NY3d 966), and the Court

of Appeals on November 21, 2016 modified the order and remitted the

case to this Court for consideration of the facts (___ NY3d ___ [Nov.

21, 2016]). 

Now, upon remittitur from the Court of Appeals,

It is hereby ORDERED that, upon remittitur from the Court of

Appeals, the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: This case is before us upon remittitur from the

Court of Appeals (People v Davis, ___ NY3d ___ [Nov. 21, 2016], modfg

126 AD3d 1516). We previously modified the judgment of conviction by

reversing those parts convicting defendant of two counts of murder in

the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25 [3]) and dismissing those counts

of the indictment. We concluded that the People failed to prove

beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant’s actions caused the victim’s

death and thus failed to establish defendant’s guilt of the two counts

of felony murder (Davis, 126 AD3d at 1516-1517). We otherwise

affirmed the judgment insofar as it convicted defendant of burglary in

the first degree (§ 140.30 [2]) and robbery in the first degree 

(§ 160.15 [1]). In modifying our order, the Court of Appeals

concluded that the evidence at trial was legally sufficient to support

defendant’s conviction of two counts of felony murder. The Court
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KA 13-01176 

wrote that, based on the evidence presented by the People, “the jury

could have reasonably concluded that defendant’s conduct was an actual

contributory cause of the victim’s death” and “that the victim’s heart

failure, induced by the extreme stress and trauma of such a violent

assault, was a directly foreseeable consequence of defendant’s

conduct” (Davis, ___ NY3d at ___). 

 

After addressing the issues raised by defendant on his appeal

from our order, the Court of Appeals affirmed the remainder of our

order and remitted the matter to this Court “for consideration of the

facts” (id.; see CPL 470.40 [2] [b]). Those facts have been

considered and are determined to have been established. Inasmuch as

defendant did not raise any challenge to the weight of the evidence in

his appeal to this Court, we do not address that issue.

Entered: December 23, 2016 Frances E. Cafarell

Clerk of the Court