Court Opinion

ID: 9820365
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 07:10:01.245286+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:38:39.547008
License: Public Domain

Hall, J.,
concurs in part, and dissents in part, and votes to modify the judgment as to the defendant Anthony Matos, on the law and the facts, by vacating the convictions of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, vacating the sentences imposed thereon, and dismissing those counts of the indictment, and by reducing the conviction of gang assault in the first degree to gang assault in the second degree, vacating the sentence imposed under count two of the indictment, and remitting the matter to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for sentencing on the conviction of gang assault in the second degree, with the following memorandum: I agree with much of the determination made by the majority, except for the determination that convictions of the defendant Anthony Matos (hereinafter Anthony) of manslaughter in the first degree, gang assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree were supported by the *890weight of the evidence. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent, in part.
“Upon defendant’s request, the Appellate Division must conduct a weight of the evidence review,” and thus, “a defendant will be given one appellate review of adverse factual findings” (People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348 [2007]; see CPL 470.15 [5]). If a finding in favor of the defendant would not have been unreasonable, then “the court must weigh conflicting testimony, review any rational inferences that may be drawn from the evidence and evaluate the strength of such conclusions” (People v Danielson, 9 NY3d at 348). Once the Court conducts such an analysis, it must then decide whether the verdict finding the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt was warranted. If it appears that the factfinder “ Tailed to give the evidence the weight it should be accorded, then the appellate court may set aside the verdict’ ” (People v Mateo, 2 NY3d 383, 410 [2004], quoting People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495 [1987]).
I recognize that, in fulfilling this Court’s responsibility to conduct an independent review of the weight of the evidence (see CPL 470.15 [5]), this Court will nevertheless accord great deference to the jury’s opportunity to view the witnesses, hear the testimony, and observe demeanor (see People v Mateo, 2 NY3d at 410). However, upon my review of the record, I find that Anthony’s convictions of manslaughter in the first degree, gang assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree are against the weight of the evidence.
An acquittal on the charges of manslaughter in the first degree, gang assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree against Anthony would not have been unreasonable based on the evidence presented. Moreover, in my view, the jury failed to accord the evidence the weight it should have been accorded (see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633 [2006]). While the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Anthony was involved in the fight, the only evidence connecting Anthony to the stabbing of Jason Brown was the testimony of Gilbert Martinez. However, I find that Martinez’s testimony in this regard is not credible.
Martinez, who was originally charged with manslaughter and gang assault for his role in Brown’s death, entered into a cooperation agreement with the prosecution and, in exchange for his testimony, received a probationary sentence after pleading guilty to criminal facilitation in the fourth degree, a class A misdemeanor (see Penal Law § 115.00). This cooperation agree*891ment provided Martinez with a strong incentive to fabricate his testimony and place the blame for Brown’s stabbing on one of his cohorts. While this motive to fabricate does not, standing alone, render Martinez unworthy of belief, other factors in combination with this motive lead me to the conclusion that Martinez’s testimony is not credible.
On cross-examination, Martinez stated that he was not carrying a knife on the night in question. However, at the police precinct, Martinez initialed a Question and Answer Sheet indicating that he was carrying a Swiss army knife in his front pants pocket, and that he usually carries a knife for protection. Further, although Martinez testified at trial that he saw Anthony crouched over Brown’s body, he never mentioned this to the police or prosecutors at any time from 2007 to 2009. Moreover, in contrast to his trial testimony, Martinez did not tell the grand jury that Anthony admitted to stabbing Brown. Martinez told the grand jury that he did not see the fight break out in the club or who started it, and did not know “which guy[ ] got stabbed,” despite so testifying at trial. In addition, while Martinez testified at trial that Anthony exited the club and threw a punch at Brown, he did not so testify before the grand jury.
Furthermore, the video evidence captured from security cameras, which is of poor quality, does not support a finding that Anthony stabbed Brown. Indeed, even viewing the videos in connection with the testimony adduced by the People at trial, it is difficult to discern the events depicted because the videos are of such poor quality. Neither the videos, nor the testimony of the People’s witnesses pertaining to the videos, show that Anthony stabbed Brown.
Consequently, the only evidence connecting Anthony to Brown’s stabbing was Martinez’s testimony that after the subject incident, Anthony admitted to him that he stabbed Brown twice. Similarly, the only evidence that Anthony possessed a weapon came from Martinez’s testimony. There is no forensic or other evidence in this record to corroborate Martinez’s testimony that Anthony admitted that he stabbed Brown. Under these circumstances, Martinez’s testimony does not credibly support Anthony’s convictions of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree (see People v Nisthalal, 87 AD3d 702, 705 [2011]; People v Gonzalez, 84 AD3d 1400 [2011]; People v Zephyrin, 52 AD3d 543 [2008]). Accordingly, it is my opinion that Anthony’s convictions of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree are against the weight of the evidence (see People v Nisthalal, 87 AD3d at 705).
*892In light of my finding that Martinez’s testimony was incredible, I find that the verdict on the count charging Anthony with gang assault in the first degree was against the weight of the evidence. Without any credible evidence to establish that Anthony possessed a knife, the weight of the evidence fails to support a finding that Anthony acted with “intent to cause serious physical injury” to Brown (Penal Law § 120.07). Nevertheless, the weight of the credible evidence does support a finding that Anthony acted with “intent to cause physical injury” to Brown and, thus, that Anthony committed the lesser-included offense of gang assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.06). Consequently, I would reduce Anthony’s conviction of gang assault in the first degree to gang assault in the second degree, vacate the sentence imposed under count two of the indictment, and remit the matter to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for sentencing on Anthony’s conviction of gang assault in the second degree (see CPL 470.15 [5]; People v Freeman, 98 AD3d 682, 683-684 [2012]).