Summary
reversing conviction on charge of possession of stolen property in the first degree where the prosecution failed to preserve the allegedly stolen property which formed the basis for the defendant's conviction
Summary of this case from Goston v. RiveraOpinion
June 23, 1986
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Goldstein, J.).
Judgment reversed, on the law, indictment dismissed and matter remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for the purpose of entering an order in its discretion pursuant to CPL 160.50.
In contravention of the provisions of Penal Law § 450.10 in effect at the time of the incident herein, the People failed to preserve the allegedly stolen property which formed the basis for the defendant's conviction. Since the essence of the crime charged was the identity and value of the allegedly stolen property, the only appropriate response is reversal of the judgment of conviction and dismissal of the indictment (cf. People v. Kelly, 62 N.Y.2d 516; People v. Johnson, 114 A.D.2d 515 ). Gibbons, J.P., Brown, Weinstein and Kooper, JJ., concur.