Opinion
No. 570926/10.
2013-03-12
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Alex BRUGMAN, Defendant–Appellant.
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Laura A. Ward, J.), rendered September 20, 2009, after a nonjury trial, convicting him of attempted petit larceny, and imposing sentence.
Present: SCHOENFELD, J.P., SHULMAN, TORRES, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Judgment of conviction (Laura A. Ward, J.), rendered September 20, 2009, reversed, on the law, the facts, and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and the accusatory instrument is dismissed.
Defendant's conviction of attempted petit larceny ( seePenal Law §§ 110.00, 155.25) was not based on legally sufficient evidence and was, in any event, against the weight of the evidence, which showed only that defendant, in broad daylight and over a period of nearly two hours of police observation, traversed a broad swath of the Union Square and Lower East Side areas of Manhattan, peering through the windows and pulling on the door handles of three parked—and presumably locked—cars, and walking away from each car without entering. On these facts, and without more, defendant's larcenous intent with respect to the contents of the third car—the sole charge of which defendant was convicted—was not established beyond a reasonable doubt ( cf. People v. Lugo [ People v. Borrero], 26 N.Y.2d 430, 433–434, 436 [1970];People v. Brenia, 277 A.D.2d 17 [2000],lv denied96 N.Y.2d 732 [2001] ). Nor does the evidence support a finding that defendant came “within dangerous proximity” (People v. Bracey, 41 N.Y.2d 296, 300 [1977] ) of stealing the (empty) laptop case situated inside the third car ( see generally People v. DeJesus, 34 Misc.3d 141[A], 2012 N.Y. Slip Op 50083[U][App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2012], lv denied19 NY3d 959 [2012] ).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.