From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

People v. Jones

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 13, 1985
111 A.D.2d 264 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)

Opinion

May 13, 1985

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Murray, J.).


Judgment modified, on the law and the facts, by reducing defendant's convictions of grand larceny in the second degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree to petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, respectively, and sentences vacated on those counts. As so modified, judgment affirmed.

The People proved by overwhelming evidence that defendant, acting in concert with another, burglarized the home of Mr. and Mrs. Meyers, stole a variety of items therefrom, and was in possession of those items at the time of his arrest. Mr. Meyers testified as to the cost of the vast majority of these items at the time of their original purchase. However, no evidence was submitted with regard to the market value of the stolen property at the time of the crime ( see, Penal Law § 155.20). Thus, the People failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the stolen property had an aggregate value in excess of $1,500, an essential element of both grand larceny in the second degree (Penal Law § 155.35) and criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree (Penal Law § 165.50; see, People v. Van Etten, 94 A.D.2d 953; People v. Clark, 91 A.D.2d 1102; People v Cahill, 83 A.D.2d 589; People v. McKoy, 79 A.D.2d 665). Moreover, the record is devoid of evidence as to when the items were purchased ( cf. People v. Clark, supra; People v. Bell, 55 A.D.2d 624) or their condition at the time of the perpetration of the crimes ( cf. People v. Cahill, supra). Under these circumstances, the evidence presented can only sustain the lesser included offenses of petit larceny (Penal Law § 155.25) and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree (Penal Law § 165.40; People v. James, 111 A.D.2d 254; cf. People v. Van Etten, supra), and thus, the convictions in question must be reduced accordingly (CPL 470.15 [a]; People v. Dlugash, 41 N.Y.2d 725). There is no need to remit the matter for resentencing since defendant has already served the maximum time to which he could be sentenced on the petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree convictions ( see, Penal Law § 155.25, 165.40 Penal, 70.15 Penal [1]; cf. CPL 470.20; People v Wilson, 84 A.D.2d 852).

Defendant's claims with respect to the court's charge, raised for the first time on appeal, have not been preserved for appellate review as a matter of law ( see, People v. Thomas, 50 N.Y.2d 467; People v. Giles, 87 A.D.2d 636; CPL 470.05). In any event, the newly raised contentions do not warrant a reversal of the judgment of conviction in the interest of justice. Defendant was not entitled to a "moral certainty" charge since the People's case was not based solely, nor even primarily, on circumstantial evidence ( see, People v. Barnes, 50 N.Y.2d 375; People v. Dukes, 97 A.D.2d 445; cf. People v. Bernardo, 83 A.D.2d 1; People v Vasquez, 47 A.D.2d 934).

Finally, to the extent that the court's charge can be considered inadequate, such error was harmless in view of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt ( see, People v Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230). Lazer, J.P., Bracken, Rubin and Eiber, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Jones

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
May 13, 1985
111 A.D.2d 264 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)
Case details for

People v. Jones

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. ROBERT JONES, Appellant

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: May 13, 1985

Citations

111 A.D.2d 264 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985)

Citing Cases

People v. Vientos

The burden, of course, always remains on the People to prove the essential element of market value, if…

People v. Vandenburg

Instead, "[t]he market value of property stolen from a consumer is the price of the item reduced for any…