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People v. Spears

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 3, 2000
271 A.D.2d 464 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)

Opinion

Submitted February 28, 2000.

April 3, 2000.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Eng, J.), rendered October 8, 1998, convicting him of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Reyna E. Marder of counsel), for appellant.

Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Nicole Beder, and David A. Nelson of counsel), for respondent.

CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, J.P., THOMAS R. SULLIVAN, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

Contrary to the defendant's contention, the trial court correctly refused to charge manslaughter in the first degree as a lesser-included offense of murder in the second degree, as there was no reasonable view of the evidence that would support a finding that the defendant intended to cause serious physical injury rather than death (see, CPL 300.50[1]; People v. Glover, 57 N.Y.2d 61; People v. Green, 56 N.Y.2d 427 ). The defendant and his accomplice fired nine shots at the victim. The victim suffered six wounds, including one to the head resulting from a shot fired at a distance of two inches or less, one to the chest, one to the neck, and three to the back. This evidence concerning the number and location of the wounds, and the other circumstances of the shooting, support the trial court's conclusion that the submission of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter in the first degree to the jury was not warranted (see, e.g., People v. Kelley, 221 A.D.2d 661; People v. Dennis, 208 A.D.2d 945 ; People v. Porteous, 193 A.D.2d 631 ; People v. Rielly, 190 A.D.2d 695 ; People v. Boo Wat Cheung, 141 A.D.2d 556 ).


Summaries of

People v. Spears

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 3, 2000
271 A.D.2d 464 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)
Case details for

People v. Spears

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, ETC., respondent, v. RUFUS SPEARS, appellant. (Ind. No. 55/97)

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

Date published: Apr 3, 2000

Citations

271 A.D.2d 464 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)
707 N.Y.S.2d 127

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