People v. Allah
| Decision Date | 17 March 1988 |
| Citation | 71 N.Y.2d 830,527 N.Y.S.2d 731,522 N.E.2d 1029 |
| Parties | , 522 N.E.2d 1029 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jamar ALLAH, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Nancy E. Little and Philip L. Weinstein, New York City, for appellant.
Paul T. Gentile, Dist. Atty. (Lawrence B. LaRaus and Billie Manning, New York City, of counsel), for respondent.
The order of the Appellate Division, 129 A.D.2d 484, 514 N.Y.S.2d 26, should be affirmed.
Larry Scott, known by the nickname "Messiah", was approached by three men--defendant and two unidentified persons--near the meeting place of the "Five Percenters", a sect of which defendant is a member. A heated dispute ensued. Scott, then joined by his friend Edward Greene, aroused the anger of the three-man group by insisting that he was God. One of defendant's two companions disputed Scott's assertion, declaring Scott maintained that he was. The argument intensified until Scot --who was unarmed--challenged the unidentified man to fight. Scott removed his jacket, took a few steps back, and cried "Come on." Defendant's companion pulled up his shirt and reached for a long black pistol. As he did, Greene--who was unarmed--rushed toward the man with the gun, but was shot from behind by defendant. Scott and Greene fled. Defendant's companion chased after Scott, firing more than 10 shots, one of which felled Scott. Defendant ran up to Greene, who had collapsed to the ground, put a revolver to his head, robbed him and, when Greene tried to grab the gun, fired twice, hitting him once. Defendant then "pistol-whipped" Greene before fleeing the scene.
Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of attempted murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, all in connection with his actions toward Greene, and convicted of murder for acting as an accessory to the shooting of Scott. Criminal Term set aside the murder conviction, finding insufficient evidence that defendant shared a community of purpose with his companion. The Appellate Division reversed and reinstated the conviction.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People ( People v. Marin, 65 N.Y.2d 741, 742, 492 N.Y.S.2d 16, 481 N.E.2d 556), we conclude that the People met their burden of proving defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, having excluded every reasonable hypothesis other than defendant's intent to assist his companion in the murder of ...
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