People v. Costello
| Decision Date | 03 July 1985 |
| Citation | 490 N.Y.S.2d 892,112 A.D.2d 478 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Patrick COSTELLO, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Feit & Schlenker, Albany (Dennis B. Schlenker, Albany, of counsel), for appellant.
Seymour Meadow, Greene County Dist. Atty., Catskill (John A. Gemelli, Catskill, of counsel), for respondent.
Before KANE, J.P., and MAIN, CASEY, WEISS and LEVINE, JJ.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Greene County, rendered July 30, 1984, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of manslaughter in the second degree.
Defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict finding him guilty of manslaughter in the second degree, that the trial court erred in its Sandoval ruling, and that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress certain physical evidence and defendant's statement to the police. We find no merit in these contentions and, therefore, affirm the judgment of conviction.
The People's proof at trial included testimony establishing that defendant and the decedent engaged in a fistfight, with the decedent apparently having the upper hand; that decedent suddenly fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from a fatal stab wound to the chest; and that defendant ran from the scene. Defendant was apprehended by two observers of the fight and was heard to say, "They're going to put me away for what I done" and "I'm going to pay for what I did." A search of the area revealed a knife several feet from where the decedent had fallen and a knife sheath was discovered along the path taken by the fleeing defendant. The knife and sheath matched the description given by defendant of the knife and sheath that he had with him on the evening of the fight. Blood found on the knife matched the decedent's blood type.
The People's proof, although circumstantial, was sufficient to establish defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for the hypothesis of guilt flows naturally from the facts proved and is consistent with them, and those facts exclude to a moral certainty every reasonable hypothesis of innocence (see People v. Lagana, 36 N.Y.2d 71, 365 N.Y.S.2d 147, 324 N.E.2d 534, cert. denied 424 U.S. 942, 96 S.Ct. 1409, 47 L.Ed.2d 348; People v. Benzinger, 36 N.Y.2d 29, 364 N.Y.S.2d 855, 324 N.E.2d 334; People v. Allen, 61 A.D.2d 619, 403 N.Y.S.2d 522, affd. 48 N.Y.2d 760, 423 N.Y.S.2d 657, 399 N.E.2d 544; see also People v. La Joy, 109 A.D.2d 916, 486 N.Y.S.2d 385; People v. Lewis, 100 A.D.2d 669, 473 N.Y.S.2d 853). The only reasonable hypothesis to be drawn from the facts proved by the People is that defendant produced a knife during the course of a fight with the decedent, that he acted recklessly in so doing (Penal Law § 15.05[3] ), resulting in the decedent's death, and that defendant is, therefore, guilty of manslaughter in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.15[1] ). Defendant's reliance upon People v. Montanez, 41 N.Y.2d 53, 390 N.Y.S.2d 861, 359 N.E.2d 371 is misplaced, for the facts of that case are readily distinguishable. "In short, the facts in Montanez did not sufficiently rebut the reasonable hypothesis that death resulted from an unavoidable accident, rather than a criminal act" (People v. Licitra, 47 N.Y.2d 554,...
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