People v. Desmond

• Decision Date: 12 June 2014
• Citation: 988 N.Y.S.2d 703,2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 04268,118 A.D.3d 1131
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. John M. DESMOND, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

118 A.D.3d 1131

988 N.Y.S.2d 703

2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 04268

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.John M. DESMOND, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

June 12, 2014.

Majorie M. Kirkaldy, Afton, for appellant.

Gerald F. Mollen, District Attorney, Binghamton (Veronica M. Krause of counsel), for respondent.

Before: PETERS, P.J. STEIN, GARRY, EGAN JR. and CLARK, JJ.

GARRY, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Broome County (Smith, J.), rendered July 3, 2012, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of criminal sexual act in the first degree (two counts).

Defendant was charged by indictment with two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count of attempted rape in the first degree, stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted the victim in the Town of Union, Broome County. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of the criminal sexual act charges and acquitted of the attempted rape charge. County Court thereafter sentenced defendant, as a second felony offender, to an aggregate prison term of 14 years, followed by 10 years of postrelease supervision. Defendant appeals, and we affirm.

Defendant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence establishing that he performed oral sex on the victim by forcible compulsion, as charged in count two of the indictment, and further that the guilty verdict as to both counts is against the weight of the evidence. Although, as defendant concedes, his legal sufficiency claim is unpreserved for our review, “we necessarily evaluate whether the evidence supports each element of the crime[ ] in the course of reviewing the contention that the verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence” ( People v. Fancher, 116 A.D.3d 1084, 1085–1086, 984 N.Y.S.2d 174;see People v. Greenfield, 112 A.D.3d 1226, 1226, 977 N.Y.S.2d 486 [2013] ). Here, to support the convictions, the People were required to prove that defendant engaged in two acts of sexual conduct with the victim “[b]y forcible compulsion” (Penal Law § 130.50[1]; seePenal Law § 130.00[2][a]; [8]; People v. Din, 110 A.D.3d 1246, 1246, 974 N.Y.S.2d 599 [2013],lv. denied22 N.Y.3d 1137, 983 N.Y.S.2d 496, 6 N.E.3d 615 [2014] ).

Although numerous witnesses testified at trial, the verdict rested largely on the jury's assessment of the victim's credibility. The victim testified that, on the evening of July 29, 2011, she and her friend, Andrea Hertzog, were consuming alcohol at a bar in Broome County, when they met—for the first time—defendant and his friend, Shawn Travis. After the victim was involved in an altercation with another female at the bar, the foursome proceeded to a second bar, where they consumed more alcohol, and they then decided to go swimming at a nearby creek. Upon arriving, Hertzog and Travis went off together, and defendant offered to walk with the victim down to the creek. The victim testified that, as she and defendant were walking, he pushed her up against the flood wall, “pinning her,” placed his hand over her mouth to stifle her calls for help, and told her that she was going to engage in various sexual acts with him. After asking the victim if she was “done struggling,” he took his penis out of his pants and put it in her mouth, warning that “if [she] bit him, he would punch [her] in the face.” The victim turned her head, gagging. Defendant then unbuckled the victim's belt and proceeded to put his mouth “onto [her] vagina.” The victim began to hit defendant as he was performing oral sex on her. Defendant “jumped up” and punched her in the face, thereby enabling her to break free and run away.

Hertzog and Travis each testified that they heard the victim scream and then observed her running towards them. According to these two witnesses, the victim was visibly distraught and “covered” in blood. In her testimony the victim indicated that she put her shorts back on in front of Hertzog; however, Hertzog testified that, when the victim reached her, she was already wearing her shorts. Defendant was able to bring to light additional aspects of the victim's account that were inconsistent with the testimony of other witnesses, and the victim acknowledged that, when she gave her initial statement to the police, she withheld certain details because she was scared and uncomfortable with the male police officer who was taking her statement. The jury also had before it the video-taped interview of defendant, in which he gave conflicting accounts of what occurred, initially denying any sexual contact with the victim and ultimately admitting that he performed oral sex on the victim and that she performed oral sex on him, but maintaining that it was consensual.

Such inconsistencies and the conflicting testimony—which were fully explored by defendant on cross-examination—created issues of credibility for the jury to resolve ( see People v. Fernandez, 106 A.D.3d 1281, 1282–1283, 968 N.Y.S.2d 603 [2013];People v. Simonetta, 94 A.D.3d 1242, 1244, 942 N.Y.S.2d 270 [2012],lv. denied19 N.Y.3d 1029, 953 N.Y.S.2d 562, 978 N.E.2d 114 [2012];People v. Shofkom, 63 A.D.3d 1286, 1287, 880 N.Y.S.2d 758 [2009],lv. denied13 N.Y.3d 799, 887 N.Y.S.2d 549, 916 N.E.2d 444 [2009],appeal dismissed13 N.Y.3d 933, 895 N.Y.S.2d 310, 922 N.E.2d 898 [2010] ). “ ‘Great deference is accorded to the fact-finder's opportunity to view the witnesses, hear the testimony and observe demeanor’ ” ( People v. Romero, 7 N.Y.3d 633, 644, 826 N.Y.S.2d 163, 859 N.E.2d 902 [2006], quoting People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490, 495, 515 N.Y.S.2d 761, 508 N.E.2d 672 [1987] ). Although we find that a different verdict would not have been unreasonable ( see People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d at 495, 515 N.Y.S.2d 761, 508 N.E.2d 672), upon deferring to the jury's credibility determinations and examining and weighing the conflicting proof in the record, we conclude that the verdict on both counts was supported by the weight of the credible evidence ( see People v. Miller, 112 A.D.3d 1061, 1063, 976 N.Y.S.2d 616 [2013];People v. Din, 110 A.D.3d at 1247–1248, 974 N.Y.S.2d 599;People v. Lapi, 105 A.D.3d 1084, 1086, 962 N.Y.S.2d 768 [2013],lv. denied21 N.Y.3d 1043, 972 N.Y.S.2d 541, 995 N.E.2d 857 [2013] ).

We disagree with defendant's next contention that County Court erred in denying his request for a Dunaway hearing. A motion seeking suppression of evidence “must state the ground or grounds of the motion and must contain sworn allegations of fact ... supporting such grounds” (CPL 710.60[1] ). “ ‘Hearings are not automatic or generally available for the asking by boilerplate allegations' ” ( People v. Bryant, 8 N.Y.3d 530, 533, 838 N.Y.S.2d 7, 869 N.E.2d 7 [2007], quoting People v. Mendoza, 82 N.Y.2d 415, 422, 604 N.Y.S.2d 922, 624 N.E.2d 1017 [1993];see People v. Burton, 6 N.Y.3d 584, 587, 815 N.Y.S.2d 7, 848 N.E.2d 454 [2006] ). In his omnibus motion, defendant sought “a hearing to address the possible grounds for suppression set forth under [CPL 60.45]” but, as he acknowledges in his brief, failed to set forth any sworn allegations of fact supporting this request. Accordingly, County Court was permitted to deny the request for a Dunaway hearing ( see People v. Carota, 93 A.D.3d 1072, 1076, 941 N.Y.S.2d 302 [2012];People v. Gilmore, 72 A.D.3d 1191, 1192, 898 N.Y.S.2d 717 [2010];People v. Jenkins, 64 A.D.3d 993, 994, 882 N.Y.S.2d 583 [2009];compare People v. Bryant, 8 N.Y.3d at 534, 838 N.Y.S.2d 7, 869 N.E.2d 7), and we conclude that the denial was not an abuse of discretion.¹

While defendant argues that County Court erred in permitting the People to impeach their own witnesses by questioning those witnesses about any prior criminal convictions, defendant never objected to that line of questioning, thus rendering this issue unpreserved for our review ( seeCPL 470.05). In any event, there is no indication in the record that the People made the foregoing inquiries to discredit their own witnesses; rather, the testimony was elicited “to mitigate the damaging effect this information would have had if elicited on cross-examination” ( People v. Johnson, 91 A.D.3d 1121, 1123, 936 N.Y.S.2d 748 [2012],lv. denied18 N.Y.3d 959, 944 N.Y.S.2d 487, 967 N.E.2d 712 [2012];seeCPL 60.40; People v. Wiltshire, 96 A.D.3d 1227, 1230, 947 N.Y.S.2d 199 [2012],lv. denied22 N.Y.3d 1204, 986 N.Y.S.2d 424, 9 N.E.3d 919 [2014];compare People v. Nunez, 82 A.D.3d 1128, 1129–1130, 920 N.Y.S.2d 146 [2011],lv. denied16 N.Y.3d 898, 926 N.Y.S.2d 33, 949 N.E.2d 981 [2011] ).

Similarly unpreserved is defendant's contention that County Court erred in permitting the victim to testify without a proper foundation concerning a “bite mark on [her] leg” that she sustained during the sexual assault. Defendant voiced only a general objection in response to that testimony ( see People v. Romero, 7 N.Y.3d 911, 912, 828 N.Y.S.2d 274, 861 N.E.2d 89;People v. Tonge, 93 N.Y.2d 838, 839–840, 688 N.Y.S.2d 88, 710 N.E.2d 653 [1999];People v. Heesh, 94 A.D.3d 1159, 1163, 941 N.Y.S.2d 767 [2012],lv. denied19 N.Y.3d 961, 950 N.Y.S.2d 113, 973 N.E.2d 211 [2012] ) and, moreover, on cross-examination, he elicited testimony from the victim establishing that she observed that “[t]here were teeth marks in” the bite mark ( see People v. Carroll, 300 A.D.2d 911, 915–916, 753 N.Y.S.2d 148 [2002],lv. denied99 N.Y.2d 626, 760 N.Y.S.2d 107, 790 N.E.2d 281 [2003] ). In any event, we do not agree with defendant that the victim's testimony pertaining to the alleged bite mark constituted improper opinion testimony by a lay witness ( see People v. Dax, 233 A.D.2d 177, 178, 650 N.Y.S.2d 94 [1996] ).²

Defendant further contends that County Court should have provided the jury with a corroboration charge ( seeCPL 60.50; CJI2d[N.Y.] Corroboration of a Confession; see also People v. Daniels, 37 N.Y.2d 624, 629, 376 N.Y.S.2d 436, 339 N.E.2d 139 [1975] ). Defendant did make an initial request for a “[s]tatement corroboration charge.” County Court...