People v. Mitchell

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Writing for the Court: Before SULLIVAN
• Citation: People v. Mitchell, 628 N.Y.S.2d 650, 216 A.D.2d 156 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
• Decision Date: 22 June 1995
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Abraham MITCHELL, Defendant-Appellant.

Page 650

628 N.Y.S.2d 650

216 A.D.2d 156

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Abraham MITCHELL, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division First Department.

June 22, 1995.

D.F. Samson, for respondent.

R. McDonald, for defendant-appellant.

Before SULLIVAN, J.P., and RUBIN, ASCH and WILLIAMS, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edward McLaughlin, J.), rendered July 15, 1992, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of robbery in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 10 to 20 years, unanimously affirmed.

The record supports the trial court's determination that the prosecutor provided race-neutral reasons for the discharge of four African-American prospective jurors, including two who had previously served on hung criminal juries (United States v. Ruiz, 894 F.2d 501, 506-507), one who believed that a family member had been wrongly arrested and imprisoned (People v. Roberts, 208 A.D.2d 410, 617 N.Y.S.2d 174), and a fourth whom the trial court found to be less than forthcoming about his educational plans and had been involved in a Family Court matter.

Defendant's pro se complaint about the court's failure to charge the jury that the witness Mr. Strong was an accomplice as a matter of law is unpreserved for review (People v. James, 75 N.Y.2d 874, 554 N.Y.S.2d 465, 553 N.E.2d 1013), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. If we were to review it, we would find that since "different inferences reasonably may be drawn from the proof" regarding Strong's complicity, the court properly instructed the jury that it must determine whether he was an accomplice as a matter of fact (People v. Vataj, 69 N.Y.2d 985, 987, 517 N.Y.S.2d 708, 510 N.E.2d 792), where, although the witness did not plan or participate in the crime, he was aware that defendant and his cohort planned to rob the store, accompanied them to the area, remained outside during the robbery, and later sought to share in the proceeds (see, People v. Brown, 209 A.D.2d 233, 618 N.Y.S.2d 297, 298, lv. denied 85 N.Y.2d 860, 624 N.Y.S.2d 379, 648 N.E.2d 799).

Nor did the trial court err in denying defendant's request for an adverse inference charge regarding the People's failure to preserve the surveillance tape of the first robbery, since the loss was inadvertent, defense counsel thoroughly cross-examined the officers about the tape and utilized its loss as...