People v. Steigler, 107748.

• Decision Date: 27 July 2017
• Docket Number: 107748.
• Citation: 59 N.Y.S.3d 814,152 A.D.3d 1083
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Dillon R. STEIGLER, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

152 A.D.3d 1083
59 N.Y.S.3d 814

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,
v.
Dillon R. STEIGLER, Appellant.

107748.

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

July 27, 2017.

59 N.Y.S.3d 815

Randolph V. Kruman, Cortland, for appellant.

Stephen K. Cornwell Jr., District Attorney, Binghamton (Stephen Ferri of counsel), for respondent.

Before: PETERS, P.J., ROSE, MULVEY, AARONS and PRITZKER, JJ.

MULVEY, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Tioga County (Keene, J.), rendered October 27, 2015, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted robbery in the second degree.

Defendant was charged by indictment with the crimes of robbery in the second degree, assault in the second degree and grand larceny in the fourth degree stemming from allegations that he stole the victim's purse while she was walking in the Village of Owego, Tioga County. Defendant moved, among other things, to suppress his signed, written statement to police. Following a Huntley hearing, County Court found that defendant had been read and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights prior to giving his statement, and the court therefore denied his motion to suppress it. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in the second degree, and County Court sentenced him as a second felony offender to five years in prison followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Defendant now appeals.

We affirm. Defendant's sole contention on appeal is that County Court erred when it determined that his written statement to police was preceded by a voluntary waiver of Miranda warnings and was legally obtained. On defendant's motion, the People had the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's statement to police was voluntarily given, "including that any custodial interrogation was preceded by the administration and defendant's knowing waiver of his Miranda rights" ( People v. Nadal, 131 A.D.3d 729, 730, 14 N.Y.S.3d 591 [2015] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv. denied 26 N.Y.3d 1041, 22 N.Y.S.3d 171, 43 N.E.3d 381 [2015] ). "Determining whether a statement is voluntary is a factual issue governed by the totality of the circumstances and the credibility assessments of the suppression court in making that determination are entitled to deference" ( People v. Mattis, 108 A.D.3d 872, 874, 969 N.Y.S.2d 581 [2013] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted], lvs. denied 22 N.Y.3d 957, 977 N.Y.S.2d...