People v. Telfair
| Decision Date | 06 October 2021 |
| Docket Number | 2019-09807,Ind. No. 4576/17 |
| Citation | 2021 NY Slip Op 05355 |
| Parties | The People, etc., respondent, v. Sebastian Telfair, appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
Argued - December 7, 2020
D67295 I/htr
Barry Krinsky, Brooklyn, NY, for appellant.
Eric Gonzalez, District Attorney, Brooklyn, NY (Leonard Joblove and Jean M. Joyce of counsel), for respondent.
HECTOR D. LASALLE, P.J. CHERYL E. CHAMBERS BETSY BARROS LINDA CHRISTOPHER, JJ.
DECISION & ORDER
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (John T. Hecht, J.), rendered August 12, 2019 convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Kings County, for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 460.50(5).
In the early morning hours of June 11, 2017, law enforcement officials assigned to the Anticrime Unit of the 77th Precinct were on routine patrol in an unmarked vehicle in the area of Atlantic Avenue and Classon Avenue in Brooklyn, when they observed a blue Ford F-150 truck, which had been parked on a concrete median across from the Milk River nightclub, make a U-turn without having its headlights on. The truck was occupied by two individuals, and driven by the defendant Sebastian Telfair. The defendant proceeded to drive the vehicle without headlights into a gas station, and the officers pulled the vehicle over in the gas station. As the officers approached the vehicle, they smelled marijuana coming from the truck and observed a lit marijuana cigarette in the center console. The marijuana cigarette was seized by the officers, and the defendant and his friend were arrested. The officers transported the two men and the truck to the 77th Precinct. While at the precinct, the officers conducted a license check of the defendant and a vehicle registration search, and determined that the defendant's license was suspended, and that he was the registered owner of the truck. After an inventory search, the police recovered numerous items, including luggage, clothing, sneakers, jewelry various bags, two small bags of marijuana, and cash. The officers also found a loaded 45-caliber gun in the center console of the truck, and three additional handguns and ammunition in the flatbed area.
The defendant was charged with various crimes related to weapons and ammunition possession, as well as certain vehicle and traffic violations. After trial, the jury convicted the defendant of one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in connection with the .45 caliber gun recovered from the center console of the truck. The jury acquitted the defendant of all of the other charges.
Before the jury trial, the People moved pursuant to People v Molineux (168 NY 264), to permit introduction of evidence in their case-in-chief of a 2006 uncharged crime regarding the defendant's possession of a gun, and a 2007 conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, claiming that this evidence was relevant to demonstrate the defendant's intent and absence of mistake to possess the firearms on June 11, 2017.
The People asserted that, based upon their communications with defense counsel, at trial, the defendant would claim that he was having marital problems with his wife, that she had thrown him out of their home, that someone had packed the defendant's belongings in his truck, that the defendant had the truck shipped to New York, and that on June 10, 2017 the defendant flew to New York and began driving his truck unaware that the guns were contained therein. In addition the People also sought to introduce evidence of the marijuana found in the truck on June 11, 2017, to provide proper background information and to complete the narrative, arguing that the discovery of the marijuana was inextricably interwoven to the facts of the case.
Regarding the 2006 incident, the People alleged that on February 11, 2006, the defendant-who, at the time was a National Basketball Association player for the Portland Trail Blazers-had just completed a game against the Boston Celtics. The defendant and his teammates were scheduled to travel by private plane to their next game in Toronto. During preflight preparations, a flight attendant discovered a loaded .22 caliber handgun in a pillow aboard the plane. The pillow had the photo of a child imprinted on it, and the flight attendant-who had seen the pillow before- recognized the pillow as belonging to the defendant. The flight attendant informed her captain, who contacted the Massachusetts State Police. After being advised of his rights, the defendant made certain statements to the troopers who interviewed him. The defendant stated that the gun inside the pillow belonged to his then-girlfriend, Samantha Rodriguez, and that it was legally owned and purchased by her in Portland, Oregon. The defendant stated that he had borrowed a gym bag from Rodriguez to utilize during the trip, and discovered the handgun in the bottom compartment of the gym bag while on board the aircraft in Portland. He indicated that he was not aware the handgun was in the gym bag prior to finding it. He stated that he did not know what to do with the handgun, so he placed it inside his pillow. Upon looking in the gym bag, the troopers noticed a pair of women's sneakers and cosmetics in the bag. Further investigation into the handgun confirmed that it was purchased by Rodriguez in 2005. Although the handgun was confiscated by the State Police, based upon the explanation provided by the defendant, no criminal charges were filed.
Regarding the 2007 conviction, the People alleged that on April 20, 2007, the defendant was operating his Land Rover in Westchester County when he was stopped by a police officer for speeding. A license check by the officer revealed that the defendant's New York and Florida licenses were both suspended. During an inventory search of the vehicle, police discovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun under the front passenger seat. The defendant told detectives that the gun belonged to Rodriguez, and an investigation revealed that the weapon had been purchased by Rodriguez in Portland, Oregon in 2006.[*] When the defendant was asked by the detectives about the previous gun incident that occurred in Massachusetts, he lied and indicated that the gun recovered from the vehicle on April 20, 2007, was the same gun that had been recovered from the plane in 2006. The defendant was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and other related charges. Ultimately, the defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and was sentenced to three years probation.
The defendant opposed the People's Molineux application, arguing that the incidents were too remote and, in any event, the probative value was outweighed by the potential for prejudice to him.
The Supreme Court granted the People's motion, reasoning that the evidence was admissible to show the defendant's intent, knowledge, and absence of mistake to possess the guns. The court found that the probative value of the evidence outweighed its prejudicial effect, and indicated that it would provide an appropriate limiting instruction to the jury at trial.
At trial, the People called retired Detective Arthur MacDonald to testify to the facts concerning the 2006 Boston incident. The People also called Police Officer Adrian Camacho and Assistant District Attorney Patrick Moore to testify to the facts concerning the 2007 Westchester County incident. The Supreme Court provided limiting instructions to the jury during the testimony of each of these witnesses. Additionally, the court also provided a limiting instruction during the People's opening statement when they discussed their intention to introduce this testimony.
"[T]he familiar Molineux rule states that evidence of a defendant's uncharged crimes or prior misconduct is not admissible if it cannot logically be connected to some specific material issue in the case, and tends only to demonstrate the defendant's propensity to commit the crime charged" (People v Cass, 18 N.Y.3d 553, 559; see People v Hudy, 73 N.Y.2d 40, 54; People v Alvino, 71 N.Y.2d 233, 241; People v Allweiss, 48 N.Y.2d 40, 46). "Evidence of prior uncharged crimes may be received, however, if it helps to establish some element of the crime under consideration or is relevant because of some recognized exception to the general rule" (People v Alvino, 71 N.Y.2d at 241-242). Evidence of a defendant's uncharged crimes and prior misconduct may be admissible where it is relevant to a material issue in the case such as intent, motive, knowledge, absence of mistake, common scheme or plan, or identity (see People v Morris, 21 N.Y.3d 588; People v Molineux, 168 NY at 293).
To determine whether the proferred Molineux evidence may be admitted in a particular case, the trial court must engage in a two-part inquiry: (1) the proponent of the evidence must identify some material issue, other than the defendant's criminal propensity, to which the evidence is directly relevant, and (2) the court must weigh the evidence's probative value against its potential for undue prejudice to the defendant (see People v Cass, 18 N.Y.3d at 560; People v Hudy, 73 N.Y.2d at 55; People v Alvino, 71 N.Y.2d at 242). "If the evidence has substantial probative value and is directly relevant to the purpose-other than to show criminal propensity-for which it is offered, the probative value of the evidence outweighs the danger of prejudice and the court may admit the evidence" (People v Cass, 18 N.Y.3d at 560; see People v Allweiss, 48 N.Y.2d at 46-47).
"When [the] defendant's...
To continue reading
Request your trial