People v. Velasquez

• Citation: 168 A.D.3d 768,91 N.Y.S.3d 191
• Decision Date: 09 January 2019
• Docket Number: 2014–11909,Ind.No. 1539/13
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Carlos VELASQUEZ, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court Appellate Division

168 A.D.3d 768
91 N.Y.S.3d 191

The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent,
v.
Carlos VELASQUEZ, Appellant.

2014–11909
Ind.No. 1539/13

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

Submitted—October 16, 2018
January 9, 2019

Marianne Karas, Thornwood, NY, for appellant.

Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr., District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Brian R. Pouliot and William C. Milaccio of counsel), for respondent.

RUTH C. BALKIN, J.P., LEONARD B. AUSTIN, FRANCESCA E. CONNOLLY, LINDA CHRISTOPHER, JJ.

DECISION & ORDER

168 A.D.3d 768

ORDERED that the judgment is modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, by providing that the sentences shall run concurrently with each other; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620, 621, 467 N.Y.S.2d 349, 454 N.E.2d 932 ), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt of burglary in the second degree. Moreover, upon our independent review pursuant to CPL 470.15(5), we are

91 N.Y.S.3d 192

satisfied that the verdict of guilt on that count was not against the weight of the evidence (see People v. Danielson, 9 N.Y.3d 342, 849 N.Y.S.2d 480, 880 N.E.2d 1 ; People v. Romero, 7 N.Y.3d 633, 826 N.Y.S.2d 163, 859 N.E.2d 902 ).

During the trial, the County Court was notified that a juror had expressed apprehension about the manner in which the defendant was looking at the jurors. The court spoke to the juror in the presence of counsel and the defendant. The court also later spoke with each juror individually. The court opined that the defendant's physical features and the manner in which the defendant tilted his head when he looked around the courtroom may have led the juror to feel apprehension. Nevertheless, the court found that the defendant had not behaved inappropriately in the courtroom "through his demeanor, through his actions, or otherwise." In "an abundance of...