A man was convicted of the crimes of criminal forgery in the second degree and grand larceny in the second degree. He was sentenced to prison for concurrent terms of two and one-half to five years for each conviction. He then filed a motion for a new trial upon the ground of newly discovered evidence.
The instant application, made within one day before the expiration of the one-year legal period of limitation after the imposition of the decision, is founded upon documentary proof consisting of official records of the army. The records establish that the date of the crimes for which he stands convicted and sentenced, the man was under detention in the post stockade. The records state that the man was in confinement for awaiting trial and under sentence of a court-martial and was released from confinement and discharged from service, under conditions other than honorable.
The army documents were submitted in evidence at the man’s hearing in support of his application for a new trial. It appears from the court records that the man was indicted for forgery in the second degree and grand larceny in the second degree, arising from his alleged endorsement and uttering a state war bond valued at $150 and made to the order of another person. But, the man was not in the custody of the county’s authorities at the time of his indictment and he did not plead to the accusation. He also furnished bail in the sum of $1,000 and was released from confinement.
The court records further reveal that the charges against the man were not moved for trial by the district attorney. The reason for the unusual delay is the man’s absence from the jurisdiction of the court. He went to Chicago, stayed there two years, returned to New York, came in conflict with the law and was being detained in the prison on another charge, when he was produced in the court for trial. No burglary involved.
It further appears that a short time, when the trial commenced, the man’s attorney was stabbed to death in his office by a disappointed client. The man’s defense was then assumed by another attorney, an office associate of his previous lawyer. At the trial, wherein the man was positively identified by the complainant storekeeper as the one who gave him the fake check, the attorney asserted that the accused was in the army and not at the scene of the crime on the date of its commission, that the complainant, an elderly man, was mistaken in his identification. Consequently, in the absence of any proof establishing the man’s presence, the jury convicted the man of two of the counts.
Prior to the imposition of the decision and in the proceedings attending the sentence, the man’s attorney moved to set aside the jury verdict of guilt and ask for a new trial. A letter from the veteran’s administration was produced to the court which stated that the man was separated from service.
At the hearing, the man excused his failure to produce the army records previously relating to his confinement, on the ground that several years had elapsed from the time of his indictment and subsequent trial and that he did not recall that he was under army detention on the date that the crime charged against him had been committed. Furthermore, the man could give no convincing account as to the reason why the documentary proof now being offered was not submitted to the sentencing court.
Later, the district attorney accepted at the hearing that the official army files offered by the man conclusively established his presence outside the confines of the county on the date of the crime charged against him.
As a result, the court suggested the district attorney that he brings the case of the man to the attention of the governor.
It is alarming for anyone to observe vicious crimes in the community. Yet, it is also stressing to experience such crime. If you want to commence a criminal complaint against someone, you can ask legal assistance from Stephen Bilkis and Associates. They can provide the expertise of their Bronx County Criminal Attorney or Bronx County Grand Larceny Lawyer.