One day a woman and her husband parked their automobile alongside a river. While picnicking in their car, two men in a light blue vehicle drove up beside them. One of the men exited their car, approached the couple’s vehicle, pointed a shotgun on the husband’s head and demanded money. The other individual, who wears a mask, approached the woman. The man opened the car’s door, grabbed the woman’s purse and pulled her out the vehicle.
A New York Criminal Lawyer said the unmasked assailant then approached the woman and shot her in the face. The assailant left the scene and the woman eventually returned to their vehicle. The police and an ambulance arrived and brought the woman to the hospital for treatment.
A police investigation of the shooting proceeded. The police, however, failed to recover any physical evidence from the scene. A single latent fingerprint was recovered from the victims’ car and subsequent analysis revealed that the print matched neither that of the victims nor of the attackers. The video surveillance of the area revealed images of a light blue vehicle approaches the couple’s car and later departed. Consequently, the woman initially gave a description of her attacker.
A convergence of investigative events eventually led to the assailant’s arrest. During the investigation, the police developed information connecting the assailants to a local robbery. A 20 gauge shotgun was stolen from the victims’ home during the said incident. Additionally, the police connected the assailant’s to the recent theft of a car, allegedly stolen a day or two before the couple’s attack. The police found the vehicle abandoned near the assailant’s home. The gun and the stolen car were similar to those used in the couple’s attack.
During the course of the investigation of another unrelated local home invasion, a police arrested a man. Following to that arrest, the man told the police that the alleged assailant and his brother were responsible on the couple’s robbery. The arrested man told police that the brother admitted that he shot a lady in the face for $25. Based on all the information, the detective arrested the man and his brother for the shooting. A county grand jury issued multi count charges against both brothers for crimes stemming from the incident.
The brother of the alleged assailant elected to plead guilty to the incident. On his statement, he said that along with another individual, they robbed the couple, then retreated to a house and divided the proceeds. The assailant, however, proceeded to trial. A Bronx Criminal Lawyer said the woman testified at the trial and she was unable to identify the man but she described the circumstances surrounding the incident. Her story matched the account of the brother on his statement. The trial court permitted to read a redacted version of the brother’s allocution into evidence. The court also called the arrested man from unrelated local home invasion to testify against the assailant. The arrested man indicated that he knew both the alleged assailant and the assailant brother, as friends. He testified that on the day of the couple’s shooting, he encountered both brothers at the house and the alleged assailant admitted that he shot a lady earlier that day.
The jury convicted the assailant man of attempted murder, two counts of robbery in the first degree, two counts of assault in the first degree, and one count of robbery in the second degree.
On appeal, the appellate division modified the assailant sentence and confirmed his conviction. Further, the court’s reverse the decision of granting the assailants leave to appeal. Consequently, the court of appeal ordered that the appellate division’s decision should be reversed and a new trial is also ordered.
If your love one suffered physical pain, emotional distress and mental trauma because of an incident arising from an individual’s unlawful action and you want to provide justice, feel free to call a NY Criminal Lawyer for legal assistance. Whether you your case involves theft, sex crimes or drug possession, our legal team can help!