The judgment of the Bronx County Supreme Court rendered May 12, 1986, convicting the defendant man on a plea of guilty of robbery in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and grand larceny in the third degree, and sentencing the defendant to indeterminate terms of from 3 to 9 years imprisonment on his convictions for robbery in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, criminal use of a firearm in the first degree and robbery in the second degree, one year on his conviction for criminal mischief, and one to three years on his conviction for grand larceny, all sentences to run concurrently, unanimously modified, on the law, to reduce the sentence imposed on the conviction for robbery in the second degree to a term of 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years, and to reduce the sentence imposed on the conviction for grand larceny in the third degree to one year, and otherwise is affirmed. As the State of New York appropriately acknowledge, there was an inadvertent failure in the sentences imposed on the defendant for robbery in the second degree and for grand larceny in the third degree to conform to the sentencing promises made at the time the defendant entered his plea. Accordingly, the sentence imposed with respect to those charges must be modified as indicated. There is no merit in the defendant’s further contention that the plea allocution, which was quite detailed and comprehensive, was defective because of a failure specifically to inform the defendant that he was entitled to representation by counsel at the trial.
In another grand larceny case, the judgment of the Bronx County Supreme Court rendered on May 21, 2007, convicting the defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree and falsifying business records in the first degree, and sentencing her to an aggregate term of 3 days, with 5 years probation, a $5,000 fine and restitution, is unanimously affirmed.
The defendant’s argument that her conviction of possession of stolen property was against the weight of the evidence was rejected. There is no basis for disturbing the jury’s credibility determinations. The jury’s mixed verdict, which convicted the defendant of possessing stolen property but acquitted her of third-degree grand larceny related to the same property, does not warrant a different result. The defendant argues that the verdicts were inconsistent because the evidence that she possessed stolen money was also evidence that she stole it, but when a jury verdict is not repugnant, it is imprudent to speculate concerning the factual determinations that underlay the verdict. The verdict was not inconsistent because, as charged by the court, acquittal on the crime of grand larceny was not conclusive as to a necessary element of the crime of. Moreover, the jury could have determined that the defendant did not commit the crime of grand larceny because she did not intend to convert the money when she accepted it from the victim, but committed the crime of possession of stolen property because she later decided to keep the money for herself. The jury also could permissibly split its verdict as a compromise or act of leniency.
The defendant also challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction of first-degree falsifying business records. As part of a scheme to steal money from a customer, the defendant, an insurance agent, forwarded a false document to her employer. The document purported to be a letter from the victim voiding a coverage agreement and a receipt for $9,000. The evidence clearly establishes that the defendant made or caused a false entry to be made. Furthermore, the document was a business record within the meaning of Penal Law because it purported to evidence or reflects activity by the insurer.
Whatever is the reason for committing a crime, it would not justify the unlawful action. If you want to be represented by the Bronx County Grand Larceny Lawyer or the Bronx County Criminal Attorney, visit the Stephen Bilkis and Associates office. The Bronx County Robbery Lawyer can also provide you with legal sound advice that could help you win your legal battle.