People v Bruce L.
2007 NY Slip Op 07463 [44 AD3d 688]
October 2, 2007
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, December 12, 2007


80—The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Bruce L., Appellant.

[*1]Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y., for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove and Diane R. Eisner ofcounsel; Brendan Price on the brief), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Holdman,J.), rendered September 18, 2006, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the thirddegree, upon his plea of guilty, and sentencing him to a determinate term of six years'imprisonment, followed by three years of post-release supervision.

Ordered that the judgment is reversed, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, theconviction is deemed vacated and replaced with a finding that the defendant is a youthfuloffender (see CPL 720.20 [3]), the sentence is reduced to a determinate term of one-yearimprisonment, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Kings County, for furtherproceedings in accordance with CPL 720.35.

The defendant contends that the sentence imposed upon him was excessive, and the Peopleagree. He also maintains that it was an improvident exercise of discretion for the sentencing courtto refuse to accord him youthful offender status.

In view of the defendant's tender years, his ill health, and his complete lack of any juvenile orcriminal record, we find that the sentence imposed was excessive to the extent indicated.Moreover, under all the circumstances of this case, including the existence of mitigatingcircumstances bearing directly on the manner in which the crime was committed (seeCPL 720.10 [3] [i]), we find that "the interest of justice would be served by relieving the[defendant] from the onus of a criminal record" (CPL 720.20 [1] [a]; see People v Nadja B., 23 AD3d394 [2005]).[*2]

The People's remaining contention is without merit.Prudenti, P.J., Santucci, Fisher and Angiolillo, JJ., concur.


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