| People v Cooper |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 03849 [50 AD3d 1570] |
| April 25, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v ChristopherM. Cooper, Appellant. |
—[*1] R. Michael Tantillo, District Attorney, Canandaigua (Brian D. Dennis of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Ontario County Court (William F. Kocher, J.), renderedDecember 1, 2006. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a nonjury verdict, of assault in thesecond degree, assault in the third degree and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated (twocounts).
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him following a bench trial of, interalia, assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.05 [1]), defendant contends that theverdict is against the weight of the evidence with respect to his intent to cause serious physicalinjury. We reject that contention (see generally People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495[1987]). "A defendant may be presumed to intend the natural and probable consequences of hisactions . . . , and [i]ntent may be inferred from the totality of conduct of theaccused" (People v Mahoney, 6AD3d 1104, 1104, lv denied 3 NY3d 660 [internal quotation marks omitted]). Here,defendant conceded that he caused serious physical injury to the victim but denied that heintended to do so, relying on the fact that he had been drinking alcohol before the incident.Eyewitnesses testified, however, that defendant knocked the victim to the floor of a porch andrepeatedly kicked him in the face while wearing hiking boots. Thus, it cannot be said that CountyCourt failed to give the evidence the weight it should be accorded (see id. at 1104-1105;People v Mike, 283 AD2d 989 [2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 904 [2001]; seegenerally Bleakley, 69 NY2d at 495). Present—Smith, J.P., Lunn, Fahey, Pine andGorski, JJ.