| People v Oree |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 00103 [58 AD3d 473] |
| January 13, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v William Oree, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Jared Wolkowitz of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (William A. Wetzel, J.), rendered March 12,2007, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of assault in the second degree, robbery in the thirddegree, and escape in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender,to an aggregate term of 12 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of theevidence. The injured detective testified that he tackled defendant, who was trying to escape, andthat as a result defendant caused the detective's hand and knee to strike the pavement with aforce equivalent to that of a fist hitting a wall. The detective testified that this caused pain, adeep abrasion to the middle finger of the hand resulting in bleeding, and swelling and bruising tothe thumb requiring pain medication and icing for a period of a week. The detective also testifiedthat he sustained an injury to his knee which persisted for 10 to 12 days, hampered his ability togo up and down stairs, and also required pain medication and icing. The detective was treated atthe scene by an emergency medical technician, and his injuries were also described by a fellowofficer who testified that blood was dripping down the detective's arm to his elbow.
This testimony established the element of physical injury beyond a reasonable doubt (seee.g. People v Harvey, 309 AD2d 713 [2003], lv denied 1 NY3d 573 [2003]). Toestablish that element, the People need only establish that a victim's injuries were more thanmere "petty slaps, shoves, kicks and the like" (Matter of Philip A., 49 NY2d 198, 200[1980]). Relatively minor injuries causing moderate, but "more than slight or trivial pain" maysuffice (see People v Chiddick, 8NY3d 445, 447 [2007] [fingernail injury]), as may injuries that did not lead to any medicaltreatment (see People v Guidice, 83 NY2d 630, 636 [1994]). There is no basis fordisturbing the jury's finding that the statutory threshold was met.
The procedure under which defendant was sentenced as a persistent violent felony offenderwas not unconstitutional (see Almendarez-Torres v United States, 523 US 224 [1998];People v Leon, 10 NY3d 122,126 [2008], cert denied 554 US —, 128 S Ct 2976 [2008]).Concur—Andrias, J.P., Nardelli, Moskowitz, Renwick and Freedman, JJ.