| People v Szyszkowski |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 08395 [89 AD3d 1501] |
| November 18, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Richard J.Szyszkowski, Appellant. |
—[*1] Lori Pettit Rieman, District Attorney, Little Valley (John C. Luzier of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Cattaraugus County Court (Larry M. Himelein, J.), rendered July26, 2010. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a jury verdict, of driving while intoxicated, a classD felony, criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, unlawful operation of ATV onhighway and operation of ATV without helmet.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed and the matter isremitted to Cattaraugus County Court for proceedings pursuant to CPL 460.50 (5).
Memorandum: Defendant was convicted following a jury trial of, inter alia, felony driving whileintoxicated (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [3]; § 1193 [1] [c] [ii]) and criminalpossession of stolen property in the fourth degree (Penal Law § 165.45 [1]). Defendant does notdispute that he was intoxicated when he was arrested or that the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in questionwas stolen. He contends, however, that the evidence is legally insufficient to establish that he operatedor possessed the ATV. We reject that contention. The circumstantial evidence presented by the Peopleestablished that defendant was the person observed by the arresting police officer operating an ATVwithout a helmet shortly before defendant was arrested. The officer observed that the operator of theATV wore a black hooded jacket and black pants, and that he had mud splattered on his clothing.Although the officer was unable to catch up to the ATV to effectuate a stop, he observed an ATVparked in the driveway of a house on a street in the area where the ATV was last seen. The ATV in thedriveway was identical to the one previously observed by the officer, and its engine was warm to thetouch. The resident of the house was a friend of defendant and indicated that defendant had arrivedonly moments before the officer did. She also informed the officer that she had no idea how the ATVarrived in her driveway but that she heard a noise that sounded like an ATV moments before defendantarrived. In addition, when he emerged from the house at the officer's request, defendant was wearing ablack hooded jacket and black pants, and he had mud splattered on his back. Finally, defendant lied tothe officer concerning several matters and refused to provide his correct name and date of birth.Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d620, 621 [1983]), we conclude that there is a " 'valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences [that]could lead a rational person' " to conclude that defendant operated and thereby possessed the ATV(People v Hines, 97 NY2d 56, 62 [2001], rearg denied 97 NY2d 678 [2001]).[*2]
We also reject defendant's contention that the evidence islegally insufficient to establish that the value of the ATV exceeded $1,000, an element of criminalpossession of stolen property in the fourth degree (see Penal Law § 165.45). Pursuantto Penal Law § 155.20 (1), "value means the market value of the property at the time and placeof the crime . . . ." Evidence concerning the value of certain property is sufficient so longas there is "a reasonable basis for inferring, rather than speculating, that the value of the propertyexceeded the statutory threshold" (People v Sheehy, 274 AD2d 844, 845 [2000], lvdenied 95 NY2d 938 [2000]). Here, "[a]lthough the expert [who] appraise[d the ATV] did notexamine [it] or have any knowledge of its condition, his testimony, taken together with the otherevidence, established that the [ATV's] value was at least [$1,000]" (People v Callendar, 260AD2d 315, 316 [1999], lv denied 93 NY2d 1015 [1999]). The expert testified that the resalevalue of a 1996 Honda Foreman 400 ATV, such as the one possessed by defendant, was $1,100 "[i]fit starts up, runs and shifts good." Although, as noted above, the expert did not examine the ATV, therewas sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that it started, ran and shifted on the day that it wasoperated by defendant. Indeed, the arresting officer testified that the ATV was traveling atapproximately 35 to 40 miles per hour when it passed by him shortly before defendant was arrested,and an employee of the ski resort that owned the ATV testified that it operated "fine" before it wasstolen and did not need any repairs when it was returned after defendant's arrest.
Viewing the evidence in light of the elements of the crimes as charged to the jury (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342,349 [2007]), we reject defendant's further contention that the verdict is against the weight of theevidence (see generally People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495 [1987]). Defendant failed topreserve for our review his contention that he was denied a fair trial with respect to one of the allegedinstances of prosecutorial misconduct and, in any event, "we conclude that any alleged [prosecutorial]misconduct was not so pervasive or egregious as to deprive defendant of a fair trial" (People v Pruchnicki, 74 AD3d 1820,1822 [2010], lv denied 15 NY3d 855 [2010]). The sentence is not unduly harsh or severe.We note, however, that the certificate of conviction incorrectly recites that defendant was convicted ofrefusal to submit to a field breath test under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1194 (1) (b), and it musttherefore be amended to reflect that defendant was acquitted of that charge (see People v Saxton, 32 AD3d 1286[2006]). Present—Smith, J.P., Carni, Lindley, Sconiers and Martoche, JJ.