| People v Credel |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 06862 [99 AD3d 541] |
| October 16, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Darnell Credel, Appellant. |
—[*1] Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Britta Gilmore of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Lewis Bart Stone, J.), rendered October 14,2010, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of a forged instrument in thesecond degree and forgery in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender,to concurrent terms of 3 to 6 years, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was supported by legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight ofthe evidence (see People vDanielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348 [2007]). The chain of circumstances surroundingdefendant's receipt of a fraudulent debit card from the codefendant, as observed by a policeofficer, and defendant's use of the card supported the inference that defendant knew it was forged(see e.g. People v Price, 16 AD3d323 [1st Dept 2005], lv denied 5 NY3d 767 [2005]). Furthermore, defendant's trialtestimony explaining his acquisition of the card was incredible, and this testimony containedmaterial admissions that further supported the inference of knowledge. The element of fraudulentintent was established by defendant's use of the card, which had been altered so that a third partywould be billed for the transaction, to make an expensive purchase.
Any error in instructing the jury on the presumption arising from possession of two or moreforged cards (Penal Law § 170.27) was harmless. There is no reasonable possibility that[*2]the jury based its verdict on an improper theory (seePeople v Ray, 254 AD2d 189 [1st Dept 1998], lv denied 92 NY2d 985 [1998];compare People v Martinez, 83 NY2d 26, 33-34 [1993], cert denied 511 US 1137[1994]). Concur—Gonzalez, P.J., Sweeny, Acosta, Renwick and Manzanet-Daniels, JJ.