| People v Hold |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 08978 [101 AD3d 1692] |
| December 21, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Steve Hold,Appellant. |
—[*1] Frank A. Sedita, III, District Attorney, Buffalo (David A. Heraty of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Erie County (Christopher J. Burns, J.), renderedFebruary 25, 2011. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a nonjury verdict, of criminal possessionof a forged instrument in the second degree (five counts).
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him, following a nonjury trial, of fivecounts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree (Penal Law § 170.25).Contrary to defendant's contention, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People, weconclude that it is legally sufficient to establish that he had knowledge that the five checks were forgedinstruments (see generally People vDanielson, 9 NY3d 342, 349 [2007]). All of the checks were both written to and endorsedby defendant, and the People presented photographic evidence of defendant at the teller counter at thetime four of the checks were cashed. The account holder testified that several checks had been takenfrom her home and that she had not written any checks to defendant, whom she did not know. Theevidence established that defendant cashed two different checks at separate branches of the samebank, within one hour. Defendant was arrested when he attempted to cash a fifth check and bankpersonnel ascertained that the account holder had not written the check to defendant. "Guiltyknowledge of forgery may be shown circumstantially by conduct and events" and, here, defendant'sconduct and the events support the determination that defendant knew that the checks were forged(People v Johnson, 65 NY2d 556, 561 [1985], rearg denied 66 NY2d 759[1985]; see People v Moore, 41 AD3d1202, 1203-1204 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 879 [2007]; cf. People v Green, 53NY2d 651, 652 [1981]; People vManges, 67 AD3d 1328, 1329 [2009]).
Viewing the evidence in light of the elements of the crime of criminal possession of a forgedinstrument in the second degree in this nonjury trial (see Danielson, 9 NY3d at 349), we furtherconclude that the verdict is not against the weight of the evidence (see generally People vBleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495 [1987]). Present—Scudder, P.J., Smith, Fahey, Carni andMartoche, JJ.