| People v Forde |
| 2014 NY Slip Op 05650 [120 AD3d 509] |
| August 6, 2014 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Andre Forde, Appellant. |
Lynn W.L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Barry Stendig of counsel), for appellant.
Kenneth P. Thompson, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, CamilleO'Hara Gillespie, and Claibourne Henry of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (DelGiudice, J.), rendered January 6, 2012, convicting him of manslaughter in the firstdegree, assault in the first degree, and assault in the second degree, upon a jury verdict,and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant fired four shots while standing near a basketball court in a park inBrooklyn, where a basketball tournament was taking place. The gun he fired was handedto him by codefendant Bryant Gibbs, who urged him to shoot at another individual whowas among the crowd of people present at the park. The shots fired by the defendantmissed that individual, but hit three bystanders. One person was killed, and the other twowere injured, but survived. The defendant and codefendant were arrested and triedjointly, before separate juries. The defendant's jury found him guilty of manslaughter inthe first degree (Penal Law § 125.20 [1]), assault in the first degree (PenalLaw § 120.10 [1]), and assault in the second degree (Penal Law§ 120.05 [2]). The codefendant's jury found him guilty of criminalpossession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law § 265.03 [3])(see People v Gibbs, 120 AD3d 510 [2014] [decided herewith]).
As relevant here, a person is guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when, "[w]ithintent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he [or she] causes the death ofsuch person or of a third person" (Penal Law § 125.20 [1]). "A person isguilty of assault in the first degree when: [w]ith intent to cause serious physical injury toanother person, he [or she] causes such injury to such person or to a third person bymeans of a deadly weapon" (Penal Law § 120.10 [1]). "A person is guilty ofassault in the second degree when: [w]ith intent to cause physical injury to anotherperson, he [or she] causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of adeadly weapon" (Penal Law § 120.05 [2]).
"A person acts intentionally with respect to a result . . . when his [orher] conscious objective is to cause such result or to engage in such conduct" (Penal Law§ 15.05 [1]). Intent may be inferred from conduct as well as the surroundingcircumstances (see People v Steinberg, 79 NY2d 673, 682 [1992]; People v Alexander, 50 AD3d816, 817 [2008]).
[*2] Upon ourindependent review pursuant to CPL 470.15 (5), we are satisfied that the verdict of guiltwas not against the weight of the evidence (see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633 [2006]). We accordgreat deference to the jury's opportunity to view the witnesses, hear the testimony, andobserve demeanor (see id. at 644). Contrary to the defendant's contention, theevidence supported the jury's implicit finding that, with respect to the convictions ofmanslaughter in the first degree, assault in the first degree, and assault in the seconddegree, the defendant acted with the requisite intent. Hall, J.P., Roman, Duffy andLaSalle, JJ., concur.