| People v Vazquez |
| 2019 NY Slip Op 06924 [175 AD3d 1822] |
| September 27, 2019 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Abdiel Vazquez, Appellant. |
Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society, Syracuse (Bridget L. Field of counsel), fordefendant-appellant.
William J. Fitzpatrick, District Attorney, Syracuse (Bradley W. Oastler of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Onondaga County (John J. Brunetti, A.J.),rendered May 13, 2016. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of robbery inthe second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty ofrobbery in the second degree (Penal Law § 160.10 [1]). Defendant contends onappeal that Supreme Court erred in determining following a pretrial hearing that the victim hadan independent basis for his in-court identification of defendant. We reject that contention. Thevictim testified that he had an unobstructed view of defendant's face for over five minutes inwell-lit areas inside and outside his residence during the commission of the offense (seePeople v Young, 20 AD3d 893, 894 [4th Dept 2005], affd 7 NY3d 40 [2006];People v Lopez, 85 AD3d 1641, 1642 [4th Dept 2011], lv denied 17 NY3d 860[2011]). The court properly concluded that the People established by clear and convincingevidence that the victim's observations of defendant during the commission of the crime providedan independent basis for an in-court identification (see generally People v Marshall, 26NY3d 495, 504 [2015]). Finally, the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe.Present—Whalen, P.J., Smith, DeJoseph, Curran and Winslow, JJ.