People v. Aquirre

2026 NY Slip Op 00025

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: January 6, 2026
• Docket: Ind. No. 2915/18; Appeal No. 5483; Case No. 2021-01640
• Status: Published

Opinion

People v Aquirre (2026 NY Slip Op 00025)

People v Aquirre

2026 NY Slip Op 00025

Decided on January 06, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: January 06, 2026
Before: Webber, J.P., Friedman, Mendez, Shulman, Hagler, JJ.

Ind. No. 2915/18|Appeal No. 5483|Case No. 2021-01640|

[*1]The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

v

Miguel Aquirre, Appellant.

Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Mariel Stein of counsel), for appellant.

Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Margaret M. Crookston of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Steven M. Statsinger, J., at plea; Kate S. Paek, J., at sentencing), rendered March 9, 2020, convicting defendant of sexual abuse in the first degree, and sentencing him to 10 years of probation, unanimously modified, on the law, to the extent of striking the condition of probation requiring him to consent to a search by a probation officer of his person, vehicle, or place of abode and to the seizure of any illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, guns or other weapons or contraband found, and otherwise affirmed.

The court improperly imposed, as a condition of defendant's probation, a requirement that he consent to a search by his probation officer of his person, vehicle, or home for weapons, drugs, drug paraphernalia, and other contraband. Defendant was not armed with a weapon during the underlying offense and had no history of violence or use of weapons (see People v Hall, 228 AD3d 466, 467 [1st Dept 2024]). Defendant did not have a history of abusing illicit substances and was not assessed as being in need of drug abuse treatment (compare People v Carrasquillo, 242 AD3d 424 [1st Dept 2025]). Although defendant admitted to a limited history of alcohol abuse, before and at the time of the instant offense, the consent-search condition, as written, "is not limited to conform" to the "certain limited circumstances where alcohol becomes contraband for the purposes of" that condition (People v Andrus, 241 AD3d 447, 451 [1st Dept 2025]). Contrary to the People's assertion, this issue is not moot since the condition contemplates different searchable areas than Additional Condition No. 7.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: January 6, 2026