People v. Burnell

89 A.D.3d 1118, 931 N.Y.2d 776
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedNovember 3, 2011
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 89 A.D.3d 1118 (People v. Burnell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Burnell, 89 A.D.3d 1118, 931 N.Y.2d 776 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Egan Jr., J.

Defendant was indicted and charged with murder in the first degree, two counts of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery in the first degree. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on May 5, 2005, during the course of which defendant, then two weeks shy of his 20th birthday and while on parole from a prior felony conviction, allegedly robbed and fatally wounded Todd Pianowski (hereinafter the victim) and robbed the victim’s girlfriend, Lauren Parker, at gunpoint in the apartment the victim and Parker shared in the Town of Guilderland, Albany County. Although the People’s first attempt to prosecute defendant ended in a mistrial, a second trial ensued and, at the conclusion thereof, a jury convicted defendant of murder in the first degree and three counts of robbery in the first degree. Defendant thereafter was sentenced as a second felony offender to, among other things, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole upon his conviction for murder in the first degree. This appeal by defendant ensued.

Defendant initially contends that the verdicts are not sup[1119]*1119ported by legally sufficient evidence and, further, are against the weight of the evidence — arguing primarily that there is insufficient evidence to identify him as the perpetrator. We disagree.

Parker testified that upon arriving at her apartment shortly after 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon in question, she encountered a man, whom she unequivocally identified at trial as defendant, standing in the kitchen and fiddling with a yellow plastic bag from a local grocery store. Almost immediately, defendant put a handgun to her head and demanded that she give him everything in the apartment — a reference she understood to mean any cash or drugs that might be present. Parker noticed the victim lying face down on the living room floor and, as she bent down to retrieve the demanded items from underneath a futon, observed blood on the victim’s body. Defendant pointed to the victim and stated, “[D]o you see him[?] [D]o you see what he got for owing me [$1,500?]” Defendant then picked up the yellow grocery store bag, escorted Parker from the apartment and, while waiting for the elevator, went through her purse and removed her cash and identification. Parker estimated that she observed defendant — face to face and in good lighting — for approximately 5 to 10 minutes and thereafter provided a detailed physical description of her assailant to the police. Parker’s description matched defendant’s general characteristics, as well as the clothing he was photographed wearing when he was arrested approximately eight hours later — including the large, square diamond earrings previously described by Parker.

In addition to the foregoing, police subsequently recovered a backpack that defendant left with a friend on the day of the crimes, which contained, among other things, a yellow plastic grocery bag, a box of .40 caliber ammunition, a woman’s purse and a small travel bag. Parker testified that she last saw the purse, which belonged to her, and the black travel bag, which belonged to the victim, under the futon when she left the apartment on the morning in question. Additionally, a firearms examiner testified that the .40 caliber bullets recovered at the scene were the same style of bullet, i.e., the same flat-nose bullet with the same jacketing material, as those contained in the box of ammunition and, further, that the expended shell casings recovered at the scene bore the same manufacturer’s stamp as those present in the box of ammunition found in the backpack linked to defendant.1 Moreover, defendant’s fingerprints were discovered on a coffee table in the victim’s apartment, the [1120]*1120victim’s fingerprints were found on a small plastic bag inside the backpack and security cameras at the victim’s apartment complex showed an individual matching defendant’s description exiting the premises with a plastic bag around the time of the murder. There also was ample testimony detailing defendant’s financial difficulties in the weeks preceding the crimes, as well as his sudden influx of money immediately following the crimes. Finally, defendant expressed an acute awareness of the crimes, as evidenced by his postarrest statements wherein he inquired as to Parker’s welfare and, with regard to the victim’s family, stated, “They probably want to kill me.”

Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the People and according them the benefit of every inference that reasonably may be drawn therefrom (see People v Lowin, 71 AD3d 1194, 1196 [2010]), we find legally sufficient evidence to satisfy each and every element of the underlying crimes (see Penal Law § 125.27 [1] [a] [vii]; § 160.15 [1], [2]). Further, despite whatever minor inaccuracies may have existed in Parker’s description of her assailant2 and notwithstanding defendant’s protestations of innocence, the plausible explanation offered for finding his fingerprints at the scene and the other proof submitted upon his behalf, the record nonetheless contains overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt. Accordingly, the verdicts are not against the weight of the evidence.

Defendant next contends that County Court abused its discretion in admitting testimony regarding defendant’s history of drug sales, his recent financial difficulties and his possession of, and attempts to sell, a .40 caliber handgun in the weeks prior to the crimes, asserting that the probative value of such proof was outweighed by its prejudicial effect. Again, we do not agree.

Generally speaking, evidence of uncharged crimes or prior bad acts may be admitted where they fall within the recognized Molineux exceptions — motive, intent, absence of mistake, common plan or scheme and identity (see People v Molineux, 168 NY 264, 293 [1901]) — or where such proof is “inextricably interwoven with the charged crimes, provide[s] necessary background or complete[s] a witness’s narrative” (People v Tarver, 2 AD3d 968, 969 [2003]; see People v Poquee, 9 AD3d 781, 782 [2004], lv denied 3 NY3d 741 [2004]). Here, evidence regarding defendant’s prior drug dealing activities not only provided necessary background information and explained the [1121]*1121relationship between defendant and the victim, but also, when viewed in the context of defendant’s financial difficulties, established defendant’s motive for killing the victim (see People v Lee, 80 AD3d 877, 880 [2011], lv denied 16 NY3d 832 [2011]; People v Smith, 63 AD3d 1301, 1303 [2009], lv denied 13 NY3d 862 [2009]; People v Camarena, 289 AD2d 7, 7 [2001], lv denied 97 NY2d 752 [2002]). We reach a similar conclusion regarding defendant’s prior possession of a .40 caliber handgun, as such proof demonstrated defendant’s familiarity with and access to weapons (see People v Camarena, 289 AD2d at 8) — even if the weapon described was not directly linked to the crimes for which defendant was on trial (compare People v Lee, 80 AD3d at 880; People v Williams, 28 AD3d 1005, 1008 [2006], lv denied 7 NY3d 819 [2006]). As the probative value of such proof outweighed its prejudicial effect, we discern no error in its admission. Finally, defendant’s claim that County Court erred in failing to give contemporaneous limiting instructions regarding such proof is unpreserved for our review and, were we to reach this issue, we would find any error in this regard to be harmless given the overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 A.D.3d 1118, 931 N.Y.2d 776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-burnell-nyappdiv-2011.