People v. Molina

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

People v. Molina

157 A.D.2d 482, 548 N.Y.S.2d 485, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11033

CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

DecidedJanuary 9, 1990

StatusPublished

This text of 157 A.D.2d 482 (People v. Molina) 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. Molina, 157 A.D.2d 482, 548 N.Y.S.2d 485, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11033 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1990).

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Opinion

—Judgment of the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Joseph Mazur, J.), rendered July 12, 1988, convicting defendant, upon a bench trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (two counts), unlawful possession of radio devices, criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree, unlawful possession of marihuana, and imposing a term of 15 years to life on the first degree possession to run concurrently with lesser terms and a fine imposed for the other convictions, is unanimously affirmed.

In this nonjury trial, the court correctly applied the statutory presumption pursuant to Penal Law § 220.25 (2) since defendant was found in close proximity to the cocaine and there was sufficient evidence that the substance was being processed for future distribution and sale (People v James, 151 AD2d 606). Upon executing a "no-knock” warrant on a Bronx apartment, the police saw, in open view, a police frequency scanner, a triple-beam balance scale on a table, a beeper, and a loaded .9 millimeter pistol on the floor. Also present in an apartment bedroom closet were a strainer and plastic bags. The officers also observed defendant and another person who was carrying $2,500 cash flee to a nearby bedroom window, where the cohort dropped a bag containing over eight pounds of cocaine. Applying the presumption of possession to these circumstances, we find the evidence was legally sufficient to establish defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (see, People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490). Concur—Murphy, P. J., Asch, Kassal and Rosenberger, JJ.

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—Judgment of the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Joseph Mazur, J.), rendered July 12, 1988, convicting defendant, upon a bench trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (two counts), unlawful possession of radio devices, criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree, unlawful possession of marihuana, and imposing a term of 15 years to life on the first degree possession to run concurrently with lesser terms and a fine imposed for the other convictions, is unanimously affirmed.

In this nonjury trial, the court correctly applied the statutory presumption pursuant to Penal Law § 220.25 (2) since defendant was found in close proximity to the cocaine and there was sufficient evidence that the substance was being processed for future distribution and sale (People v James, 151 AD2d 606). Upon executing a "no-knock” warrant on a Bronx apartment, the police saw, in open view, a police frequency scanner, a triple-beam balance scale on a table, a beeper, and a loaded .9 millimeter pistol on the floor. Also present in an apartment bedroom closet were a strainer and plastic bags. The officers also observed defendant and another person who was carrying $2,500 cash flee to a nearby bedroom window, where the cohort dropped a bag containing over eight pounds of cocaine. Applying the presumption of possession to these circumstances, we find the evidence was legally sufficient to establish defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (see, People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490). Concur—Murphy, P. J., Asch, Kassal and Rosenberger, JJ.

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Bluebook (online)

157 A.D.2d 482, 548 N.Y.S.2d 485, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-molina-nyappdiv-1990.

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