Indictment No. 2101N12 - Murder Indictment - Not Guilty

Apr 03, 2014

OUTCOME: NOT GULITY

Client was indicted on Two counts of Murder in the Second degree - a violation of Penal Law Section 125(1) and 125(2) of the Penal law. There were twelve other indicted accounts including two counts of ... Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second degree, a single count of Reckless Endangerment in the First degree, six counts of Assault in the Second Degree and three counts of Assault in the Third Degree. The clients maximum jail exposure if convicted of the crime was forty (40) years to life in prison. The allegations were that the client pulled out a gun at a block party and fired it into a crowd in the summer of 2012. A total four victims were shot with one fatally. Prior to trial, there were extensive pre-trial hearings. Mr. Toner successful challenged the Police Photo Array identification proceeding in a Wade hearing and was able to force the prosecutors to put the identifying witness on the stand in a Independent source hearing. The witness was one of two eye witnesses who admitted during the pretrial hearing that she signed an affidavit the night of the incident that "She did not see the face of the shooter." (She was able to Identify him from a photo four months later.) Her prior descriptions of the defendant in the same affidavit were not consistent with her present testimony. During a month long jury trial Mr. Toner vigorously contested the identification of his client as the perpetrator of the crime. The jury acquitted the client of all the most serious charges including Murder but convicted him of a lessor charge Reckless Endangerment in the First degree - a nonviolent felony under the Penal Law. The client was sentenced today by Hon. Philip Grella to 2 1/3 years in jail. The case has been noticed for appeal on the grounds of inter alia insufficient evidence.