New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

Published on: May 12, 2012

Defendant Charged with Murder

by Stephen Bilkis

A man was convicted of gun crime murder of another man whom he personally knew. The murder occurred one Sunday of March 1975 at two o’clock in the morning. A woman, who is a sole nonparticipant eyewitness to the gun crime, lived in a one-family residence on the north side of the crime scene. A New York Criminal Lawyer said she was in her early forties and did not wear eyeglasses. During the week she was a government postal employee and had a part-time job delivering newspapers every Sundays.

One Sunday morning, the witness planned to arise at 2:00 A.M. and set her alarm clock accordingly. Just before the alarm went off, she heard a noise that sounded like a fire cracker but when she got up and looked, she saw what it was. She turned off the alarm and walked to her front door, a matter of only a few steps. The interior of the house was in complete darkness.

An automobile was parked right outside her house, on the north side of the street, facing west. Illumination was provided by a mercury vapor overhead streetlight. The car was parked under the light. The witness viewed the killing from about 80 feet away.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Court Discusses Felony Murder Rule

by Stephen Bilkis

An appeal was made by a woman for a gun crime that killed a police officer. The woman and her boyfriend drove to New York City to visit some friends. A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said that after the first few nights, the couple settled in at the Hempstead Motor Inn. On the afternoon of Saturday, as the couple drove past a woman’s clothing store, the stated that she like the black dress. They entered the boutique, which is located near the intersection, through the front door. The bathroom of the boutique has a window which looks out onto the rear parking area. The window was covered by wooden slats and glass slats. The woman went into the fitting room to try on some clothes, but his boyfriend wasn’t in sight when she came out. The sales attendant informed the woman that her boyfriend had asked to use the bathroom. The woman went back to the fitting room and when she again came out, her boyfriend was standing by the front window, front door and he had picked out a blouse for her to try on. Although she didn’t buy anything she had seen, she did buy the blouse picked out for her by her boyfriend and they left the store without buying anything.

In her statement given after complete Miranda warnings, the woman said that on the afternoon of the gun crime incident, she and her boyfriend went into Manhattan, where he purchased an ankle holster for his gun; that she remained outside the store while her boyfriend bought it, and she wasn’t aware of what he had bought, notwithstanding the fact that she put the bag into her purse. Later, in the early hours of the morning after, the couple decided to get something to eat and the woman changed her clothes. They drove to a bar, when they arrive, her boyfriend told her to stay in the car while he looked for a man. Her boyfriend returned a short time later and they drove around, finally backing into an alleyway and turning out the lights. When the woman asked what he was doing, he allegedly replied not to worry.

The woman stayed in the car to watch for the cops while her boyfriend broke into the back window of the clothing boutique.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Mother’s Day Gathering Ends in Disaster

by Stephen Bilkis

On this proceeding, the man moves to be granted judgment without trial to dismiss the complaint against him.

The man is the brother of the complainant woman. The siblings separated since an event that occurred during mother’s day at a family gathering. Based on records, there have been numerous family court matters involving their family.

On the said event, a New York Criminal Lawyer said a sixteen year old nephew of the complainant and the man exposed himself and masturbated in front of the man’s five year old daughter. The said incident caused a huge schism in the family, with various family members taking sides against each other. At some point after the incident, the complainant, who was a hall monitor at an old elementary school, confronted the daughter of the man. According to the man, the complainant cross examined his daughter about the incident. As a result on the said confrontation to the child, the man alleged that her daughter became frightened and did not want to see or speak to the complainant.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Court Discusses Territorial Jurisdiction

by Stephen Bilkis

In 1993, the New York State Drug Enforcement Task Force began investigating a narcotics-trafficking ring centered at a Queens County garage known as W & G Auto Repair, which was operated by another individual. Surveillance and wiretaps revealed evidence of an interstate scheme by which cocaine was secreted in hidden automobile compartments and driven from San Francisco to New York. Defendant was the West Coast partner of the New York garage operator together with another person. A New York DWI Lawyer said another man oversaw transportation of the drugs cross-country. Defendant and his cohorts employed other individuals to drive, store and protect the drugs and equipment.

Between 13 April and 17 April of 1994, the task force intercepted a series of telephone calls defendant had with the other operators and the person in charged with the transportation about a planned shipment of cocaine from San Francisco to Queens County. The drugs were slow in arriving due to an overheated car. Task force members tried to intercept the delivery in Queens on April 17, but arrived too late at the exchange location, believed to be a McDonald’s at 204th Street and Northern Boulevard. That night, the New York Operator called defendant and told him that the transport of at least 65 kilograms of cocaine was a success.

Based on a series of calls intercepted between 13 May and 19 May 1994, the task force learned of plans to use three cars (white, blue and green) to transport cocaine from San Francisco to New York. Defendant was in New York City for four days, from May 13 to May 16, meeting with his cohorts. During his stay, he made telephone calls to his California subordinates. He gave detailed instructions to them on preparing the cocaine for shipment to New York City via automobile, and planned to pay the travel expenses of a driver.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Defendant Contends Due Process Rights Violated

by Stephen Bilkis

Defendant is a New York City police officer who was arrested in a “sting operation” wherein he was made to believe that he was being hired by a drug dealer for the purpose of protecting transported drug money (the fruit of a drug crime).

A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the Supreme Court, Queens County convicted him of bribery receiving by a public servant in the third degree, receiving reward for official misconduct in the second degree, official misconduct, and computer trespass; a number of criminal law violations.

Defendant appeals the court’s decision.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Court Contends Defendant is Mentally Ill

by Stephen Bilkis

On 29 November 2005, defendant entered a plea of not responsible by reason of a mental disease or defect to the crime of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and to other related offenses, in violation of criminal laws.

On 23 January 2004, it was alleged that defendant displayed a firearm while threatening to use it against the complainant, the defendant’s sister-in-law, and that said actions caused her fear of physical injury.

A commitment order was issued and the defendant was remanded to the care and custody of the State Commissioner of Mental Health. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the defendant was confined in a secure facility.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Defendant Contends Illegal Search and Seizure

by Stephen Bilkis

One evening, a detective was assigned as backup to an undercover police officer who was attempting to buy controlled substances at a social club. Nowhere in the records is it showed that the undercover officer was able to achieve such objective. However, later that night, the undercover officer advised the backup detective by radio transmission that a tall white male with a pony tail approached her inside the social club and asked her “if she wanted to take a hit of cocaine”. The undercover officer referred to the subject by name. It is not clear from the records of the case whether the undercover officer and the subject engaged in any additional conversation.

At about six hours after the undercover officer was offered with cocaine, she left the social club. Thereafter, the detective and other police officers arrived at the social club. The police directed its occupants to leave, and “stopped” and searched the defendant and “everybody when they came out”. The detective recovered a packet of cocaine from the defendant’s jacket pocket (drug possession) and a .38 caliber automatic gun (gun crime) from the defendant’s boot.

It is uncertain from the record whether the defendant was arrested before or after the search.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Court Dicusses Drug Rehabilitation Program

by Stephen Bilkis

A 17-yr old defendant’s motion places in prospective whether his satisfactory “second chance” experience, as a full-time participant in a residential drug rehabilitation program, designed to return addicts (ex) or substance abusers to society, constitutes such a compelling factor, consideration or circumstance to warrant dismissal of the two top counts of the indictment Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance In The Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance In The Third Degree, which counts require mandatory minimums of incarceration upon conviction; cocaine possession or crack possession, a drug crime violative of criminal laws.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said the People contend that the moving defendant who has no prior criminal record assisted a co-defendant in the sale of 7/8ths of an ounce of cocaine to an undercover police purchaser. Defendant was then a drug user with a dependency problem.

A pre-sentence evaluation of defendant by the Department of Probation indicates in part that he is a resident of an upstate drug program apparently raised by interested and caring parents who began abusing drugs at approximately the age of 13; apparently unable to come to terms with his abuse problems until his instant arrest; voluntarily committed himself to the Renaissance Project; he no longer denies that he has a problem and is apparently taking some action to deal with his drug abuse problem.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Police Officer Killed in the Process of a Burglary

by Stephen Bilkis

On October 4, 1975 a man and a woman went inside a boutique. The woman tried on dresses but did not buy any. While the woman was trying on dresses, her boyfriend asked the boutique owner if he could use her bathroom. The man observed that there was a big window in the bathroom that faced a back alley.

Three days later, the lovers parked their car in the back alley with the trunk of their car facing the back window of the bathroom. A New York Criminal Lawyer said that the woman stayed near their car while her boyfriend entered the store and took clothing items and gave them to his girlfriend who stashed the clothes in the trunk.

A police officer on routine patrol passed through on his cruiser down the back alley and saw the woman; he saw clothes being pushed out of the widow, and the woman stashing the clothes in the trunk. He called for back-up and he saw the woman hide behind the car. The police officer approached and talked to the woman and asked her what she was doing. The police officer did not immediately place her under arrest.

Published on: May 12, 2012

Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Denied

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 3 November 2007 at approximately 12:15 a.m., in front of 212 East 122nd Street in New York County, a police officer observed one of the defendants (herein co-defendant) hand to the minor defendant (herein defendant) one (1) clear bag containing marihuana in exchange for a sum of US currency. A New York DWI Lawyer said that immediately after the minor defendant walked away from the co-defendant, the officer observed the co-defendant make a cellular telephone call. Several seconds later, the minor defendant walked up to the co-defendant who then handed the defendant a sum of US currency.

Defendants were arrested and charged with a single count of Criminal Sale of Marihuana in the Fourth Degree, a drug crime.