In re Anthony L.
Opinion of the Court
Order, Family Court, New York County (Leah Marks, J.), entered June 30, 1995, which adjudicated appellant a juvenile delinquent and placed him with the Division for Youth for a period of 18 months, upon a finding that he had committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crimes of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third and fifth degrees, unanimously modified, on the law and the facts, without costs, to the extent of vacating the court’s findings and substituting a finding that appellant committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and the matter remanded for a dispositional hearing.
Contrary to appellant’s argument, the testimony of the arresting officer at the suppression hearing was not incredible as a matter of law. According due deference to the court’s credibility determinations, its finding that appellant was lawfully arrested after he was observed in a drug-prone location by a trained police officer in possession of what the officer believed to be cocaine in crack form is supported by the record (People v Fonte, 159 AD2d 346, lv denied 76 NY2d 734).
Appellant’s alternative argument is that the evidence at the fact-finding hearing, when viewed in the light most favorable to the presentment agency, as we are required to do (Matter of Michael D., 109 AD2d 633, 634, affd 66 NY2d 843; People v Malizia, 62 NY2d 755, cert denied 469 US 932), failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed the drugs at issue with the requisite intent to sell. Because direct proof of an individual’s intent is typically lacking, this element is generally established circumstantially by evidence of the person’s
In light of the fact that the original disposition was premised on a finding that appellant had committed the equivalent of a Class B felony rather than a Class A misdemeanor, we remand for a new dispositional hearing. Concur—Murphy, P. J. Rosenberger, Rubin, Tom and Mazzarelli, JJ.
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