People v. Washington
Opinion of the Court
—Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Koch, J.), rendered October 24, 1994, convicting him of robbery in the first degree and grand larceny in the fourth degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
Contrary to the defendant’s contention, the evidence was legally sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he displayed what appeared to be a gun during the robbery. The element of display is satisfied when the evidence establishes that the defendant consciously displayed something that could reasonably be perceived as a firearm, with the intent of taking property, and the victim actually perceived the display
At bar, the complainant testified that during the robbery the defendant put his hand in the pocket of his jacket and pressed a hard object to her side, and that she thought the object was "probably a gun or a knife, I’m not really sure”. Clearly, part of the complainant’s perception of the object was that it was a gun, and that portion of her perception is legally sufficient to support a finding that the defendant displayed what appeared to be a firearm (see, People v Pierre, 220 AD2d 538).
The defendant’s remaining contention does not require reversal. Rosenblatt, J. P., Ritter, Pizzuto and Hart, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.