PEOPLE v. STOKES (2025)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Juan M. Merchan, J.), rendered May 1, 2014, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree and robbery in the first and second degrees, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

In the appeal by defendant's codefendant, this Court previously concluded that the trial court providently denied the severance motion, as “the defenses of defendant and his codefendant were not in ‘irreconcilable conflict,’ and there was no significant danger that ‘the conflict alone would lead the jury to infer defendant's guilt’ ” (People v. Stokes, 149 A.D.3d 510, 511, 52 N.Y.S.3d 326 [1st Dept. 2017], lv denied 29 N.Y.3d 1087, 64 N.Y.S.3d 177, 86 N.E.3d 264 [2017], quoting People v. Mahboubian, 74 N.Y.2d 174, 184, 544 N.Y.S.2d 769, 543 N.E.2d 34 [1989]).  Further, “[n]either defendant acted as a second prosecutor regarding the other defendant, and in their cross-examination of witnesses and summations, neither defendant developed the inconsistency in their defenses to a point where it created prejudice” (id.).  We find no basis to revisit that determination.

Defendant's claim related to the trial court's use of cell site location information (CSLI) pursuant to Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296, 138 S.Ct. 2206, 201 L.Ed.2d 507 (2018) is not preserved for appellate review, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice (People v. Crum, 184 A.D.3d 454, 455, 126 N.Y.S.3d 7 [1st Dept. 2020], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 1065, 129 N.Y.S.3d 404, 152 N.E.3d 1206 [2020];  see also People v. Adames, 216 A.D.3d 519, 188 N.Y.S.3d 479 [1st Dept. 2023], lv denied 40 N.Y.3d 949, 195 N.Y.S.3d 666, 217 N.E.3d 686 [2023]).  As an alternate holding, we find that any error in admitting the CSLI was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt, and there was no reasonable possibility that the error might have contributed to defendant's conviction (see People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230, 367 N.Y.S.2d 213, 326 N.E.2d 787 [1975];  People v. Crum, 184 A.D.3d at 455, 126 N.Y.S.3d 7;  People v. Taylor, 172 A.D.3d 1110, 1111, 98 N.Y.S.3d 456 [2d Dept. 2019], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 1109, 106 N.Y.S.3d 655, 130 N.E.3d 1265 [2019]).

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.