PEOPLE v. GUILLEN (2025)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (April Newbauer, J.), rendered November 4, 2019, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 11 years, unanimously reversed, on the law, and the matter remanded for a new trial.

As conceded by the People, based on People v. Castillo, 42 N.Y.3d 628, 225 N.Y.S.3d 639, 250 N.E.3d 650 (2024), in which the Court of Appeals reversed the codefendant's conviction because of the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on justification at the joint trial, defendant in this case is likewise entitled to a new trial.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence (People v. Danielson, 9 N.Y.3d 342, 348–349, 849 N.Y.S.2d 480, 880 N.E.2d 1 [2007];  see also People v. Baque, 43 N.Y.3d 26, ––– N.Y.S.3d ––––, ––– N.E.3d –––– [2024]).  Defendant's claim that the prosecutor impaired the integrity of the second grand jury proceeding is unpreserved (see People v. Brown, 81 N.Y.2d 798, 799, 595 N.Y.S.2d 370, 611 N.E.2d 271 [1993]), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice.  As an alternative holding, we reject defendant's claim regarding the grand jury proceeding on the merits (see People v. Pelchat, 62 N.Y.2d 97, 107, 476 N.Y.S.2d 79, 464 N.E.2d 447 [1984];  People v. Davis, 91 A.D.3d 567, 568, 938 N.Y.S.2d 8 [1st Dept. 2012], lv denied 19 N.Y.3d 863, 947 N.Y.S.2d 412, 970 N.E.2d 435 [2012]).

Given the above, we need not address defendant's remaining arguments.