PEOPLE v. REYES (2020)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (April A. Newbauer, J.), rendered October 21, 2016, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of assault in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of seven years, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see People v. Danielson, 9 N.Y.3d 342, 348–349, 849 N.Y.S.2d 480, 880 N.E.2d 1 [2007]).  There is no basis for disturbing the jury's credibility determinations, including those relating to the victim's description of his medical condition over the period from the incident to the time of the trial.

The element of serious physical injury was established by evidence that the victim sustained a blowout fracture of his orbital lobe.  This caused his right eye to swell shut, requiring corrective surgery, and leaving the victim with protracted impairment, which was ongoing at the time of the trial (see People v. Joco, 83 A.D.3d 608, 921 N.Y.S.2d 254 [1st Dept. 2009]).  The jury could have reasonably concluded, from all the evidence presented, that the victim's surgery was unsuccessful in preventing long term vision problems, and that those problems were caused by, and were a foreseeable result of, the attack (see People v. DaCosta, 6 N.Y.3d 181, 184, 811 N.Y.S.2d 308, 844 N.E.2d 762 [2006]).

Defendant's intent to cause serious physical injury was readily inferable from his conduct (see generally People v. Getch, 50 N.Y.2d 456, 465, 429 N.Y.S.2d 579, 407 N.E.2d 425 [1980]), which included punching the victim in the face and kicking him in the head.

We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.