Opinion
11-21-2017
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Santos SANTIAGO, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (John Vang of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Shera Knight of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (John Vang of counsel), for appellant.
Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Shera Knight of counsel), for respondent.
TOM, J.P., MAZZARELLI, ANDRIAS, OING, SINGH, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Eugene Oliver, J.), rendered August 11, 2014, as amended May 11, 2016 and April 28, 2017, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to an aggregate term of 20 years, unanimously reversed, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and the matter remanded for a new trial.
As in cases such as People v. Velez, 131 A.D.3d 129, 13 N.Y.S.3d 354 (1st Dept.2015), the court's charge failed to convey that an acquittal on the top count of second-degree murder based on a finding of justification would preclude consideration of the remaining charges. We find that this error was not harmless and warrants reversal in the interest of justice (see e.g. People v. Kareem, 148 A.D.3d 550, 48 N.Y.S.3d 897 [1st Dept.2017], lv. dismissed 29 N.Y.3d 1033, 62 N.Y.S.3d 302, 84 N.E.3d 974 [2017] ). We have considered and rejected the People's various arguments for affirmance.
Since we are ordering a new trial, we find it unnecessary to reach defendant's remaining contentions.