Tompkins Cnty. Attorney v. Angel ZZ. (In re Angel ZZ.)

220 A.D.3d 1097

198 N.Y.S.3d 795

In the MATTER OF ANGEL ZZ., Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent.

Tompkins County Attorney, Respondent;

v.Angel ZZ., Appellant.

CV–22–2282

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

Calendar Date: September 6, 2023

Decided and Entered: October 19, 2023

Citizens for Concerned Children, Inc., Ithaca (Thomas G. Shannan of counsel), for appellant.

Holly L. Mosher, Acting County Attorney, Ithaca, for respondent.

Before: Clark, J.P., Aarons, Reynolds Fitzgerald, Ceresia and Fisher, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Ceresia, J. Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Tompkins County (Scott A. Miller, J.), entered August 16, 2022, which granted petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to Family Ct Act article 3, to adjudicate respondent a juvenile delinquent.

Petitioner commenced this juvenile delinquency proceeding against respondent (born in 2008) based upon allegations that she choked the 12–year–old victim during lunch at their middle school. Following a fact-finding hearing, Family Court found that respondent had committed acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crimes of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and assault in the third degree.¹ At the conclusion of the dispositional hearing that followed, Family Court adjudicated respondent a juvenile delinquent and placed her on probation for a period of one year, subject to various terms and conditions, and entered an order of protection in favor of the victim. This appeal by respondent ensued.

Respondent initially contends that Family Court's determination is not supported by legally sufficient evidence and is against the weight of the evidence. Although the legal sufficiency challenge is unpreserved for this Court's review, as respondent neglected to raise any objection in this regard before Family Court (see Matter of Kylik C., 179 A.D.3d 1057, 1058, 114 N.Y.S.3d 711 [2d Dept. 2020] ; Matter of Gordon B., 83 A.D.3d 1164, 1166, 920 N.Y.S.2d 798 [3d Dept. 2011], lv denied 17 N.Y.3d 710, 2011 WL 4388258 [2011] ), we nevertheless evaluate the proof supporting each element of the pertinent crimes in the course of our weight of the evidence analysis. As to the weight of the evidence, "where a different determination would not have been unreasonable, we view the evidence in a neutral light while according deference to the credibility determinations of Family Court" ( Matter of Daniel B., 129 A.D.3d 1152, 1153, 10 N.Y.S.3d 710 [3d Dept. 2015] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv denied 25 N.Y.3d 914, 2015 WL 5037061 [2015] ).

The victim testified that, on the day in question, she was walking down a school hallway when respondent grabbed her by the hair and backpack, "twirl[ed][her] around in a circle and ... threw [her] into [respondent's] friend group." Later that day, as the victim was sitting on a bench eating lunch, respondent came up behind the victim, crossed her arms around the victim's neck and throat, applied pressure, dug her elbows into the victim's collarbones, "dragged" the victim off of the bench and "dropped [her] on the ground." As respondent was doing this, the victim testified, respondent said, "go to sleep." According to the victim, this incident lasted between 15 and 20 seconds, during which she could not breathe, was "gasping for air" and experienced pain at a level of 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. The victim went to the school nurse and obtained ice for her injuries, telling the nurse that she had fallen in front of the school, and sought treatment at a local hospital later that same day. Although her pain diminished in the days that followed, and it appears that the victim's ensuing absences from school were occasioned not by any physical limitations but by her fear of respondent, the victim also testified that, following the attack, she was unable to lift her arms above her shoulders "for a few days." The victim acknowledged that she regarded the incident in the hallway as respondent just joking around, but she also testified that she had experienced problems with respondent in the past, that respondent had told her and others that respondent did not like her and that it felt like respondent was trying to hurt her during the choking incident.

With respect to the charge of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a person is guilty of this crime "when, with intent to impede the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of another person, he or she ... applies pressure on the throat or neck of such person" ( Penal Law § 121.11[a] ; see People v. Peasley, 208 A.D.3d 1466, 1468, 174 N.Y.S.3d 497 [3d Dept. 2022], lv. denied 39 N.Y.3d 1074, 183 N.Y.S.3d 805, 204 N.E.3d 441 [2023] ). Respondent contends that proof of intent is lacking. "Intent to impede a victim's breathing may be inferred from the perpetrator's actions and the surrounding circumstances" ( Matter of Jesse Z., 116 A.D.3d 1105, 1106, 983 N.Y.S.2d 651 [3d Dept. 2014] [citations omitted]; see People v. Stines, 212 A.D.3d 883, 885, 180 N.Y.S.3d 717 [3d Dept. 2023], lv denied 39 N.Y.3d 1113, 186 N.Y.S.3d 839, 208 N.E.3d 67 [2023] ; see generally People v. Stover, 174 A.D.3d 1150, 1151, 105 N.Y.S.3d 194 [3d Dept. 2019], lv denied 34 N.Y.3d 954, 110 N.Y.S.3d 632, 134 N.E.3d 631 [2019] ). In light of the hearing evidence demonstrating that respondent choked the victim while simultaneously dragging her to the ground and telling her to "go to sleep," and deferring to the credibility determinations of Family Court – which found the victim "entirely credible" – we are satisfied that the finding of intent is supported by the weight of the evidence. To the extent that respondent notes certain alleged inconsistencies in the victim's testimony, such as when the victim experienced dizziness, how the victim could claim to have yelled for help when she said that she was unable to breathe or whether she spoke with the school principal following the incident, "we have long recognized that it is not uncommon for young children to be uncertain and even inconsistent in their ... testimony[, and] ... we cannot say that [the victim's] trial testimony was utterly incredible or inherently unbelievable" ( People v. Beauharnois, 64 A.D.3d 996, 998–999, 882 N.Y.S.2d 589 [3d Dept. 2009] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv denied 13 N.Y.3d 834, 890 N.Y.S.2d 450, 918 N.E.2d 965 [2009] ; see People v. Fernandez, 106 A.D.3d 1281, 1283–1284, 968 N.Y.S.2d 603 [3d Dept. 2013], affd 17 N.Y.3d 70, 926 N.Y.S.2d 390, 950 N.E.2d 126 [2011] ).

As for the charge of assault in the third degree, a person is guilty of this crime "when[,] ... [w]ith intent to cause physical injury to another person, he [or she] causes such injury to such person" ( Penal Law § 120.00[1] ; see People v. Bryant, 200 A.D.3d 1483, 1484–1485, 161 N.Y.S.3d 399 [3d Dept. 2021], appeal dismissed 38 N.Y.3d 1158, 174 N.Y.S.3d 348, 195 N.E.3d 55 [2022] ). In respondent's estimation, the proof of physical injury is deficient. Physical injury is defined as "impairment of physical condition or substantial pain" ( Penal Law § 10.00[9] ; accord People v. Jones, 206 A.D.3d 1292, 1293, 170 N.Y.S.3d 326 [3d Dept. 2022] ). "To meet the statutory threshold, the pain must be more than slight or trivial but need not be severe or intense" ( People v. Conklin, 158 A.D.3d 973, 974, 71 N.Y.S.3d 703 [3d Dept. 2018] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv denied 31 N.Y.3d 1080, 79 N.Y.S.3d 101, 103 N.E.3d 1248 [2018] ; see People v. Peasley, 208 A.D.3d at 1468–1469, 174 N.Y.S.3d 497 ). "A variety of factors are relevant in determining whether physical injury has been established, including the injury viewed objectively, the victim's subjective description of the injury and his or her pain, and whether the victim sought medical treatment" ( People v. Conklin, 158 A.D.3d at 974, 71 N.Y.S.3d 703 [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted]; see People v. Peasley, 208 A.D.3d at 1469, 174 N.Y.S.3d 497 ; People v. Jones, 206 A.D.3d at 1293, 170 N.Y.S.3d 326 ). Furthermore, "[w]hether the substantial pain necessary to establish an assault charge has been proved is generally a question for the trier of fact" ( People v. Jones, 206 A.D.3d at 1293, 170 N.Y.S.3d 326 [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]). Considering the victim's testimony that she felt pain at a level 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, sought treatment at the school nurse's office and a hospital and could not fully lift her arms for a few days after the incident (compare People v. Rios, 142 A.D.3d 28, 29–30, 33 N.Y.S.3d 262 [1st Dept. 2016] ; People v. Young, 99 A.D.3d 739, 740, 951 N.Y.S.2d 735 [2d Dept. 2012], lv denied 20 N.Y.3d 1015, 960 N.Y.S.2d 358, 984 N.E.2d 333 [2013] ), Family Court's finding that the victim sustained a physical injury is in accord with the weight of the evidence (see People v. Peasley, 208 A.D.3d at...