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Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon Third Degree Is Not a Violent Felony When It is the Top Count of an Indictment—It is a Violent Felony Only If It Is a “Lesser Included” Offense

The Second Department determined defendant was improperly sentenced as a second violent felony offender.  Attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree is not a violent felony when it is the top count in an indictment (as it was in this case).  It is only considered a violent felony when it is a “lesser included” offense:

In People v Dickerson (85 NY2d 870, 871-872), the Court of Appeals determined that a plea of guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, when charged in “the top count” of a superior court information, did not constitute a violent felony pursuant to Penal Law § 70.02(1)(d). Under Penal Law § 70.02(1)(d), the crime of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree constitutes a class E violent felony offense only when the defendant is convicted of such charge as “a lesser included offense . . . as defined in section 220.20 of the criminal procedure law.” CPL 220.20(1) defines a “lesser included offense” as one where the defendant pleads “to an offense of lesser grade than one charged in a count of an indictment.” “Thus, according to the plain statutory language, a class E violent felony offense is reserved for accuseds who plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree as a lesser included offense under an indictment charging a greater offense” (People v Dickerson, 85 NY2d at 872). Here, in 2005, the defendant entered a plea of guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree as the sole count of a superior court information. Therefore, the defendant’s conviction of that crime, upon his plea of guilty, did not constitute a violent felony pursuant to Penal Law § 70.02 (1)(d) … . People v Millazzo, 2015 NY Slip Op 03569, 2nd Dept 4-29-15

 

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