DECISION ON APPEAL RESERVED AND MATTER REMITTED FOR A DETERMINATION WHETHER DEFENDANT SHOULD BE AFFORDED YOUTHFUL OFFENDER STATUS (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department, reserving decision on the appeal and remitting the matter, determined County Court should have ruled on whether defendant should be afforded youthful offender status:
Pursuant to CPL 720.10 (2) (a) (ii) and (3), because defendant was convicted of an armed felony offense (see CPL 1.20 [41]), he is ineligible for a youthful offender adjudication unless the court determines that one of two mitigating factors is present. “If the court, in its discretion, determines that neither of the CPL 720.10 (3) factors is present and states the reasons for that determination on the record, then no further determination is required” (… see People v Middlebrooks, 25 NY3d 516, 527 [2015]). “If, on the other hand, the court determines that one or more of those factors are present, and therefore defendant is an eligible youth, the court then must determine whether he is a youthful offender” … . As the People correctly concede, the court failed to follow the procedure set forth in Middlebrooks. People v Williams, 2020 NY Slip Op 04092, Fourth Dept 7-17-20