DEFENDANT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADJUDICATED A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER; IN ADDITION TO DEFENDANT’S MEETING THE CRITERIA, THE PEOPLE APPARENTLY LOST EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE BEFORE OFFERING A PLEA DEAL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant should have been adjudicated a youthful offender, noting the People may have possessed exculpatory evidence which was lost before the plea offer was made:

… [U]pon its determination of eligibility, the Supreme Court should have adjudicated the defendant a youthful offender. “In making such a determination, factors to be considered by the court include ‘the gravity of the crime and manner in which it was committed, mitigating circumstances, defendant’s prior criminal record, prior acts of violence, recommendations in the presentence reports, defendant’s reputation, the level of cooperation with authorities, defendant’s attitude toward society and respect for the law, and the prospects for rehabilitation and hope for a future constructive life'” … . Here, the updated presentence investigation report by the Department of Probation recommended youthful offender status for the defendant, who was 17 years old at the time of the offense, which was his first encounter with the criminal justice system. As the court noted during the … hearing, the defendant was cooperative with authorities. Furthermore, the defendant was employed at the time of his probation interview, obtained his GED while incarcerated, and now has a child. We find that, in its consideration of youthful offender adjudication, the court also should have weighed the defendant’s undisputed contention that the People had purportedly possessed exculpatory evidence that they had failed to provide to the defendant, the People’s loss of which apparently preceded the plea agreement offered by the People, against the nature of the offense and the defendant’s admitted role in it … . People v Terrence L., 2021 NY Slip Op 04149, Second Dept 6-30-21