GRAND JURY EVIDENCE SUPPORTED THE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE BASED UPON THE SALE OF HEROIN WHICH ALLEGEDLY CAUSED THE VICTIM’S DEATH; COUNTY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DISMISSED THE MANSLAUGHTER COUNT (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing County Court, over a dissent, determined the evidence of manslaughter presented to the grand jury was legally sufficient. Defendant allegedly provided very strong heroin to the victim, causing victim’s death:

“In the context of grand jury proceedings, legal sufficiency means prima facie proof of the crimes charged, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt” … . Thus, “if the [People have] established a prima facie case, the evidence is legally sufficient even though its quality or weight may be so dubious as to preclude indictment or conviction pursuant to other requirements” … . …

… [I]n order to find a defendant guilty of manslaughter in the second degree, the People are required to show that he or she “recklessly cause[d] the death of  another person” (Penal Law § 125.15 [1]). “A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or to a circumstance . . . when he [or she] is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists” … . …

Given defendant’s knowledge of the potency of the drugs that he was distributing and their potential lethality, it is evident that the nature of the risk involved was of such degree “that defendant’s failure to perceive it constituted a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation” and that his actions were a sufficiently direct cause of the victim’s death for him to face the judgment of a jury … . People v Gaworecki, 2019 NY Slip Op 05725, Third Dept 7-18-19