The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed the May 15, 2013 conviction of Patrick Ferguson upon a jury verdict convicting him of the crime of robbery in the first degree, a class B violent felony.
Defendant’s conviction stems from an incident which occurred in the early evening hours of May 20, 2012 during which the victim, a native of Honduras, was approached and attacked at knifepoint by the defendant and co-defendant Rosie Ramirez, near Broadway and Downs Street in the City of Kingston. After the victim was accosted, the defendant put a knife to his throat and forced him into the first floor apartment at 190 Tremper Avenue where the defendant and Ramirez both lived. Once inside, a violent struggle ensued during which the defendant was cut by the knife. The victim eventually managed to escape from the apartment, but only after the defendant tried to stab him and stole his valuables, including cash and a gold ring.
Following his conviction, defendant was sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to a 10 year term of imprisonment to be followed by five years of post-release supervision and ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $1,400.
On appeal, the defendant, attacking the validity of the search warrant executed by Kingston Police, argued only that there was no basis to justify the issuance of an all hours warrant. The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, disagreed with defendant’s assertions, noting that the nighttime search of the defendant’s apartment was reasonably necessary because of the potential loss of evidence which was essential to the continued progress of the investigation and the whereabouts of the suspects of this violent crime were still unknown.
On appeal, the defendant is represented by Marshall Nadan, Esq. of Kingston, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.