Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Schenectady County (Tomlinson, J.), rendered March 6,1997, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of robbery in the first degree (two counts) and robbery in the second degree (two counts).
Defendant was charged in an indictment with two counts each of robbery in the first degree and robbery in the second degree arising from an armed robbery which occurred at a convenience store in the City of Schenectady, Schenectady County, in March 1996 (see, Penal Law § 160.15 [2], [4]; § 160.10 [1], [2]). Defendant was convicted on all counts of the indictment following a jury trial at which defendant’s accomplices, Alexander Marcano and George Rodriguez, testified that defendant planned and actively participated in the robbery. Marcano and Rodriguez, who both pleaded guilty to robbery in the first degree, testified that while defendant remained in the car, they entered the store wearing ski masks and carrying .22-caliber sawed-off rifles, and demanded money from the store clerk. Marcano fired shots, grazing the clerk’s head. They grabbed cash from the register, exited the store and defendant drove them away; they then divided the money three ways. The day
Defendant claims that County Court erred in denying his request for a Dunaway hearing (see, Dunaway v New York,
Generally, pretrial suppression motions must state the legal ground for the motion and contain sworn allegations of fact
Defendant further contends that his custodial statements to Schenectady police were coerced and rendered involuntary, as induced by McHugh’s promise to inform the prosecutor if defendant cooperated in the investigation, implying that such cooperation would be beneficial to defendant. The Huntley hearing testimony reveals that, after defendant was taken to the police station, he was read his Miranda rights and thereafter read and signed a written acknowledgment waiving them. Defendant first gave an oral statement and then signed a written statement. The record supports the conclusion that defendant never attempted to stop the questioning, never asked for counsel and was not subjected to threats or coercive measures of any kind. In our view, the promise regarding defendant’s cooperation did not constitute coercion or create a substantial risk that defendant might falsely incriminate himself (see, CPL 60.45 [2] [b] [i]; see also, People v Tarsia,
Next, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and giving them the benefit of every favorable inference, as we must (see, People v Harper,
Further, reviewing the evidence in a neutral light to make an independent determination of the relative probative value of inferences that may be drawn from the testimony (see, People v Bleakley, supra, at 495; People v Jefferson,
Finally, in view of defendant’s role in initiating this robbery and his criminal history cited in his unfavorable presentence report, we do not find the existence of extraordinary circumstances or that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing defendant as a second felony offender to the maximum concurrent terms of imprisonment on each of the four counts, all of which were violent felony offenses. Accordingly, the sentence will not be disturbed (see, Penal Law § 70.02 [1] [a], [b]; § 70.06 [6] [a], [b]; see also, People v Yusufi,
We have examined defendant’s remaining contentions, including those raised in his pro se brief, and find them to be without merit.
