|
DATE |
CHARGE(S) |
NOTES: Every case is different, and past results are no guarantee of future success. |
RESULT |
|
11/99 |
Domestic Assault & Battery |
Defendant charged with beating his sister - claimed self defense. |
Not Guilty |
|
12/99 |
Grand Larceny |
Defendant confessed to stealing car; attorney argued he did not really mean it, only a joy ride |
Not Guilty |
|
7/00 |
Reckless Driving |
Complainant alleged rammed his vehicle in a fit of road rage and then left the scene. |
Not Guilty of criminal reckless driving; Guilty of improper driving (traffic citation) |
|
7/00 |
2 x Breaking and Entering; 2 x Grand Larceny |
Defendant was seen fleeing the scene, Co-Defendant testified against him |
Not Guilty |
|
9/00 |
Domestic Assault & Battery |
2 disinterested civilian witnesses testified that they saw defendant assault and batter his wife in parking lot. |
Not Guilty |
|
10/00 |
Abduction with Intent to Defile |
Intent to Defile aspect dismissed at Motion to Strike. Defendant raised insanity defense. |
Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. |
|
1/01 |
1st Degree Murder (co-counsel) |
14 yr old MS-13 gang member certified as adult after stabbing man in parking lot. Multiple witnesses + taped confession. |
Guilty of 2nd Degree Murder (23 yrs) |
|
1/01 |
Aggravated Sexual Battery |
Complaining witness alleged a rape; 2 detectives testified that Defendant confessed; Defendant denied raping the girl and denied confessing to the police, claimed police lied about that. |
Not Guilty |
|
1/01 |
Grand Larceny |
Defendant was caught pawning a diamond ring that had been stolen from a house he was cleaning; he later claimed that the ring he pawned was not the stolen ring but his brother's dead fiancé's ring. |
Not Guilty |
|
2/01 |
Aggravated Sexual Battery |
13 year-old girl claimed 50 year old landscaper sexually assaulted her in a ditch next to the house. Defendant denied all wrongdoing. |
Not Guilty |
|
6/01 |
Grand Larceny; Possession of Burglary Tools |
Defendant was charged with armored car heist. Caught red handed with the loot in his trunk. Only real defense was based on suppression of the search for an unlawful seizure of the vehicle. |
Guilty at trial but Reversed on Appeal and then dismissed. |
|
7/01 |
Credit Card Theft; 2 x Grand Larceny |
Felony shoplifting ring. Police witnessed defendant and his friend stealing and then caught them with the stolen merchandise in defendant's car |
Guilty of Credit Card Theft and 2 x Misdemeanor Petit Larceny; 18 months |
|
7/01 |
4 x Unlawful Carnal Knowledge of Minor |
Attorney was court-appointed to this case after the defendant "fired" 2 previous lawyers appointed by the court. Defendant was charged with chronic and severe sexual abuse of his step-daughter. Gave a 2-hour taped confession to the police and also confessed on 2 different recorded phone stings. Insisted on going to trial anyway. |
Guilty of 2 counts - 7 yrs on each; Not Guilty of other 2 counts |
|
7/01 |
1st Degree Murder (co-counsel) |
Def shot man 5 times at close range, including 1 head shot; then fled south of the border for 10 years. After 2 days of deliberations with the jury deadlocked, the Defendant accepted a plea bargain. |
Guilty of - 2nd Degree Murder with a sentence of 12 years. Because the offense occurred prior to the abolition of parole, the defendant was out in 7. |
|
9/01 |
Grand Larceny Auto |
Defendant caught driving a stolen car; claimed a stranger at a party let her borrow it. |
Not Guilty - dismissed on motion to strike. |
|
11/01 |
Possession of a Firearm By Convicted Felon |
Commonwealth failed to prove that Possession of Cocaine was a felony in New York at the time defendant was convicted of it. |
Not Guilty - dismissed on motion to strike. |
|
2/02 |
Robbery; Abduction; Use of a Firearm in Commission of Felony. |
Complaining witness and his brother claimed that Def. and 2 others abducted and robbed them at gunpoint; Def. then led police on a high speed chase before crashing in the District. Defendant testified that he and the complainant were rival drug dealers and the complainant was setting him up to get rid of competition. Defendant had 2 prior robbery convictions and 7 prior felonies. |
Not Guilty of all charges. |
|
3/02 |
Breaking & Entering, Grand Larceny |
Defendant was caught running away from building; co-defendant testified against him. |
Hung Jury (then prosecutor agreed to plea bargain of a misdemeanor rather than risk a retrial) |
|
6/02 |
Attempted Robbery |
Eyewitness ID case. The victim's daughter witnessed the whole thing from a short distance away, and testified that she immediately recognized the defendant because she went to high school with him. Attorney argued it was a case of mistaken identity. |
Not Guilty |
|
9/02 |
Possession of Firearm while in Possession of Cocaine |
Defendant caught with a shotgun in the trunk and cocaine in the glove box. |
Guilty - 5 years mandatory minimum |
|
9/02 |
Possession of Firearm By a Convicted Felon |
Same case. Two separate trials so the first jury would not find out about defendant's prior felony conviction. |
Guilty - 3 years mandatory minimum |
|
10/02 |
Robbery |
Defendant was part of a mob that beat and robbed a boy. |
Guilty - Boys Probation House |
|
10/03 |
Breaking & Entering with Intent to Commit Rape; Forcible Sodomy; Abduction with Intent to Defile (co-counsel) |
Court-appointed again after defendant fired at least 2 previous court appointed attorneys. This case had an eyewitness identification, DNA, fingerprints, and the defendant told police he "might have done it" because he was on drugs around that time. He then testified at trial that the victim made it up because he broke up with her. She said he was a complete stranger and forced his way into a building she was cleaning at night. The defendant had prior convictions for Rape and Aggravated Sexual Battery. |
Not Guilty of all sexual elements: Abduction with Intent; Forcible Sodomy, and B & E with Intent to Rape. Guilty of B & E with Intent to Assault - sentenced to time served |
|
12/03 |
Rape, Forcible Oral Sodomy, Forcible Anal Sodomy (co-counsel) |
Defendant and complaining witness had prior consensual relations, but on this night she testified she told him no. Injuries to her genital areas were used to corroborate her claim. Defendant testified it was consensual but his apology via AOL Instant Messenger was used against him. |
Not Guilty of Forcible Oral Sodomy. Not Guilty of Forcible Anal Sodomy. Guilty of Rape - 7 years Guilty of Misdemeanor Sexual Battery - 12 months |
|
5/04 |
False Police Report |
Defendant confessed but then recanted. |
Not Guilty |
*** Note: From 5/04 - 5/05 attorney Sprano was called to active duty with the Marine Reserves to serve in Iraq.
|
10/06 |
Hit and Run; DUI |
2 eyewitnesses testified that defendant hit security guard with his van and then fled the scene |
Not Guilty of Hit & Run; Guilty of DUI |
|
11/06 |
Robbery; Use of A Firearm In the Commission of a Robbery |
Co-Defendant and victim testified against defendant. Defense was that he was there but did not participate. |
Not Guilty |
|
3/07 |
Carjacking; Use of A Firearm |
Defendant gave his gun to a friend who then used it to commit a carjacking. Defendant told police that he and his friend had done about 15-20 carjackings prior to that one. |
Guilty - affirmed on appeal. |
|
12/07 |
DUI Related Maiming; Felony Destruction of Property; Hit and Run; DUI |
Defendant hit rear of car at 40-50 mph without hitting breaks, then hit car again to flee the scene as mother tried to get children out of the car. Mother and one child had permanent injury as a result. Testimony included co-defendant/passenger, 4 eyewitnesses. |
Not Guilty of Destruction of Property; Guilty of everything else. Total sentence of 24 months. |
|
1/09 |
Receiving Stolen Property x 2 |
Defendant's passenger got out of car and stole GPS from other vehicle in parking lot. Subsequent search of defendant's house revealed various stolen electronic items. |
Guilty of one count, Not Guilty of the other. Jury sentenced him to 15 days. |
|
2/09 |
Reckless Driving |
Defendant was going 98 mph in a 55 mph zone. Received 5 days in jail in the General District Court and then appealed to the Circuit Court and asked for a Jury Trial. |
Not Guilty of the criminal charge of Reckless Driving. Guilty only of the traffic infraction Improper Driving. |
|
3/09 |
Grand Larceny |
Defendant was accused of stealing a washer/dryer when she moved out of a rented house on bad terms with the owner. She claimed the prior tenant had said she could keep it. |
Not Guilty |
|
5/09 |
Malicious Wounding |
Defendant and his friend were accused of beating a man inside and outside of a strip club. The two defendants claimed that the man attacked them with a knife. Their stab wounds and the complainant's possession of a bloody knife corroborated the defendants' version. |
Not Guilty |
| 2/10 | Indecent Exposure to a Minor | Man and his daughter both testified defendant exposed himself to the child while she was boarding a school bus. Defendant claimed the exposure was accidental. Over objection, trial court permitted prosecutor to introduce evidence that the defendant was in possession of pornogrpahy at the time | Guilty. 2 year sentence. |
| 7/11 | Assault & Battery | Defendant, a black belt in karate, was the victor in a one-punch fight at a charity cocktail party. He claimed anticipatory self-defense, but the complainant's face was fractured in 7 places. Numerous witnesses at the bar that night all give slightly conflicting versions. | Not Guilty |
| 9/11 | Aggravated Sexual Battery and Indecent Liberties with a Minor | Defendant, a computer technician, was accused of child molestation (fondling and indecent proposals) by a 12 year old girl who was the daughter of a customer he had befriended. In a taped statement to police, he at first denied everything, then said it was an accident, then finally acknowledged he had gone too far, but "it only happened that one time." At trial he maintained there was nothing more than accidental touching, while tickling. | Not Guilty |
| 10/11 | Forgery, Uttering a Forged Check, and Obtaining Money by False Pretenses | Defendant was accused of depositing a $5000 check that had been stolen from a local business. She maintained that the check was given to her by her boyfriend, who obtained the money legitimately as payment for work performed. | Not Guilty. |
