Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the Justice Court, Town of Wawayanda, Orange County (P. Gromacki, J.), rendered November 7, 2002, after a bench trial, adjudicating him a youthful offender based on the underlying crime of criminal mischief in the fourth degree (Penal Law § 145.00 [1]), and imposing sentence.Judgment adjudicating defendant a youthful offender unanimously reversed on the law and facts, and accusatory instrument dismissed.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620 [1983]), we find that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish defendant's guilt of violating subdivision 1 of Penal Law § 145.00, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, in that it failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant intentionally, i.e. with a conscious objective, damaged property of another (see Penal Law § 15.05 [1]; CPL 470.15 [4] [b]; Donnino, Practice Commentaries, McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 39, Penal Law § 145.00, at 103) . In any event, in the exercise of our factual review power, we are of the opinion that defendant's testimony was worthy of being credited and that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence (see CPL 470.15 [5]). Accordingly, the judgment adjudicating defendant a youthful offender is reversed and the accusatory instrument dismissed.
Decision Date: March 24, 2004