Inexplicably, the next night, the tenant returned to find his belongings in the driveway.
In response to ten minutes of banging on his door, Beckford reportedly lunged at the tenant with a machete and struck him four times.
When the Queens County Supreme Court found Beckford guilty of assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, he appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, contending that he acted with "criminal negligence," since he lacked the intent to cause "serious physical injury or physical injury," and that the jury should have been instructed on "the justifiable use of 'physical force' and 'deadly physical force'."
Because he attacked the tenant multiple times with a five pound machete, the AD2 didn't believe Beckford was using "anything other than deadly physical force." Nor did the appellate court find a "justification charge" was supported by the evidence.
Anybody want to take a stab at that?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v. Beckford