In October 2005, Anthony Gayle was incarcerated at Elmira Correctional Facility in Chemung County, New York. A few days after his arrival, Gayle's cell was selected to be searched and a correction officer found a sharpened paintbrush handle -- or "shank" -- in his bathrobe.
When the Chemung County Court convicted Gayle of "promoting prison contraband in the first degree" and sentenced him to 3 to 6 years, he appealed.
The Appellate Division, Third Department, felt the evidence needed to be viewed "in the light most favorable to the People." While Gayle believed the lower court shouldn't have concluded he was in a "detention facility," his own testimony and that of a correction officer clearly described his cell as a "detention facility" -- as defined by the Penal Law.
Gayle also argued his conviction was "against the weight of the evidence." However, he was the cell's only occupant and the shank's placement "was such that no one could have placed the shank in the robe without entering the cell."
Because other inmates didn't have access to the area, the evidence supported the trial court's finding Gayle "constructively possessed the shank." (Not only was his theory -- that another inmate planted the shank as "retribution for his refusal to join a gang" -- uncorroborated, his testimony reflected he had no problems with any other inmates.)
Was Gayle a sacrificial lamb?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v Gayle