People v. Johnson

— Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County, rendered September 20, 1976, convicting him of murder in the second degree and robbery in the first degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. Judgment reversed, on the law and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and new trial ordered. The defendant and his codefendant, Gary Brooks, were indicted on charges stemming from a robbery and homicide which took place in the St. Johns University bookstore on May 30, 1975. At their joint trial, the confessions of both defendants to law enforcement…