People v. Matos

OPINION OF THE COURT

Ciparick, J.

The issue to be considered in this appeal is under what circumstances a fleeing felon’s actions cause another’s death for purposes of Penal Law § 125.25 (3), the felony murder statute.

There was evidence at trial that, in the early morning hours of October 17, 1989, defendant, Eddie Matos, and two accomplices broke into a McDonald’s restaurant on Seventh Avenue and 40th Street in Manhattan by shattering the glass door with a sledgehammer. Once inside, Matos and his accomplices rounded up the employees at gunpoint. A maintenance worker, however, managed to escape…