The People v. Charles Smith

A homeless man walks into a check-cashing store. This sounds like the start of a bad joke, but instead is filled with pathos. Charles Smith, with one hand covered by the bottom of his hoodie, demanded money, eventually threatening to shoot the cashier (who was behind bulletproof glass). He challenges his first-degree attempted robbery conviction, on the ground that he did nothing to “[d]isplay[ ] what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or other firearm” (Penal Law § 160.15 [4]). His conviction for first-degree attempted robbery resulted in the imposition of a…