KINGSTON – A man who was convicted in Ulster County Court to armed robbery has had his conviction upheld by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court.
The conviction of Patrick Ferguson stemmed from an incident in the evening of May 20, 2012 during which the victim was approached and attacked at knifepoint by Ferguson and co-defendant Rosie Ramirez, near Broadway and Downs Street in the City of Kingston.
After the victim was accosted, a knife was put to his throat and he was forced into the first floor apartment at 190 Tremper Avenue where Ferguson and Ramirez lived. Once inside, a violent struggle ensured during which Ferguson was cut by the knife. The victim eventually managed to escape, but only after Ferguson stole his valuables including cash and a gold ring.
Following his conviction, Ferguson was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision.
On appeal, Ferguson attacked the validity of the search warrant executed by Kingston City Police and argued there was no basis to justify the issuance of an all-hours warrant.
The appellate court disagreed saying the nighttime search of his apartment was reasonably necessary because of the potential loss of evidence which was essential to the continued progress of the investigation and whereabouts of the suspects were still unknown.
