*1Defendant appeals from the judgment of the Supreme Court, New York County (A. Kirke Bartley, Jr., J.), rendered May 24, 2012, convicting him, after a jury trial, of robbery in the first degree and attempted robbery in the first degree, and imposing sentence.*2
ROLANDO ACOSTA, P.J.At issue in this case is whether defendant was deprived of due process and the right to present a defense when the trial court precluded him from presenting reverse Molineux evidence showing that another person had committed three uncharged robberies similar to the four robberies for which defendant was indicted. Indeed, the prosecutor relied on the theory that defendant was responsible for all four robberies in opposing defendant’s request for separate trials, but later argued that there was insufficient evidence to link defendant to the unindicted robberies in opposing defendant’s reverse Molineux request. The court also denied defendant’s request to introduce his arrest fingerprint card, which defendant argues did not show that he had a scar on the palm of his hand, in contrast to a trial witness’s description of her assailant. We find that these ruling were erroneous and, in combination, denied defendant a fair trial.Factual BackgroundPretrial suppression hearing evidence, including surveillance video, established seven robberies as part of a pattern committed by the same man: 1. Park View Café on June 2, 2009, at 6:30 a.m.; 2. Twin Donuts on June 8, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.; 3. Mi Pueblo Mexican Grocery on June 8 at 9:40 p.m.; 4. Starbucks on June 8 at 11:00 p.m.; 5. Sanaa Deli1 on June 8 at 11:55 p.m.; 6. United Fried Chicken and Pizza [UFC] on June 9, 2009 at 12:35 a.m.; and 7. Seven Seas Deli on June 9 at 3:50 a.m.Each complainant in the June 8 and 9 robberies described the perpetrator as a heavyset, bald black male, about five feet, seven inches, to five feet, nine inches, tall, with a goatee and wearing a New York Yankees shirt. Defendant was identified as a suspect in each robbery following his arrest on street-level drug charges, because he resembled the man in the surveillance video of one of the robberies.Witnesses to three of the robberies did not identify defendant as the perpetrator. The UFC witness identified a lineup filler, and the Park View Café and Twin Donut witnesses did not recognize anyone in the lineup as the man who had robbed them.
