Court rejects appeal in Cattaraugus County robbery, beating case

A New York State Appellate court has rejected a claim filed by Cameron Rives, age 25. On January 19, 2016, Rives was convicted in Cattaraugus County of 1st degree burglary. He is currently serving a 17 year prison term in Attica Correctional. Here is a summary of the decision:

Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of burglary in the first degree defendant contends that County Court abused its discretion in failing to adjudicate him a youthful offender. We reject that contention. The record establishes that the four perpetrators invaded the home while the victims, including several small children, were present, and they then pistol-whipped the adult male victim, bound the adult female victim and urinated on her, stole property, and threatened to kill the family. Notwithstanding his later protestations of minimal participation, defendant admitted that he knew that a robbery was planned, and that he drove the three codefendants to the victims’ home, took part in the crime, and retained his share of the proceeds. Thus, we see no abuse of discretion in the court’s denial of youthful offender status.