Opinion
2011-10-18
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,v.Luis PAULETTA, Defendant–Appellant.
Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (Joseph M. Nursey of counsel), for appellant.Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Britta Gilmore of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie G. Wittner, J.), rendered April 15, 2009, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 7 years, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was not against the weight of the evidence ( see People v. Danielson, 9 N.Y.3d 342, 348–349, 849 N.Y.S.2d 480, 880 N.E.2d 1 [2007] ). There is no basis for disturbing the jury's credibility determinations. The evidence warrants the inference that when defendant attacked the victim with a knife, he did so with homicidal intent.
The court properly exercised its discretion in determining that defendant's cross-examination opened the door to previously precluded evidence of an uncharged crime ( see People v. Massie, 2 N.Y.3d 179, 183–185, 777 N.Y.S.2d 794, 809 N.E.2d 1102 [2004]; People v. Melendez, 55 N.Y.2d 445, 451–452, 449 N.Y.S.2d 946, 434 N.E.2d 1324 [1982] ). The prior incident at issue was revealed in a prosecution witness's responsive answer to a question from defense counsel, and the court properly permitted the People to explore the incident more fully on redirect. In any event, the evidence of the prior incident was not unduly prejudicial, and any prejudice was minimized by the court's careful limiting instructions.
MAZZARELLI, J.P., MOSKOWITZ, ACOSTA, RENWICK, DeGRASSE, JJ., concur.