Opinion
2011-10-18
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,v.Jose BATISTA, Defendant–Appellant.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Adrienne Hale of counsel), for appellant.Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Jean Soo Park of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Martin Marcus, J.), rendered May 19, 2009, convicting defendant, after a nonjury trial, of harassment in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 15 days, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant did not preserve his challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we reject it on the merits. We also find that verdict was not against the weight of the evidence ( see *220 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 court's credibility determinations. The evidence supports the inference that defendant acted with the requisite intent for second-degree harassment ( see Penal Law § 240.26[1]; People v. Bartkow, 96 N.Y.2d 770, 725 N.Y.S.2d 589, 749 N.E.2d 158 [2001] ), particularly since defendant swung at the victim while making threats of violence.
SAXE, J.P., FRIEDMAN, MOSKOWITZ, FREEDMAN, RICHTER, JJ., concur.