Opinion
October 7, 1997
Appeal from Supreme Court, New York County (Budd Goodman, J.).
By making only a general objection to the introduction of a severed, nontestifying codefendant's statement during the People's cross-examination of defendant, defendant failed to preserve for appellate review his claim that his right of confrontation ( cf., Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123) was violated ( see, People v. Cabeza, 221 A.D.2d 460, lv denied 87 N.Y.2d 971) and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. Were we to review it, we would find that in the context of the trial, the cross-examination was proper, where the People claimed that the statement was made by both defendant and the codefendant, while defendant denied making the statement and belatedly attributed the statement solely to the codefendant only during his cross-examination at trial. Even assuming that the statement was made solely by the codefendant, any error in permitting the People to use it during the cross-examination of defendant was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt ( see, People v. Hamlin, 71 N.Y.2d 750, 758; People v. Evans, 161 A.D.2d 790, 791).
The trial court properly denied defendant's request to charge the lesser included offense of assault in the third degree, since there was no reasonable view of the evidence that would support a finding that the defendant committed that lesser offense and not the greater offense of assault in the second degree ( see, People v. Glover, 57 N.Y.2d 61, 63).
Finally, since the defendant never asserted, at the time of sentence, that he was entitled to an adjudication of his youthful offender status, his right thereto was waived ( see, People v McGowen, 42 N.Y.2d 905). We perceive no abuse of sentencing discretion.
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Rosenberger, Wallach and Mazzarelli, JJ.