Opinion
December 14, 1992
Appeal from the County Court, Westchester County (West, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
There was evidence at the trial that the defendant obtained a gun, loaded it, and handed it to a friend, telling him to get the decedent out of the house. The gunman then shot the decedent several times at close range. This evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15).
The defendant's claim that the trial court erred by informing the jury that there was no cross-examination of a witness concerning the defendant's loading of the gun, was unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05). Upon review of that claim in the exercise of our interest of justice jurisdiction, we note that although the court erred in so informing the jury, except for the witness's admission that her statement to the police omitted mention of the loading of the gun, her cross-examination testimony repeated the account she gave on direct examination. The limited nature of the cross-examination rendered the defendant's claim of prejudice merely speculative (see, People v Phillips, 150 A.D.2d 396, 397; cf., People v Malloy, 177 A.D.2d 511, 512). Therefore, the error was harmless.
We have considered the defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. Thompson, J.P., Balletta, Eiber and Ritter, JJ., concur.