Opinion
Submitted February 22, 2000.
April 3, 2000.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Nassau County (Kowtna, J.), rendered June 9, 1997, convicting him of assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
N. Scott Banks, Garden City, N.Y., for appellant.
Denis Dillon, District Attorney, Mineola, N.Y. (Peter A. Weinstein and Judith R. Sternberg of counsel), for respondent.
WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, J.P., LEO F. McGINITY, DANIEL F. LUCIANO, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends that the trial court erred in precluding a defense witness from testifying about the victim's reputation for carrying a weapon. Since the defendant was permitted to testify about the victim's reputation for gun possession in the past, as well as about his prior altercation involving the victim, the excluded testimony would have been merely cumulative (see, People v. Seit, 204 A.D.2d 363, 365 ; People v. Ross, 197 A.D.2d 713 ; People v. Dupigney, 156 A.D.2d 709 ; see also, People v. Santiago, 211 A.D.2d 734). Moreover, the evidence presented by the defendant with respect to his claim of self-defense was so tenuous that there is no significant probability that the jury would have acquitted him had the testimony in question been allowed. Therefore, any error in excluding it was harmless (see, People v. Ross, supra; People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230 ).
The sentence imposed was not excessive (see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80 ).
The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05[2]; People v. Udzinski, 146 A.D.2d 245, 250 ), or without merit.