Opinion
April 11, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Robert Seewald, J.).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and giving it the benefit of every reasonable inference (People v Malizia, 62 N.Y.2d 755, cert denied 469 U.S. 932), we find that the evidence was sufficient as a matter of law to support the verdict finding defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of two counts of assault in the second degree, promoting prison contraband in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Furthermore, upon an independent review of the facts, we find that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see, People v Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490). Whether defendant was the aggressor and whether he exceeded his right of self-defense, in this stabbing of a fellow inmate, presented an issue of credibility, which the trial court, acting as the fact finder, resolved against defendant (see, People v Isidore, 201 A.D.2d 932, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 872).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Rosenberger, Ellerin, Ross and Williams, JJ.