Opinion
No. 2006-03832.
September 30, 2008.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Rockland County (Nelson, J.), rendered April 10, 2006, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Mary E. Zugibe, Garnerville, N.Y., for appellant.
Janet DiFiore, District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Richard Longworth Hecht of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Lifson, J.P., Florio, Eng and Belen, JJ.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant's contention that the evidence was legally insufficient to support his conviction is not preserved for appellate review ( see People v Finger, 95 NY2d 894, 895; People v Cona, 49 NY2d 26, 33 n 2 [1979]). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution ( see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620, 621), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant's own testimony and the testimony of the complainant both indicated that the defendant held a knife to the victim's throat after the victim denied that he was harboring the defendant's missing wife ( see People v Nealy, 32 AD3d 400, 401; People v Johnson, 23 AD3d 686; accord People v Williams, 235 AD2d 267). Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power ( see CPL 470.15), we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence ( see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633; People v Nealy, 32 AD3d at 401; People v Johnson, 23 AD3d 686; cf. People v Bell, 158 AD2d 697, 698).
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the trial court did not err in declining to instruct the jury on the defense of justification ( see People v Pons, 68 NY2d 264; People v Cruz, 13 AD3d 390; People v Tomback, 244 AD2d 586; People v Olivera, 157 AD2d 676, 677).