Opinion
October 25, 1990
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County, Antonio Brandveen, J.
Defendant was observed rifling through garbage outside of a church by the pastor's son. Approximately 30 minutes later, the church alarm sounded, and the police were summoned. Defendant ran past one officer and jumped over some fences, but he was subdued. Inspection of the back door of the church showed that four pieces of wood and the pane of glass that they were holding had been removed.
While the trial court may have erred in refusing to give an identification charge (People v. Whalen, 59 N.Y.2d 273), any error must be viewed as harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, since no real issue of identification had been presented. (People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230.)
Concur — Ross, J.P., Rosenberger, Asch and Smith, JJ.