Opinion
February 21, 1991
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County, Albert Williams, J.
The trial court's charge to the jury of petit larceny, as a lesser included offense of robbery in the first degree, initially requested by defense counsel, was an appropriate exercise of discretion in the circumstances. (CPL 300.50; see also, People v Green, 56 N.Y.2d 427.)
Additionally, testimony at trial by the victim of the assault by defendant, that in the course of overcoming resistance to the robbery, defendant stabbed the victim in the leg with a sharpened screwdriver, causing a puncture wound and substantial pain, was corroborated by objective testimony of two eyewitnesses. Viewed in its entirety, the objective and subjective testimony regarding the issue of "substantial pain" amply supported the "physical injury" element of both the robbery and assault charges. (See, People v Rojas, 61 N.Y.2d 726.)
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Carro, Ellerin, Ross and Kassal, JJ.