Case ID: ad2d_276/html/0722-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Luis Angel Perez, Appellant.
    [715 NYS2d 858]
   Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Vaughan, J.), rendered April 29, 1997, convicting him of murder in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15 [5]).

Contrary to the defendant’s contention, the court did not err in admitting into evidence a photocopy of his written statement to law enforcement officials. The People sufficiently established that the original written statement was missing, that a diligent search was made to recover the lost spiral notebook containing the statement, and that the copy was a duplicate of the original (see, Schozer v William Penn Life Ins. Co., 84 NY2d 639; People v Sims, 257 AD2d 582).

The defendant’s remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. O’Brien, J. P., Friedmann, Krausman and Schmidt, JJ., concur.