Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Ramon Vargas, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1990-10-25
Citations: 166 A.D.2d 360
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Ramon Vargas, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 166
Pages: 360–361

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Ramon Vargas, Appellant.

Opinion:
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Antonio Brandveen, J., at trial with a jury), rendered October 22, 1987, convicting defendant of burglary in the third degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, possession of burglars tools, unauthorized use of a vehicle in the third degree, and resisting arrest and sentencing him to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 3 to 6 years, 2 to 4 years, and 1 year on the remaining counts, is unanimously affirmed.
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 NY2d 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 NY2d 230.) Concur— Ross, J. P., Rosenberger, Asch and Smith, JJ.