Case Name: In the Matter of Perry B., a Person Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2003-10-30
Citations: 309 A.D.2d 710
Docket Number: 
Parties: In the Matter of Perry B., a Person Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 309
Pages: 710–711

Head Matter:
In the Matter of Perry B., a Person Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent, Appellant.
[766 NYS2d 547]

Opinion:
Order of disposition, Family Court, Bronx County (Harold Lynch, J.), entered on or about January 16, 2003, which adjudicated appellant a juvenile delinquent, upon a fact-finding determination that he committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crime of possession of an imitation firearm, and placed him with the Office of Children and Family Services for a period of up to 12 months, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court properly admitted an item into evidence after the presentment agency adequately established that the item was the one that had been confiscated from appellant. There were reasonable assurances of its identity and substantially unchanged condition based upon the testimony of the school safety agent who had recovered it (see People v Julian, 41 NY2d 340 [1977]). Any deficiencies in the chain of custody went to the weight and not the admissibility of the evidence (see People v White, 40 NY2d 797, 799-800 [1976]). The changes in the item's condition were insignificant and readily explained by the evidence.
The evidence was legally sufficient to establish that, at the time it was in appellant's possession, the item "substantially duplicate [d] an actual firearm" (Administrative Code of City of NY § 10-131 [g] [1]). Concur — Tom, J.P., Andrias, Saxe and Williams, JJ.