People v. Cook
Opinion of the Court
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Rotker, J.),
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant’s conviction was based on the testimony of police officers who participated in the "buy-and-bust” operation which resulted in his arrest. 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 (CPL 470.15 [5]).
In addition, we find that the trial court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in ruling that the prosecution could cross-examine the defendant, if he testified regarding the existence of two prior felony convictions and the length of the sentences imposed thereon (see, People v Rodena, 170 AD2d 418, 419; People v Johnson, 113 AD2d 900, 901; People v Wood, 94 AD2d 814, 815).
The sentence imposed was neither harsh nor excessive (see, People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80). Lawrence, J. P., Eiber, O’Brien and Copertino, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.