People v. Holman
Opinion of the Court
—Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Dutchess County (Dolan, J.), rendered March 6, 1996, convicting him of murder in the second degree (two counts), upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of that branch of the defendant’s omnibus motion which was to suppress physical evidence and identification testimony.
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 of murder in the second degree beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, it is well settled that the resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be accorded to the evidence presented, are primarily questions to be determined by the jury, which saw and heard the witnesses (see, People v Gaimari, 176 NY 84, 94). Its determination should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless it is clearly unsupported by the record (see, People v Garafolo, 44 AD2d 86, 88). 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]; People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495).
The defendant did not meet his burden of establishing that
Additionally, the defendant’s request for a missing-witness charge was properly denied since the defendant failed to show that the missing witness would have offered anything other than cumulative testimony if produced at trial or that she was under the control of the People (see, People v Kitching, 78 NY2d 532; People v Gonzalez, 68 NY2d 424; People v Rose, 126 AD2d 581).
We find no error with respect to the admissibility of the witness’s in-court identification and note that the weight to be accorded thereto is a matter for the jury to resolve.
The defendant’s sentence was not excessive (see, People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80).
The defendant’s remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.