People v. Steisi
Opinion of the Court
—Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Weissman, J.), rendered November 19, 1996, convicting him of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, and passing through a traffic control device, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends, inter alia, that he was not given sufficient notice pursuant to CPL 710.30 regarding a version of his oral statement that was subsequently related by a police officer at trial. We disagree. The notice provided by the People adequately apprised the defendant of the sum and substance of the oral statement and a verbatim recitation of the statement was not required (see, People v Bennett, 56 NY2d 837, 839; People v Jordan, 216 AD2d 489, 490; People v Reid, 215 AD2d
The defendant’s contention that his guilt of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree was not established beyond a reasonable doubt because the People did not prove that he knowingly possessed stolen property (see, Penal Law § 165.45) is unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Gray, 86 NY2d 10; People v Udzinski, 146 AD2d 245). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (see, People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant was observed in exclusive possession of the stolen vehicle, led a police officer on a high-speed chase, and fled after crashing the vehicle into a tree. After his arrest, he initially made a false statement to police, but then admitted “[he] needed wheels to get around. It was cold.” Accordingly, the evidence supports a finding that the defendant knowingly possessed a stolen automobile (see, People v Cordero, 177 AD2d 499; People v Clark, 172 AD2d 679, 681; People v Zuccaro, 140 AD2d 733, 734). Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15 [5]).
The trial court’s Sandoval ruling did not constitute an improvident exercise of discretion (see, People v Mattiace, 77 NY2d 269, 275-276; People v Pavao, 59 NY2d 282, 292; People v Jamison, 228 AD2d 698). Sullivan, J. P., Krausman, Goldstein and Luciano, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.