Opinion
February 10, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Jerome Hornblass, J.).
Viewing the circumstantial evidence in the light most favorable to the People, the jury reasonably concluded that defendant's guilt of robbing and assaulting the complainant was proven to a moral certainty (see, People v. Betancourt, 68 N.Y.2d 707, 709-710). Within minutes after, and a few blocks from the site of the crime, complainant identified one of the co-defendants, whose face he saw while being punched, and pointed out defendant, recalling the white shirt he had seen from the corner of his eyes being worn by the individual who put him in a chokehold. The fact that defendant's white shirt actually had black sleeves does not detract from the sufficiency of the evidence; any minor contradictions in complainant's trial descriptions of the color of the shirt were for the jury to reconcile.
Since no proof was offered that incarceration would impair defendant's psychiatric condition and in light of the societal interest in punishing a violent felon, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the charges in the interest of justice (see, People v. Insignares, 109 A.D.2d 221, 234, lv denied 65 N.Y.2d 928).
We have considered defendant's remaining contentions and find they do not warrant any modification of the judgment.
Concur — Carro, J.P., Wallach, Asch, Nardelli and Williams, JJ.