Opinion
1819
October 10, 2002.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Robert Straus, J.), rendered November 14, 2000, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees and reckless endangerment in the first degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 7 to 15 years, 10 years, 5 years and 3 to 6 years, consecutive to a term of 18 years, unanimously affirmed.
ALLEN H. SAPERSTEIN, for respondent. ROBERT S. DEAN, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Williams, P.J., Nardelli, Mazzarelli, Marlow, Gonzalez, JJ.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. Issues of credibility were properly considered by the jury and there is no basis for disturbing its determinations (see People v. Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84, 94). In rejecting defendant's justification defense, the jury properly weighed conflicting accounts of the incident and was free to accept or reject any part of the testimony of each witness.
The court's justification charge clearly instructed the jury as to the People's burden of proof (see People v. Coleman, 70 N.Y.2d 817, 819).
We decline to invoke our interest of justice jurisdiction to dismiss the non-inclusory concurrent count (see People v. Spence, 290 A.D.2d 223,lv denied 98 N.Y.2d 641; People v. Kulakov, 278 A.D.2d 519, lv denied 96 N.Y.2d 785).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.