Opinion
No. 3279.
September 30, 2010.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Richard L. Price, J.), rendered January 9, 2008, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal contempt in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of one year, unanimously affirmed.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Martin M. Lucente of counsel), for appellant.
Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Jean Soo Park of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Mazzarelli, J.P., Sweeny, Catterson, DeGrasse and Manzanet-Daniels, JJ.
The court properly denied defendant's request for a missing witness instruction. The witness, whose friendship with the victim had ended long before the trial, was not in the People's control for purposes of a missing witness charge ( see People v Abelson, 27 AD3d 301). In any event, given the overwhelming evidence that defendant violated the order of protection, any error would have been harmless.
Defendant's remaining arguments are unavailing ( see People v Correa, 15 NY3d 213).