Opinion
February 8, 1996
Appeal from the County Court of Albany County (Sheridan, J.).
Contending that the proof of the chain of custody of the drugs purchased from him was inadequate, defendant appeals his conviction of two counts of the crime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. Defendant argues that the failure to specifically identify the City of Albany Police Officer to whom the drug evidence bag was turned over for placement in the police evidence locker creates a fatal gap in the chain of custody. Upon the facts of this case, we disagree and affirm.
The established rule in showing the authenticity of a fungible item of evidence permits the item's admission into evidence without the testimony of each individual through whose hands the evidence passed where circumstances provide reasonable assurances of the identity and unchanged nature of the proposed evidence ( see, People v. Julian, 41 N.Y.2d 340, 343). Here, there are such reasonable assurances. The drugs were packaged in evidence bags to prevent prejudicial alteration by tampering and to provide identification, and processed by established procedures under normal circumstances ( see, People v. Brathwaite, 204 A.D.2d 733, lv denied 84 N.Y.2d 823; People v. Drees, 53 A.D.2d 735, 737). Any deficiencies in the chain of custody merely went to the weight to be accorded the evidence ( see, People v. Leach, 203 A.D.2d 483, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 968).
Cardona, P.J., Mikoll, Crew III and Casey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.