Opinion
2000-11427
Argued November 4, 2002.
November 25, 2002.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (McGann, J.), rendered December 6, 2000, convicting him of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y., and Patterson, Belknap, Webb Tyler, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Michael E. Campion of counsel), for appellant (one brief filed).
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Ellen C. Abbot, and Suzanne H. Middleton of counsel), for respondent.
Before: SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, J.P., NANCY E. SMITH, CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, THOMAS A. ADAMS, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant asserts that the jury's rejection of his entrapment defense was against the weight of the evidence. The question of "[w]hether a defendant is predisposed to commit an offense or was induced to commit the offense is a question of fact" for the jury (People v. McGee, 49 N.Y.2d 48, 61). Here, the jury could have reasonably relied on the police testimony which established that the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime (see People v. McGee, supra). Contrary to the defendant's contentions, the "mere fact that the defendant testified to a version of the facts which would establish his innocence did not preclude the jury from returning a guilty verdict based upon the competing facts and inferences of the People's case" (People v. Widdi, 148 A.D.2d 648; see also People v. Giannetti, 111 A.D.2d 931). Resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be accorded to the evidence presented, are primarily questions to be determined by the jury, which saw and heard the witnesses (see People v. Gaimari, 176 N.Y. 84, 94). Its determination should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see People v. Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88). Upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see CPL 470.15).
FEUERSTEIN, J.P., SMITH, O'BRIEN and ADAMS, JJ., concur.