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People v. Gutierrez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jan 30, 1995
211 A.D.2d 822 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)

Opinion

January 30, 1995

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Demarest, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's contention that the People failed to prove that he had knowledge that he possessed more than one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine is unpreserved for appellate review (see, People v. Logan, 74 N.Y.2d 859; People v. Okehoffurum, 201 A.D.2d 508). In any event, the contention is without merit. The record reveals that the defendant and the codefendant were found disposing of a bag that contained 125 vials of crack cocaine which weighed a total of one-eighth of an ounce plus 43 grains shortly after the undercover officer observed what he believed was a drug sale. Evidence that the defendant handled a controlled substance, together with other circumstantial evidence, gave rise to the inference that the defendant knew the weight of the controlled substance (see, People v. Ryan, 82 N.Y.2d 497; People v. Okehoffurum, supra). Therefore, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (see, People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, 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).

The defendant also was not substantially prejudiced by the prosecutor's late disclosure of a single entry in a police officer's memo book and consequently reversal is not required (see, People v. Martinez, 71 N.Y.2d 937; People v. Ranghelle, 69 N.Y.2d 56; People v. Hernandez, 195 A.D.2d 573). Although the disclosure was late, it occurred during the second day of the trial and provided the defendant with an opportunity to use the entry on cross examination. Under these circumstances, the effect of the untimely disclosure was minimal, and no substantial right of the defendant was prejudiced by the delay in producing the Rosario material (see, People v. Leon, 186 A.D.2d 587, 588; People v. Polanco, 174 A.D.2d 468, 469-470; People v Turcios-Umana, 153 A.D.2d 707, 708; People v. Plunkett, 140 A.D.2d 553, 554).

The sentence imposed was not excessive (see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80). The defendant's remaining claims are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. Ritter, J.P., Copertino, Joy and Hart, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

People v. Gutierrez

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jan 30, 1995
211 A.D.2d 822 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
Case details for

People v. Gutierrez

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. RAMON GUTIERREZ…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Jan 30, 1995

Citations

211 A.D.2d 822 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995)
622 N.Y.S.2d 94

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