Summary
holding that "the People were not required to establish a chain of custody of [a 1921 silver dollar encased in cardboard] because it was not fungible"
Summary of this case from Bristol v. SuperintendentOpinion
February 2, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Erie County, Rossetti, J.
Present — Green, J.P., Lawton, Fallon, Callahan and Doerr, JJ.
Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: We reject defendant's contention that the proof is legally insufficient (see, People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490, 495). At trial, most of the evidence connecting defendant to the crime came from various friends and acquaintances. Six witnesses testified, with varying degrees of detail, that defendant bragged that he had killed the victim when she surprised him and the codefendant in the midst of a burglary. Defendant contends that those witnesses lack credibility; however, issues of credibility are to be determined by the jury (see, People v. Colon, 198 A.D.2d 835, 836, lv denied 83 N.Y.2d 803). Also linking defendant to the crime was his possession of a 1921 silver dollar encased in cardboard, which was identified as belonging to the victim's family. Contrary to defendant's contention, the People were not required to establish a chain of custody of that item because it was not fungible (see, People v. Joy, 107 A.D.2d 938; see also, People v. Wynn, 176 A.D.2d 375, 376-377).