People v. Guzman

272 A.D.2d 883, 709 N.Y.S.2d 715, 2000 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5266

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: May 10, 2000
• Status: Published

Opinion

—Judgment unanimously affirmed. Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him of aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate (Penal Law § 240.32). We reject defendant’s contention that County Court erred in admitting in evidence the t-shirt and uniform shirt worn by the correction officer. Although the chain of custody was broken with respect to those items, the People’s proof provided reasonable assuranees that they were the same as those worn by the correction officer and that their condition was unchanged (see, People v Miller, 242 AD2d 896, 897, lv denied 91 NY2d 876; People v Anderson, 99 AD2d 560, 561). Any deficiency in the chain of custody affects the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility (see, People v Miller, supra, at 897). (Appeal from Judgment of Ontario County Court, Harvey, J. — Aggravated Harassment of Employee by Inmate.) Present — Pigott, Jr., P. J., Green, Wisner and Scudder, JJ.