| People v Douglas |
| 2005 NYSlipOp 02679 |
| April 4, 2005 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Lawrence Douglas, Appellant. |
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Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Molea, J.), rendered May 11, 2000, convicting him of manslaughter in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The evidence adduced at trial established that the defendant stabbed the unarmed decedent a total of 16 times and fractured his arm, in a dispute over a wager. According to one witness's account, after the attack the defendant stated "[t]he guy robbed me and I stabbed him."
The defendant's contention that the People failed to offer legally sufficient evidence disproving the defense of justification beyond a reasonable doubt is unpreserved for appellate review, as he did not raise this claim before the County Court (see People v Brown, 12 AD3d 524 [2004], lv denied 4 NY3d 742 [2004]; People v Clarke, 11 AD3d 554 [2004], lv denied 3 NY3d 755 [2004]). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620 [1983]; People v Florival, 262 AD2d 499 [1999]), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the elements of manslaughter in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and to disprove the defense of justification beyond a reasonable doubt (see People v Manning, 8 AD3d 298 [2004]; People v Henry, 244 AD2d 424 [1997]; People v Granados, 198 AD2d 298 [1993]). Moreover, resolution of issues of credibility, as well as the weight to be accorded to the evidence [*2]presented, are primarily questions to be determined by the trier of fact, which saw and heard the witnesses ( The defendant's remaining contentions are without merit. Florio, J.P., H. Miller, Cozier and S. Miller, JJ., concur.