| People v Alas |
| 2007 NY Slip Op 07987 [44 AD3d 534] |
| October 25, 2007 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v JaimeAlas, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Dennis Rambaud of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Charles H. Solomon, J.), rendered February15, 2006, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal contempt in the first degree (threecounts) and attempted assault in the third degree, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of1
The court properly exercised its discretion in admitting evidence of prior acts of hostility andracial animosity that "evince[d] defendant's intent to focus his aggression" (People vBierenbaum, 301 AD2d 119, 150 [2002], lv denied 99 NY2d 626 [2003], certdenied 540 US 821 [2003]) on the victim, who rented a room from defendant's mother, andwe reject defendant's argument that the court admitted an excessive amount of such evidence.Defendant's ongoing relationship with the victim was a major issue at trial, and the evidence ofprior bad acts was probative of defendant's motive and intent and provided necessary backgroundinformation. Moreover, the indictment included hate crimes under Penal Law § 485.05,and evidence of racial animosity was highly relevant to prove those crimes. The probative valueof this evidence outweighed its prejudicial effect, and the court minimized any potential forprejudice by means of a thorough limiting instruction that it drafted with the participation andapproval of defense counsel.[*2]
Defendant's remaining contentions are unpreserved andwe decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review these claims, we wouldreject them. Concur—Mazzarelli, J.P., Marlow, Sullivan, Gonzalez and McGuire, JJ.