| People v Perez |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 02869 [49 AD3d 903] |
| March 25, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Gabriel Perez, Appellant. |
—[*1] Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Victor Barall, andSteven A. Mann of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (D'Emic, J.),rendered February 6, 2006, convicting him of criminal contempt in the first degree (three counts),upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The trial court properly permitted the prosecution to introduce evidence of the defendant'sprior acts of abuse against the complainant as background material to explain the nature of thedefendant's relationship with the complainant and the reasons that an order of protection wasissued, and to demonstrate that the defendant's violation of the order of protection was neitherinnocent nor inadvertent (see People v Alvino, 71 NY2d 233, 242 [1987]; see alsoPeople v Martin, 41 AD3d 616 [2007]; People v Hanson, 30 AD3d 537 [2006];People v Lawrence, 297 AD2d 290 [2002]; People v Howe, 292 AD2d 542[2002]).
The defendant's contention that the admission of such evidence deprived him of a fair trial iswithout merit. The court remedied any possible prejudice resulting from the evidence byinstructing the jurors at the close of the complainant's testimony and in its charge that they shouldnot consider the evidence as showing the defendant had a propensity to commit crimes but onlyto clarify the parties' relationship and demonstrate the defendant's intent to commit the chargedcrimes (see People v Martin, 41 AD3d 616 [2007]; People v Hanson, 30 AD3d537 [2006]; People v Lawrence, 297 AD2d 290 [2002]).[*2]
The defendant's remaining contentions are without merit(see People v Hanson, 30 AD3d 537 [2006]). Spolzino, J.P., Angiolillo, Balkin andLeventhal, JJ., concur.