People v Tigner
2008 NY Slip Op 04894 [51 AD3d 1045]
May 27, 2008
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, July 16, 2008


The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Derrick Tigner, Appellant.

[*1]Richard S. Birnbaum, White Plains, N.Y., for appellant.

Janet DiFiore, District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Laurie Sapakoff, Richard LongworthHecht, and Anthony J. Servino of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Westchester County(Molea, J.), rendered June 2, 2005, convicting him of murder in the second degree and criminalpossession of a weapon in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence is unpreserved for appellatereview, since he failed to raise this specific contention at trial (see CPL 470.05 [2];People v Lawson, 40 AD3d 657 [2007]). In any event, viewing the evidence in the lightmost favorable to the prosecution (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620 [1983]), we findthat it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt of the crime of murder in the seconddegree beyond a reasonable doubt. Contrary to the defendant's contention, his intent to cause thedeath of the victim can be inferred from evidence that he plunged a knife three to four inchesdeep into the victim's chest (see People v Dones, 279 AD2d 366 [2001]; People vAngarita, 247 AD2d 397 [1998]). Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power(see CPL 470.15 [5]), we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weightof the evidence (see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633 [2006]).

The defendant's disagreement with the strategy employed by defense counsel does notamount to a deprivation of effective assistance of counsel (see People v Benevento, 91NY2d 708, 712 [1998]; People v Lassiter, 44 AD3d 877 [2007]; People vPalacios, 295 AD2d 452 [2002]). Lifson, J.P., Miller, Dillon and Eng, JJ., concur.


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