People v Waterman
2008 NY Slip Op 08992 [56 AD3d 329]
November 18, 2008
Appellate Division, First Department
As corrected through Wednesday, January 7, 2009


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

[*1]Lawrence Schwartz, New York, for appellant.

Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Marc Krupnick of counsel), forrespondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Michael J. Obus, J., at hearing; William A.Wetzel, J., at jury trial and sentence), rendered July 31, 2006, convicting defendant of murder inthe second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees, andsentencing him to an aggregate term of 22½ years to life, unanimously affirmed.

At a Rodriguez hearing (People v Rodriguez, 79 NY2d 445 [1992]), theprosecution established that a witness had sufficient familiarity with defendant so that hisphotographic identification was confirmatory and thus exempt from notice and hearingrequirements. The prosecution had no obligation to call the identifying witness, and it properlyestablished this prior knowledge through the testimony of a detective (see People vEspinal, 262 AD2d 245 [1999], lv denied 93 NY2d 1017 [1999]). There is no basisfor disturbing the court's determinations concerning credibility. The detective testified that thewitness knew defendant's first name and his address, accurately described defendant's girlfriend,had seen defendant on nearly a daily basis in the neighborhood for approximately one year, andhad several prior conversations with defendant.

Defendant's arguments concerning trial evidence, including his constitutional claims, areunpreserved, or affirmatively waived, and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Asan alternative holding, we also reject them on the merits. Concur—Tom, J.P., Andrias,Friedman, Catterson and Acosta, JJ.


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