| People v Alston |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 03913 [62 AD3d 807] |
| May 12, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v JonahAlston, Appellant. |
—[*1] Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., District Attorney, Staten Island, N.Y. (Morrie I. Kleinbart and AnneGrady of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Richmond County(Rooney, J.), rendered January 12, 2007, convicting him of robbery in the first degree, upon ajury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant was charged with committing seven different robberies. With respect to fourof those robberies, witnesses testified that the masked perpetrator had robbed them at gunpoint,and placed all the money into a black bag. The People sought to admit evidence of an incident inwhich the unmasked defendant was caught at the scene of one of the robberies attempting toshoplift two cans of Red Bull energy drink, by placing the drinks into a black bag. The courtallowed the testimony to be admitted and, upon his conviction of one of the seven robberies, thedefendant appeals.
Although evidence of uncharged crimes is generally inadmissible, it can be admitted toestablish, among other things, the defendant's identity (see People v Molineux, 168 NY264, 293 [1901]; see also People v Vails, 43 NY2d 364, 368 [1977]). Here, the SupremeCourt properly found that the evidence of the defendant's use of a black bag demonstrated aunique modus operandi and, therefore, was probative of his identity as the perpetrator of therobberies, and that the probative value of the evidence outweighed any prejudicial effect (see People v Clink, 32 AD3d 862,862-863 [2006]; People v Gordon, 308 AD2d 461 [2003]; People v Wandoloski,128 AD2d 568 [1987]; cf. People v Robinson, 68 NY2d 541, [*2]550 [1986]). Spolzino, J.P., Santucci, Belen and Lott, JJ., concur.