| People v Muhammad |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 07157 [66 AD3d 424] |
| October 6, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Mujahid Muhammad, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Sheila L. Bautista of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bruce Allen, J.), rendered April 2, 2008,convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of criminal possession of a forgedinstrument in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to aconcurrent terms of 3 to 6 years, unanimously affirmed.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of theevidence (see People v Danielson, 9NY3d 342, 348-349 [2007]). Defendant was driving a car that contained two forged creditcards. Although the car was registered to another person, the circumstances, including theproximity of the cards to items that can reasonably be inferred to be defendant's property,supported the conclusion that defendant was aware he possessed the cards.
Taken as a whole (see People vDrake, 7 NY3d 28, 34 [2006]), the court's charge properly conveyed to the jury that thePeople were required to prove defendant knew he possessed the credit cards. The court properlyresponded to notes from the deliberating jury by complying with the jury's specific request forrereadings of the court's original charge on this subject (see People v Santi, 3 NY3d 234, 248-249 [2004]; People vMalloy, 55 NY2d 296 [1982], cert denied 459 US 847 [1982]). The jury did notexpress confusion or request clarifying instructions. Concur—Saxe, J.P., Sweeny,Moskowitz, Acosta and Richter, JJ.