People v Holguin
2010 NY Slip Op 02009 [71 AD3d 504]
March 16, 2010
Appellate Division, First Department
As corrected through Wednesday, April 28, 2010


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

[*1]Gotlin & Jaffe, New York (Lawrence Fleischer of counsel), for appellant.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Alice Wiseman of counsel), forrespondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Renee A. White, J.), rendered March 7, 2006,convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to aterm of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is unpreserved and we decline toreview it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find that the evidence waslegally sufficient. To the extent defendant is claiming the verdict was against the weight of theevidence, we also reject that argument (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348-349 [2007]). Even if theevidence of causation is viewed as circumstantial (see generally People v Sanchez, 61NY2d 1022, 1024 [1984]), the conclusion is inescapable that a shot fired by defendant in aneffort to kill a different person caused the victim's death, and defendant's arguments to thecontrary are without merit.

Defendant's claims, including his constitutional arguments, concerning the prosecutor'ssummation and the autopsy report are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interestof justice. As an alternative holding, we find no basis for reversal. Concur—Tom, J.P.,Sweeny, Catterson, Moskowitz and DeGrasse, JJ.


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