People v Johnson
2007 NY Slip Op 01589 [37 AD3d 738]
February 20, 2007
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, April 11, 2007


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

[*1] John R. Lewis, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., for appellant.

Janet DiFiore, District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Jennifer Spencer, Richard Longworth Hecht, and Anthony J. Servino of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Dickerson, J.), rendered September 22, 2004, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (three counts), and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant contends that the People failed to prove his guilt of criminal possession of a weapon beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant's challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence is unpreserved for appellate review (see CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Gray, 86 NY2d 10, 19-21 [1995]; People v Leon, 19 AD3d 509 [2005], affd 7 NY3d 109 [2006]). In any event, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620 [1983]), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt of criminal possession of a weapon beyond a reasonable doubt.

Resolution of issues of credibility is primarily a matter to be determined by the jury which saw and heard the witnesses, and its determination should be accorded great deference on appeal (see People v Romero, 7 NY3d 633, 644-645 [2006]; People v Mateo, 2 NY3d 383, 410 [2004], cert denied 542 US 946 [2004]). Upon the exercise of our factual review power (see CPL 470.15 [5]), we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt is not against the weight of the evidence (see People v Romero, supra). Miller, J.P., Spolzino, Florio and Angiolillo, JJ., concur.