PEOPLE v. MARQUEZ (2004)

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Starkey, J.), rendered May 15, 2002, convicting him of assault in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

The evidence before the grand jury established that when the defendant slashed the victim across the chest with a box cutter, the victim was not armed, and the defendant had no reason to believe that the victim was carrying a weapon or was about to use deadly physical force against him (see People v. Reynoso, 73 N.Y.2d 816, 537 N.Y.S.2d 113, 534 N.E.2d 30;  People v. Hosein, 221 A.D.2d 563, 634 N.Y.S.2d 491;  People v. Porter, 161 A.D.2d 811, 556 N.Y.S.2d 139;  People v. Harris, 134 A.D.2d 369, 520 N.Y.S.2d 847;  People v. Figueroa, 111 A.D.2d 765, 490 N.Y.S.2d 24).   Therefore, the prosecutor was not obligated to give the grand jury a justification charge.

The defendant's remaining contentions either are unpreserved for appellate review or without merit (see People v. Hayes, 97 N.Y.2d 203, 208, 738 N.Y.S.2d 663, 764 N.E.2d 963;  People v. Goetz, 68 N.Y.2d 96, 506 N.Y.S.2d 18, 497 N.E.2d 41;  People v. Foy, 32 N.Y.2d 473, 478, 346 N.Y.S.2d 245, 299 N.E.2d 664;  People v. Jones, 294 A.D.2d 517, 742 N.Y.S.2d 562).