People State New York v. Eusebio Torres

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Felice K. Shea, J.), rendered October 12, 1990, convicting defendant, after a jury
trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to
a term of 4 1/2 to 9 years, unanimously affirmed. The trial court did not err in closing the courtroom during the undercover officer's testimony since the officer indicated
that he continued to work in the specific area involved in this case and that exposure of his identity would compromise his
safety and the effectiveness of his work (People v Okonkwo, 176 A.D.2d 163, 574 N.Y.S.2d 186, lv denied 79 N.Y.2d 862). In
any event, the courtroom was empty, and defendant declined the opportunity extended by the court to request that particular
persons be allowed to enter. The trial court properly allowed the undercover's background testimony concerning the procedures
in buy and bust operations, since such information helps the jury to understand the officers' behavior in those operations
(People v Kelsey, 194 A.D.2d 248, 252, 606 N.Y.S.2d 621). Testimony concerning possible reasons why prerecorded buy money
is not found on a suspect was admissible since defendant made the absence of such money on his person a central issue in this
case (id. at 252-253). Defendant's remaining contention is unpreserved for appellate review by appropriate objection and we
decline to review it in the interest of justice.