THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v BERNARD GALLARDO, Appellant.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York
[873 NYS2d 106]
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The trial court providently exercised its discretion in declining to give a missing witness instruction to the jury (see People v Savinon, 100 NY2d 192, 196 [2003]; People v Gonzalez, 68 NY2d 424, 427 [1986]). Contrary to the defendant’s contentions, the witness’s testimony would have been cumulative (see People v Rivera, 249 AD2d 141 [1998]; People v Tate, 199 AD2d 291 [1993]), and the People demonstrated that they made diligent efforts to find the witness, but could not locate her (see People v Williams, 47 AD3d 854 [2008]; People v Lubrano, 43 AD3d 829 [2007]; People v Rivera, 249 AD2d 141 [1998]; People v Skaar, 225 AD2d 824 [1996]; People v Aguirre, 201 AD2d 485 [1994]).
The trial court’s instructions regarding the defense of justification (see
