Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Monroe County (Donald J. Mark, J.), rendered March 12, 2002. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a jury verdict, of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him after a jury trial of murder in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25 [1]) and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (§ 265.03 [2]). Contrary to defendant’s contention, the verdict is not against the weight of the evidence. Although a different result would not have been unreasonable, the jury was in the best position to assess the credibility of the witnesses and, on this record, it cannot be said that the jury failed to give the evidence the weight it should be accorded (see People v Bleakley,
Contrary to defendant’s further contention, Supreme Court properly admitted the testimony of two police officers concerning the statements of an eyewitness at the scene of the crime shortly after the shooting under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. “Excited utterances ‘are the product of the declarant’s exposure to a startling or upsetting event that is sufficiently powerful to render the observer’s normal reflective processes inoperative [,]’ preventing the opportunity for deliberation and fabrication” (People v Carroll,
Defendant failed to preserve for our review his contention that he was denied a fair trial because the prosecutor asked him during cross-examination whether he had reported to the police that the victim had been threatening his life (see CPL 470.05 [2]), and we decline to exercise our power to review that contention as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice (see 470.15 [6] [a]). Defendant also failed to preserve for our review the contention in his pro se supplemental brief that he was denied the right to a fair trial based on the court’s charge with respect to the justification defense and the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance (see generally People v Robinson,
