People v. Santiago

On the evening of August 10, 1987, the defendant sold two glassine envelopes containing heroin to an undercover officer involved in a so-called "buy and bust” operation in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. At trial, the prosecutor asked one of the undercover officers involved in the operation whether he knew the defendant, and the officer replied that he did. On appeal, the defendant asserts that this testimony deprived him of a fair trial because it suggested to the jury that he had a propensity to sell narcotics. However, the record discloses that after the officer responded to this…