People v. Contes

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Defendant was convicted of three counts of robbery in the first degree. The case against him rested largely on the identification testimony of a witness to the crime. That witness had had five to six minutes at the crime scene to observe defendant in excellent lighting conditions at close range. Immediately after the crime, the witness gave a detailed description of the perpetrator to police, including a tattoo which the witness had seen partially exposed. Defendant was arrested the next day and the witness,…