People v. Lazaro

—Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (John Collins, J.), rendered September 9, 1994, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 15 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence (People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490 ). Defendant’s acts were ’’imminently dangerous and presented a very high risk of death” to the victim, and were ’’committed under circumstances which evidenced a wanton indifference to human life or a depravity of mind” (People v Register, 60 NY2d 270 , 274, cert denied 466 US 953 ). Indeed, an eyewitness watched from close range as defendant and his cohorts chased, surrounded, beat, and stabbed the unarmed, retreating victim in a subway car. Defendant never stopped punching and kicking the victim during the brutal attack, effectively thwarting any chance for the victim to evade the onslaught.