Majority
p. 362The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Jose De La Cruz, Appellant. [702 NYS2d 254]
—Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ira Globerman, J., at hearing; Robert Seewald, J., at plea and sentence), rendered January 28, 1997, convicting defendant of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 6 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly found that the People established an independent source for the undercover detective’s in-court identification testimony by clear and convincing evidence. The detective had ample opportunity to observe defendant during an encounter lasting more than five minutes during which the
p. 363
drug sale was negotiated and completed. Concur—Ellerin, J. P., Saxe, Buckley and Friedman, JJ.