People v. Roides

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Citation: People v. Roides, 508 N.Y.S.2d 826, 124 A.D.2d 967 (N.Y. App. Div. 1986)
• Decision Date: 10 November 1986
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Steven William ROIDES, Appellant.

Page 826

508 N.Y.S.2d 826

124 A.D.2d 967

PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Steven William ROIDES, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Fourth Department.

Nov. 10, 1986.

Herbert Greenman, Buffalo, for appellant.

Howard R. Relin, by Joan Psaila, Rochester, for respondent.

Before DILLON, P.J., and DENMAN, GREEN, PINE and BALIO, JJ.

MEMORANDUM.

In this prosecution for arson and assault, the court properly received evidence of defendant's prior uncharged crimes and bad acts on the People's case in chief. Evidence of prior uncharged crimes is admissible if it is directly probative of some issue in the case (People v. Ventimiglia, 52 N.Y.2d 350, 359, 438 N.Y.S.2d 261, 420 N.E.2d 59; People v. Vails, 43 N.Y.2d 364, 368, 401 N.Y.S.2d 479, 372 N.E.2d 320). Here, the evidence established that defendant had smashed his wife's car windows; slashed her tires; broke two windows on the house in which she was living; threatened to give her a "good beating," to cut her throat, and to put her and her friends in their graves. Thus, the evidence of defendant's threats and acts of violence toward his wife in the month preceding the crime was directly probative of his intent to set fire...