PEOPLE v. GARCIA

Defendant's hearsay and uncharged crimes arguments are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review these claims, we would find that the testimony challenged as hearsay was not received for its truth, but as proper background material to assist the jury in understanding the events leading up to defendant's arrest ( see People v. Tosca, 98 NY2d 660; People v. Rivera, 96 NY2d 749), and that defendant was not prejudiced by the uncharged crimes evidence, which did not refer to him, but rather to another person.