PEOPLE v. ORTEGA

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

We agree with the Supreme Court that the inculpatory statements made by the defendant to the police while he was in the hospital were admissible at trial. The statements were not the product of custodial interrogation, but were elicited in the course of the police department's investigation ( see, People v. Phinney, 22 N.Y.2d 288; People v. Stackhouse, 160 A.D.2d 822).

The sentence imposed was not harsh or excessive ( see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).

O'Brien, J.P., Sullivan, Krausman and Florio, JJ., concur.