Opinion
Argued May 21, 2001
June 11, 2001
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Reichbach, J.), rendered October 18, 1999, convicting him of kidnapping in the first degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Christopher Booth, Bronx, N.Y., for appellant.
Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Linda Breen, and Diana Villanueva of counsel), for respondent.
Before: FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, HOWARD MILLER, STEPHEN G. CRANE, JJ.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v. Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620), we find that it was legally sufficient to establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt was not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15).
The defendant's contentions regarding prosecutorial misconduct during summation are unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05; People v. Dien, 77 N.Y.2d 885; People v. Nuccie, 57 N.Y.2d 818). In any event, the allegedly inflammatory and prejudicial remarks constituted either fair comment on the evidence (see, People v. Ashwal, 39 N.Y.2d 105), or a fair response to the defense counsel's summation (see, People v. Galloway, 54 N.Y.2d 396).
The defendant contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. However, to prevail on such a claim, the defendant must overcome the strong presumption of effectiveness (see, People v. Baldi, 54 N.Y.2d 137; People v. Myers, supra, 220 A.D.2d 461). Upon our review of the record, we are satisfied that the defendant received the effective assistance of counsel (see, People v. Myers, supra).
The defendant's sentence was not excessive (see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
The defendant's remaining contentions are without merit.