Opinion
Submitted October 26, 1999
February 29, 2000
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Starkey, J.), rendered December 22, 1997, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Robert E. Nicholson, Brooklyn, N.Y., for appellant.
Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Roseann B. MacKechnie, Victor Barall, and Rogers Wells, LLP [Penelope Graboys] of counsel), for respondent.
DAVID S. RITTER, J.P., LEO F. McGINITY, HOWARD MILLER, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting testimony concerning uncharged drug sales which occurred before his commission of the indicted offense. We disagree. It is well established that evidence of uncharged crimes is admissible on the issue of the defendant's intent (see, People v. Alvino, 71 N.Y.2d 233 ;People v. De Jesus, 189 A.D.2d 774). Here, evidence of the uncharged drug transactions was properly admitted as proof of the defendant's intent to possess a controlled substance (see, People v. De Jesus, supra).
We reject the defendant's contention that his trial counsel, in failing to object to the admission of "expert" testimony of police witnesses on the use of brand names by heroin dealers, deprived him of effective assistance of counsel. It is well settled that police witnesses are permitted to give limited background testimony about the practices of drug dealers (see, People v. Ralph M., 226 A.D.2d 478, 479; People v. Ramos, 215 A.D.2d 785 ), even without a formal ruling that the officer is an expert (see, People v. Graves, 202 A.D.2d 240, affd 85 N.Y.2d 1024 ). Moreover, viewing the defense counsel's conduct in its entirety, the defendant was not deprived of meaningful representation (see, People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 712 ; People v. Flores, 84 N.Y.2d 184, 187 ).
The defendant's sentence is not excessive (see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80 ).