| People v Diaz |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 00703 [59 AD3d 459] |
| February 3, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v RossDiaz, Appellant. |
—[*1] Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Ellen C.Abbot, and Bradley Chain of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Lasak, J.),rendered May 2, 2007, convicting him of burglary in the second degree, criminal possession ofstolen property in the fifth degree, petit larceny, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, andpossession of burglar's tools, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant's Batson challenge (see Batson v Kentucky, 476 US 79[1986]) was properly denied as he failed to make the requisite prima facie showing ofdiscrimination. The defendant relied solely on the number of Latino venirepersons challenged tosupport his request for race-neutral explanations, and offered no showing of circumstancessufficient to raise an inference of a pattern of discrimination (see People v Brown, 97NY2d 500, 507-508 [2002]; People vSeverino, 44 AD3d 1077 [2007]; People v Thigpen, 14 AD3d 518 [2005]).
The defendant's contention that certain comments made by the prosecutor during summationconstituted reversible error is without merit. Most of the challenged remarks were properbecause they were fair comment on the evidence adduced at trial or a fair response to the defensesummation (see People v Ashwal, 39 NY2d 105 [1976]; People v Lawson, 40 AD3d 657,658 [2007]; People v Martinez, 17 AD3d [*2]484, 485[2005]; People v Indelecio, 8 AD3d406, 407 [2004]). To the extent that any of the challenged summation comments wereimproper, they do not constitute grounds for reversal as there was overwhelming evidence of thedefendant's guilt, and no significant probability that the error contributed to his conviction(see People v Crimmins, 36 NY2d 230, 241-242 [1975]; People v Lacewell, 44 AD3d 876,877 [2007]). Covello, J.P., Angiolillo, Leventhal and Belen, JJ., concur.