| People v Alejandro |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 02135 [60 AD3d 1381] |
| March 20, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Jason J.Alejandro, Appellant. |
—[*1] Frank A. Sedita, III, District Attorney, Buffalo (Matthew B. Powers of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Erie County Court (Michael L. D'Amico, J.), renderedSeptember 4, 2007. The judgment convicted defendant, upon a nonjury verdict, of criminalpossession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and unlawful possession ofmarihuana.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him after a nonjury trial ofcriminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (Penal Law § 220.03)and unlawful possession of marihuana (§ 221.05). Defendant made only a general motionfor a trial order of dismissal, and thus failed to preserve for our review his challenge to the legalsufficiency of the evidence (see People v Gray, 86 NY2d 10, 19 [1995]). In any event,defendant's challenge lacks merit (see generally People v Bleakley, 69 NY2d 490, 495[1987]), and we therefore reject the further contention of defendant that defense counsel wasineffective for failing to preserve that challenge for our review (see People v Caban, 5NY3d 143, 152 [2005]; People v Stultz, 2 NY3d 277, 287 [2004], rearg denied 3NY3d 702 [2004]). Viewing the evidence in light of the elements of the crimes in this nonjurytrial (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 349 [2007]), we conclude that the verdict isnot against the weight of the evidence (see generally Bleakley, 69 NY2d at 495).Present—Scudder, P.J., Smith, Peradotto, Carni and Green, JJ.