| People v Mendez |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 00406 [80 AD3d 523] |
| January 25, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondents, v VictorMendez, Appellant. |
—[*1] Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Matthew T. Murphy of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Arlene D. Goldberg, J.), rendered March 23,2009, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the thirddegree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender, to a term of four years, unanimouslyaffirmed.
Defendant's challenges to the prosecutor's summation are unpreserved and we decline to reviewthem in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find no basis for reversal. The challengedcomments were responsive to defense counsel's summation and did not exceed the bounds of properrhetorical comment (see People v Overlee, 236 AD2d 133 [1997], lv denied 91NY2d 976 [1998]; People v D'Alessandro, 184 AD2d 114, 118-119 [1992], lvdenied 81 NY2d 884 [1993]). In making arguments on issues of credibility, the prosecutor did notvouch for witnesses or shift the burden of proof. To the extent that anything in the summation could beviewed as improper, the court took suitable curative actions that were sufficient to prevent anyprejudice.
We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. Concur—Saxe, J.P., Moskowitz, Richter,Manzanet-Daniels and RomÁn, JJ.