| People v Roberts |
| 2016 NY Slip Op 03901 [139 AD3d 985] |
| May 18, 2016 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Eustacio Roberts, Appellant. |
Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, NY (Yvonne Shivers of counsel), for appellant.
Kenneth P. Thompson, District Attorney, Brooklyn, NY (Leonard Joblove andThomas M. Ross of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County(Dowling, J.), rendered August 28, 2014, convicting him of murder in the second degree,upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
On the evening of April 28, 2010, the defendant broke into the home of his formergirlfriend and stabbed her to death. After a jury trial, during which the defendantadvanced the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance, he was convicted ofmurder in the second degree.
The defendant's contention that he was deprived of his right to a fair trial due toimproper remarks made by the prosecutor during summation is largely unpreserved forappellate review, since the defendant failed to object to many of the remarks he nowchallenges (see CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Romero, 7 NY3d 911, 912 [2006]). In any event,to the extent that several of the prosecutor's remarks made during summation wereimproper, those remarks did not deprive the defendant of a fair trial, and any other errorin this regard was harmless, as there was overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt,and no significant probability that the error contributed to the defendant's conviction (see People v Roscher, 114AD3d 812, 813 [2014]).
Defense counsel's failure to object to certain summation remarks did not constituteineffective assistance of counsel (see People v King, 27 NY3d 147 [2016]; People v Wragg, 26 NY3d403 [2015]; People v Stevenson,129 AD3d 998, 999 [2015]). The record reveals that defense counsel providedmeaningful representation (seePeople v Taylor, 1 NY3d 174, 176-177 [2003]; People v Benevento, 91NY2d 708, 712 [1998]).
The defendant's contention that the admission of recorded telephone calls madeduring his detention at Rikers Island Correctional Facility violated his right to counselunder the state and federal constitutions is without merit (see People v Johnson,27 NY3d 199 [2016]).
[*2] The sentence imposed was not excessive (seePeople v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80 [1982]). Leventhal, J.P., Roman, Hinds-Radix andBrathwaite Nelson, JJ., concur.