PEOPLE v. BARKSDALE (1999)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Harold Silverman, J.), rendered October 7, 1997, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 41/212 to 9 years, unanimously affirmed.

 The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defense challenges for cause to two prospective jurors where both prospective jurors steadfastly responded to questioning by both the court and counsel with unqualified assurances that they could be fair and impartial and would not give undue weight to the testimony of a police officer, and where the court, after viewing the jurors' statements as a whole, determined that there was no substantial risk that either juror had a state of mind that was likely to preclude him from rendering an impartial verdict based upon the evidence adduced at trial (see, People v. Williams, 63 N.Y.2d 882, 483 N.Y.S.2d 198, 472 N.E.2d 1026;  People v. De La Cruz, 223 A.D.2d 472, 636 N.Y.S.2d 788, lv. denied 88 N.Y.2d 846, 644 N.Y.S.2d 692, 667 N.E.2d 342;  People v. Deguero, 264 A.D.2d 660, 696 N.Y.S.2d 15).

 The court properly declined to charge criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree as a lesser included offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.   No reasonable view of the evidence, including the large quantity of vials of drugs possessed and recovery of the buy money, supports a finding of possession without intent to sell (see, People v. Richardson, 244 A.D.2d 273, 664 N.Y.S.2d 446, lv. denied, 91 N.Y.2d 1012, 676 N.Y.S.2d 140, 698 N.E.2d 969;  People v. Gray, 232 A.D.2d 179, 647 N.Y.S.2d 759, lv. denied 89 N.Y.2d 1093, 660 N.Y.S.2d 387, 682 N.E.2d 988).

MEMORANDUM DECISION.