PEOPLE v. BRYANT (1999)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Edward Davidowitz, J.), rendered September 18, 1996, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of robbery in the first degree, attempted robbery in the first degree and robbery in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to consecutive indeterminate terms of 15 years to life imprisonment on the first-degree robbery convictions, to be served concurrently with the indeterminate terms of 10 years to life imprisonment on the remaining convictions, unanimously affirmed.

 Defendant was not deprived of his right to be present during the questioning of a prospective juror concerning his employment as a corrections officer, inasmuch as both prior to and subsequent to the sidebar in question there was a thorough voir dire of the prospective juror on the same subject in open court (see, People v. Camacho, 90 N.Y.2d 558, 664 N.Y.S.2d 578, 687 N.E.2d 396;  People v. Roman, 88 N.Y.2d 18, 29, 643 N.Y.S.2d 10, 665 N.E.2d 1050).

 Moreover, inasmuch as defendant's modus operandi was sufficiently unique, the court properly instructed the jury to consider the similarities between the various incidents on the issue of identity, while also cautioning it not to otherwise commingle the evidence (People v. Beam, 57 N.Y.2d 241, 250-253, 455 N.Y.S.2d 575, 441 N.E.2d 1093).

We perceive no abuse of sentencing discretion.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.