Opinion
February 26, 2001.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (William Leibovitz, J.), rendered December 3, 1997, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 4½ to 9 years, unanimously affirmed.
Theresa A. Foudy, for respondent.
Christian Parker, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Sullivan, P.J., Tom, Lerner, Buckley, Friedman, JJ.
Defendant's application pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky ( 476 U.S. 79) was properly denied. The court, whose determinations with regard to pretext are entitled to great deference (see, People v. Hernandez, 75 N.Y.2d 350, affd 500 U.S. 352; People v. Wint, 237 A.D.2d 195, lv denied 89 N.Y.2d 1103), properly determined that defendant failed to sustain his burden of showing purposeful discrimination. The challenges at issue were based on valid concerns, and the record does not support defendant's contention that the court relied on inappropriate factors in making its determination.
The court properly admitted evidence of contemporaneous uncharged sales as part of the narrative, to show why the officers targeted defendants and to prove that defendants were acting in concert (see, People v. Garcia, A.D.2d ___, 713 N.Y.S.2d 865). The probative value of the challenged evidence outweighed its prejudicial impact (see, People v. Pressley, 216 A.D.2d 202, lv denied 86 N.Y.2d 800).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.