Opinion
June 5, 1997
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Lawrence Tonetti, J.).
Defendant's arguments that the trial court tainted the prospective jurors by its remarks during voir dire, and, in its charge, eliminated the elements of "knowingly" and "unlawfully" from the jury's consideration, are unpreserved for review and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review them, we would find that the court's comments regarding drugs were sufficiently removed from any discussion of defendant's guilt to avoid any prejudice ( see, People v. Gantz, 104 A.D.2d 692), and that the court's charge, when viewed as a whole, conveyed the proper standards regarding the elements of the crimes ( People v. Fields, 87 N.Y.2d 821).
We find that defendant's sentence was not based on any impermissible criteria, and we perceive no abuse of sentencing discretion.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Ellerin, Tom, Mazzarelli and Andrias, JJ.