Opinion
931
April 30, 2002.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie Wittner, J.), rendered December 22, 2000, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 5 to 10 years, unanimously affirmed.
Frank Glaser, for respondent.
Cornell V. Bouse, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Nardelli, J.P., Sullivan, Ellerin, Lerner, Rubin, JJ.
The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. There was ample evidence from which the jury could reasonably infer that the vials of crack cocaine recovered from the two apprehended buyers were the same objects that they had obtained from defendant minutes earlier (see, People v. Sanders, 266 A.D.2d 50, lv denied 94 N.Y.2d 884).
The court properly exercised its discretion in continuing with the trial when defendant failed to appear, and the People and the court made diligent but unsuccessful efforts to determine defendant's whereabouts. The court properly concluded that defendant had voluntarily absented himself and, thereby, forfeited his right to be present at trial (see,People v. Sanchez, 65 N.Y.2d 436). Since defendant failed to appear in the midst of trial, warnings pursuant to People v. Parker ( 57 N.Y.2d 136) were not necessary; in any event, the court had administered Parker warnings earlier in the trial. Since the court had no reason to believe that an adjournment would result in defendant's presence, the court properly proceeded in his absence (see, People v. Jones, 163 A.D.2d 203, lv denied 76 N.Y.2d 987).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.