Opinion
September 25, 2001.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Ronald Zweibel, J.), rendered February 4, 1998, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to three concurrent terms of 6 to 12 years, unanimously affirmed.
Paul Cirino, for respondent.
Natasha Young, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Nardelli, J.P., Williams, Tom, Andrias, Marlow, JJ.
The court properly declined to deliver a circumstantial evidence charge since the evidence against defendant consisted of both direct and circumstantial evidence (see, People v. Woolridge, 272 A.D.2d 242).
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. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to defendant, there was no reasonable view that he possessed the drugs found in his possession for any reason other than to sell them (see, People v. Barksdale, 265 A.D.2d 223, lv denied 94 N.Y.2d 877).
The court properly corrected the original misstatement in its charge regarding the requisite mental state required for a conviction of criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near school grounds (see,People v. Gonzalez, 240 A.D.2d 255, lv denied 90 N.Y.2d 1011).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.