People v Byrd
2008 NY Slip Op 06381 [53 AD3d 622]
July 22, 2008
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, September 3, 2008


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Carlton Byrd, Appellant.

[*1] John R. Lewis, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., for appellant.

Janet DiFiore, District Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Maria I. Wager, Richard Longworth Hecht, and Anthony J. Servino of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Westchester County (Bellantoni, J.), rendered August 23, 2006, convicting him of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant's contention that the testimony of a jailhouse informant was improperly admitted at trial because the informant was an agent of the police is without merit (see Massiah v United States, 377 US 201, 206 [1964]; People v Cardona, 41 NY2d 333, 335 [1977]; People v Lewis, 273 AD2d 254, 254-255 [2000]; People v Flores-Ossa, 234 AD2d 315, 316 [1996]; People v Halstead, 180 AD2d 818 [1992]).

Contrary to the defendant's contention, he was not denied the effective assistance of counsel (see People v Baldi, 54 NY2d 137, 147 [1981]; People v Walker, 35 AD3d 512 [2006]; People v Hyatt, 2 AD3d 749, 750 [2003]). Skelos, J.P., Covello, Leventhal and Belen, JJ., concur.