People v. Davis
Opinion of the Court
— Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Berkowitz, J.), rendered September 18, 1987, convicting him of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, loitering in the first degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant maintains that his conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree should be reversed because, the People failed to disprove his agency defense beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree.
As this court recently stated in People v Vargas (135 AD2d 853, 854): "In determining whether a defendant is an agent of the buyer, the following factors are to be considered: '(1) did the defendant act as a mere extension of the buyer throughout the relationship, with no independent desire to promote the transaction; (2) was the purchase suggested by the buyer; (3) did the defendant have any previous acquaintance with the seller; (4) did the defendant exhibit any salesmanlike behavior; (5) did the defendant use his own funds; (6) did the defendant procure from many sources for a single buyer; (7) did the buyer pay the seller directly; (8) did the defendant stand to profit; and (9) was any reward promised in advance’ (People v Gonzales, 66 AD2d 828; see, People v. Bethea, 73 AD2d 920, 921)”. Based on the foregoing factors and viewing
Contrary to the defendant’s contentions, his sentence was not excessive (see, People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80).
The defendant’s challenge to the imposition of a mandatory surcharge is premature (see, People v West, 124 Misc 2d 622; People v Lewis, 134 AD2d 286; People v Bethea, 133 AD2d 836).
We have examined the defendant’s remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Rubin, J. P., Kooper, Sullivan and Balletta, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.