ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The trial court properly refused to charge the defense of justification. No reasonable view of the evidence established the basic elements of that defense (see People v. Butts, 72 N.Y.2d 746). Furthermore, the defendant's claim that his counsel was ineffective because he failed to make a specific argument in support of a justification charge is without merit. A justification defense would have been weak and inconsistent with the facts of the case (see People v. Rhodes, 281 A.D.2d 225). Thus, the defendant did not demonstrate that his counsel failed to provide meaningful representation (see People v. Ford, 86 N.Y.2d 397; People v. Benevento, 91 N.Y.2d 708, 712-713).
The sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
SANTUCCI, J.P., FEUERSTEIN, S. MILLER and SCHMIDT, JJ., concur.