PEOPLE v. WATKINS

Judgment unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum:

Defendant contends that his conviction of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (Penal Law § 220.39) must be reversed because the People failed to disprove his agency defense beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree. The evidence is legally sufficient to establish that defendant was the seller of a controlled substance and not an agent of the buyer ( see, People v. Richards, 275 A.D.2d 886, 887, lv denied 96 N.Y.2d 738; People v. Trotty, 262 A.D.2d 337, 338 , lv denied 93 N.Y.2d 1028). Defendant actively initiated the sale, thereby exhibiting salesmanlike behavior. Furthermore, the verdict is not against the weight of the evidence ( see, People v. Bleakley, 69 N.Y.2d 490, 495). It cannot be said that, in rejecting the agency defense, the jury failed to give the evidence the weight it should be accorded ( see, People v. Richards, supra, at 887).