Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Chemung County (Hayden, J.), rendered October 30, 2009, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and resisting arrest.
In October 2008, defendant left a residence in the Town of Southport, Chemung County that was under surveillance for suspected drug activity. As defendant’s vehicle passed by, two members of the surveillance team observed that the windows of the car appeared to be tinted in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375 (12-a) (b). This information was relayed to a patrol officer, and defendant thereafter was pulled over for an equipment violation in the City of Elmira, Chemung County. As the officer approached the vehicle, defendant rolled down the window, at which time the officer noticed a “very strong odor of marihuana” emanating from the vehicle. When the officer asked defendant whether he had any marihuana in his possession, defendant became agitated and fled the scene. A chase ensued and, following a struggle with various law enforcement officials on the lawn of his residence, defendant was handcuffed and transported to the local police station. At that time, a small digital scale and a quantity of what appeared to be crack cocaine were observed on the ground where the struggle had occurred.
As a result of this incident, defendant was indicted and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and resisting arrest. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted on both counts and thereafter was sentenced, as a second felony offender, to an aggregate prison term of 12 years followed by three years of postrelease supervision. This appeal ensued.
Defendant initially contends that County Court erred in failing to suppress the physical evidence seized following the traffic stop. We disagree. Probable cause to believe that an individual has violated a provision of the Vehicle and Traffic Law “provides an objectively reasonable basis for the police to stop a vehicle” (People v Pealer, 20 NY3d 447, 457 n 2 [2013]; see People v McLean, 99 AD3d 1111, 1111-1112 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1013 [2013]; People v Garcia, 30 AD3d 833, 834 [2006]). Here, the officer in question was justified in stopping defendant’s vehicle in
Nor do we find merit to defendant’s pro se claim that the People failed to establish a proper chain of custody. Simply put, the detailed testimony offered by the relevant forensic scientist, evidence custodian and law enforcement officials regarding the collection, securing and testing of the cocaine at issue “provide^] ‘the necessary reasonable assurances of the identity and unchanged condition of the drugs to authenticate that evidence’ ” (People v Green, 90 AD3d 1151, 1154 [2011], lv denied 18 NY3d 994 [2012], quoting People v Danford, 88 AD3d 1064, 1067 [2011], lv denied 18 NY3d 882 [2012]). Contrary to defendant’s assertion, the fact that the drugs apparently were not photographed does not create a gap in the chain of custody and, even assuming that a discrepancy existed with respect to the manner in which the cocaine was packaged, any defect in this regard would affect the weight to be accorded such evidence, not its admissibility (cf. People v Danford, 88 AD3d at 1067).
Defendant next contends that County Court erred in failing to conduct a sufficient inquiry to ascertain whether a particular juror was grossly unqualified. The record reveals, however, that
Finally, we reject defendant’s assertion that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel — a claim premised in large measure upon trial counsel’s alleged failure to adequately confer with defendant and her purported unwillingness to pursue what defendant viewed as viable trial strategies.2 Initially, to the extent that defendant contends that counsel failed to sufficiently confer with and adequately explain the underlying motion practice or trial strategy to him, this claim implicates matters outside the record and, as such, is more properly considered in the context of a CPL article 440 motion (see People v McCray, 96 AD3d 1160, 1161 [2012], lv denied 19 NY3d 1104 [2012]). As to the balance of defendant’s claim, the case law makes clear that “[s]o long as the evidence, the law, and the circumstances of a particular case, viewed in totality and as of the time of the representation, reveal that the attorney provided meaningful representation, the defendant will be deemed to have received the effective assistance of counsel” (People v Bahr, 96 AD3d 1165, 1166 [2012] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted], lv denied 19 NY3d 1024 [2012]; see People v Jordan, 99 AD3d 1109, 1110-1111 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1012 [2013]).
Despite defendant’s protestations to the contrary, the record reveals that trial counsel made appropriate motions and objections, presented cogent opening and closing statements, effectively cross-examined the People’s witnesses and advanced a plausible defense, thereby establishing that defendant received meaningful assistance (see People v O’Daniel, 105 AD3d 1144, 1147 [2013]). Although defendant and trial counsel apparently disagreed as to what might constitute a viable defense, defend
Stein, J.P., Spain and Garry, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
1.
Although the officer also was aware of defendant’s potential involvement in the underlying drug surveillance, the officer’s actual motive or subjective intent for effectuating the stop was irrelevant (see People v Wallgren, 94 AD3d 1339, 1340-1341 [2012]; People v Hawkins, 45 AD3d at 991; People v Garcia, 30 AD3d at 834; People v Brooks, 23 AD3d 847, 849 [2005], lv denied 6 NY3d 810 [2006]).
2.
Defendant also contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the underlying suppression hearing, at which time he was represented by another public defender.