Reginald Laye was charged by accusation with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A jury found him guilty on both counts, and judgment of conviction and sentence were entered thereon. Laye’s amended motion for new trial was denied, and he appeals. In his sole enumeration of error, he contends his trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to request an instruction informing the jury that it must limit its consideration of a prior felony conviction to the firearm charge. We do not agree, and for the following reasons we affirm. Laye concedes that the trial was not bifurcated because he insisted that the two charges be tried together, notwithstanding his trial counsel’s advice to the contrary. During the trial, the State presented evidence of a similar transaction: a prior conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Before the State presented that evidence, the trial court gave the jury a limiting instruction. That instruction informed the jurors that Laye was on trial for the particular charges in the accusation and no others and that they should consider the evidence of prior conviction only for a limited purpose, since such evidence was admissible only to show his identity. Trial counsel did not request a second instruction informing the jury that it could consider the same prior conviction only for the limited purpose of supporting the firearms charge.
Under Strickland v. Washington , 466 U. S. 668 104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984, Laye must show both that trial counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficiency prejudiced his defense such that a reasonable probability exists that the outcome of the trial would have been different but for counsel’s deficiency. Strategic and tactical decisions cannot constitute a denial of effective assistance of counsel. Penaranda v. State , 203 Ga. App. 740, 742 4 417 SE2d 683 1992. At the hearing on the motion for new trial, trial counsel testified that he did not request a second limiting instruction because he did not want to draw attention again to the fact that Laye had a prior conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The omission was therefore trial strategy and not evidence of ineffectiveness.
