People v. Allen (Destini)

• Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
• Decided: December 13, 2019
• Docket: 2019 NYSlipOp 52005(U)
• Status: Published

Opinion

The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

against

Destini Allen, Defendant-Appellant.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Gerianne Abriano, J.), rendered October 6, 2017, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and imposing sentence.

Per Curiam.

Judgment of conviction (Gerianne Abriano, J.), rendered October 6, 2017, affirmed.

In view of defendant's knowing waiver of his right to prosecution by information, the accusatory instrument only had to satisfy the reasonable cause requirement (see People v. Dumay, 23 NY3d 518, 522 [2014]). So viewed, the accusatory instrument was jurisdictionally valid because it described facts of an evidentiary nature establishing reasonable cause to believe that defendant was guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (see Penal Law § 220.03). Allegations that police recovered 5 bags containing crack/cocaine from the hinge of the door of the car that defendant was driving, and that the officer believed the substance to be crack/cocaine "based upon [his] prior training and experience as a police officer in the identification of drugs, [his] prior experience making drug arrests, and an observation of the substance[], which is characteristic" of crack/cocaine, provided adequate notice to enable defendant to prepare a defense and invoke his protection against double jeopardy (see People v Smalls, 26 NY3d 1064 [2015]; People v Kalin, 12 NY3d 225, 231-232 [2009]; see also People v Thiam, __ NY3d __, 2019 NY Slip Op 07712 [2019, DiFiore, Ch. J., concurring]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.

I concur I concu
Decision Date: December 13, 2019