People v. Baptiste (Mervinous)

• Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
• Decided: September 10, 2019
• Docket: 2019 NYSlipOp 51449(U)
• Status: Published

Opinion

The People of the State of New York, Respondent,

against

Mervinous Baptiste, Defendant-Appellant.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Heidi C. Cesare, J.), rendered February 21, 2018, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, and imposing sentence.

Per Curiam.

Judgment of conviction (Heidi C. Cesare, J.), rendered February 21, 2018, affirmed.

The accusatory instrument charging aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 511[1][a]), was not jurisdictionally defective. Allegations that "the key was in the ignition, the engine was running and the defendant was behind the wheel" satisfied the operation element of the offense (see People v Alamo, 34 NY2d 453, 458-459 [1974]; People v Almanzar, 113 AD3d 527 [2014], lv denied 23 NY3d 1059 [2014]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.

I concur I concur I concur
Decision Date: September 10, 2019