People v. Eastmond

19 Misc. 3d 824
CourtCriminal Court of the City of New York
DecidedApril 3, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 19 Misc. 3d 824 (People v. Eastmond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Criminal Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Eastmond, 19 Misc. 3d 824 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2008).

Opinion

[825]*825OPINION OF THE COURT

Marc J. Whiten, J.

The defendant, Daven Eastmond, is charged with one count of criminal trespass in the second degree (Penal Law § 140.15), and has filed a motion seeking dismissal for facial insufficiency.

In order to be facially sufficient, an information must substantially conform to the formal requirements of CPL 100.15. Additionally, the factual portion and any accompanying depositions must provide reasonable cause to believe the defendant committed the offense charged, as well as nonhearsay factual allegations of an evidentiary character which, if true, establish every element of the offense charged and defendant’s commission thereof (CPL 100.15 [3]; 100.40 [1]; see People v Dumas, 68 NY2d 729 [1986]; see also People v Alejandro, 70 NY2d 133 [1987]).

The requirement of nonhearsay allegations has been described as a “much more demanding standard” than a showing of reasonable cause alone (People v Alejandro, 70 NY2d at 138, quoting 1968 Report of Temp Commn on Rev of Penal Law and Crim Code, Introductory Comments, at xviii); however, it is nevertheless a much lower threshold than the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt (People v Henderson, 92 NY2d 677, 680 [1999]; People v Hyde, 302 AD2d 101 [1st Dept 2003]). Thus, “[t]he law does not require that the information contain the most precise words or phrases most clearly expressing the charge, only that the crime and the factual basis therefor be sufficiently alleged” (People v Sylla, 7 Misc 3d 8, 10 [2d Dept 2005]). Finally, where the factual allegations contained in an information “give an accused notice sufficient to prepare a defense and are adequately detailed to prevent a defendant from being tried twice for the same offense, they should be given a fair and not overly restrictive or technical reading” (People v Casey, 95 NY2d 354, 360 [2000]; see also People v Konieczny, 2 NY3d 569 [2004] ; People v Jacoby, 304 NY 33, 38-40 [1952]; People v Knapp, 152 Misc 368, 370 [1934], affd 242 App Div 811 [1934]; People v Allen, 92 NY2d 378, 385 [1998]; People v Miles, 64 NY2d 731, 732-733 [1984]; People v Shea, 68 Misc 2d 271, 272 [1971]; People v Scott, 8 Misc 3d 428 [Crim Ct, NY County [2005] ).

Defendant was arrested in the lobby of a residential apartment building and charged with a single count of trespassing. The factual portion of the accusatory instrument presently [826]*826before the court consists of a deposition from the arresting officer, along with a document titled “Managing Agent’s Affidavit.” This affidavit states, in sum and substance, that the building manager has asked the local police precinct to arrest anyone who is not a tenant or guest or invitee of a tenant if they are found trespassing in the building, because “trespassers have come to use the building as a place to buy, as well as use, drugs.” In his supporting deposition, the arresting officer alleges, in sum, that defendant was observed in the lobby of a residential apartment building, in a location beyond both the vestibule and a posted sign bearing the words “No Trespassing” and “Tenants and Their Guests Only.” The officer further alleges that the address provided by defendant as his own was a location other than where he was allegedly trespassing, and that defendant was unable to name any tenant by whom he had been invited into the premises. However, in notice provided to the defendant and the court pursuant to GPL 710.30, the People assert that, at the time of his arrest, defendant stated, “I’m here to visit my friend Jose. Jose lives in apartment 26.”

Defendant argues that the complaint is facially insufficient because the affidavit provided by the managing agent does not specifically state that defendant did not have permission to be in the building to visit his friend, nor does it set forth the names and apartment numbers of the building’s legitimate residents. Further, defendant argues that the supporting deposition from the arresting officer is insufficient to support the charges in that it does not state that the owner or managing agent provided a list of authorized residents for the building in question to the local police precinct for purposes of trespass arrests, nor does the supporting deposition specifically state that defendant did not have permission or authority to be in the building. Lastly, defendant argues that the supporting deposition is inadequate inasmuch it does not state that the person named by defendant as the person by whom he was invited into the building was not a legal resident of the dwelling.

Penal Law § 140.15 states that “[a] person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling,” and Penal Law § 140.00 (5) states that a person enters or remains unlawfully “when he is not licensed or privileged to do so.” It is well settled that “[i]n general, a person is ‘licensed or privileged’ to enter private premises when he has obtained the consent of the owner or another whose relationship to the premises gives him authority to [827]*827issue such consent” (People v Graves, 76 NY2d 16, 20 [1990]). When such license or privilege is absent, a person is generally presumed to have entered or remained unlawfully, and the burden of proving this element is on the People (see People v Brown, 25 NY2d 374 [1969]).

Defendant’s first two arguments, both of which are premised upon claimed inadequacies in the managing agent’s affidavit and the arresting officer’s supporting deposition, are unpersuasive. While it is true that the managing agent’s affidavit adds little, if anything, to specific nonhearsay factual allegations in this case, this type of affidavit is not a necessary prerequisite for conversion of a trespass complaint into a facially sufficient information (see People v Taveras, 17 Misc 3d 1119[A], 2007 NY Slip Op 52067[U] [Crim Ct, NY County 2007]); for the purposes of facial sufficiency, this type of affidavit is superfluous.

It is also true that the arresting officer does not allege in his deposition that the owner or managing agent provided a list of the building’s authorized residents to the police; however, this is not a requirement for facial sufficiency, nor does it undermine the facial sufficiency of the remainder of the instrument. In this instance, the officer’s allegations set forth sufficient nonhearsay allegations, in that he alleges that he saw defendant in the lobby of a residential apartment building, beyond both the vestibule and a posted sign stating “No Trespassing” and “Tenants and Their Guests Only,” and defendant was unable to provide the identity of a resident by whom he had been invited in. These allegations, standing alone, are facially sufficient. Defendant’s argument that the officer must also have alleged that he had a list of tenants provided by the managing agent or owner is not only unnecessary for facial sufficiency, it is impractical as a matter of common sense. The number and density of multifamily dwellings in this county, as well as the ensuing frequency of tenant turnover, make it impractical, if not impossible, to expect that police will investigate trespassing violations only when armed with the functional equivalent of the Manhattan telephone directory.

Clearly, whether a person was an unwanted intruder rather than an invited guest is a determination of considerable importance.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
19 Misc. 3d 824, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-eastmond-nycrimct-2008.