People v Hurdle
2012 NY Slip Op 01563 [93 AD3d 419]
March 1, 2012
Appellate Division, First Department
As corrected through Wednesday, April 25, 2012


The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Walter Hurdle, Appellant.

[*1]Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Angie Louie of counsel),for appellant.

Walter Hurdle, appellant pro se.

Robert T. Johnson, District Attorney, Bronx (Megan R. Roberts of counsel), forrespondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Martin Marcus, J., at suppression hearing; AlbertLorenzo, J., at plea and sentencing), rendered January 15, 2010, convicting defendant of criminalpossession of stolen property in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second felonyoffender, to a term of 1½ to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. The police had probable cause tobelieve that defendant had been driving with a suspended license. Accordingly, they lawfullyarrested defendant for the corresponding misdemeanor (see Vehicle and Traffic Law§ 511), and were fully entitled to conduct a search incident to arrest (see People vTroiano, 35 NY2d 476 [1974]).

Defendant did not preserve his claim that the officer lacked a founded suspicion ofcriminality to support a common-law inquiry regarding whether defendant had a suspendedlicense, or his claim that the officer should have issued a summons rather than making an arrest,and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we also rejectthem on the merits. In addition, we have considered and rejected defendant's pro se claims.Concur—Tom, J.P., Friedman, Acosta, DeGrasse and Román, JJ.


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