Opinion
March 16, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Chetta, J.).
Ordered that the judgment and amended judgment are affirmed, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 460.50 (5).
At the Mapp hearing on Indictment No. 11630/89, Detective James Phallon testified that on April 10, 1989, he was assigned to a narcotics field team to back-up an undercover police officer. While in an unmarked car parked on 193rd Street and Jamaica Avenue in Queens, he received a radio communication from the undercover officer who was then approximately two blocks away. The undercover officer stated that he had just observed a man in possession of several vials of crack-cocaine and described the man as white with long brown hair and wearing a blue jacket, blue jeans, brown boots and a green hat. Detective Phallon observed the defendant, who fit that description, walk down 193rd Street, get into a car, and drive away. Upon stopping the defendant's vehicle, the detective observed the defendant placing vials into his mouth. The court denied the defendant's motion to suppress the cocaine seized upon his arrest.
Contrary to the defendant's contention, the People were not required to produce the undercover officer who sent the communication in order to establish probable cause. The arresting officer's testimony sufficiently demonstrated the reliability of the transmission upon which he acted and did not raise any questions regarding the validity of the arrest to warrant the calling of an undercover officer (see, People v Petralia, 62 N.Y.2d 47, cert denied 469 U.S. 852; People v White, 178 A.D.2d 674; People v Ivory, 160 A.D.2d 730).
In light of our determination with respect to the judgment of conviction rendered upon Indictment No. 11630/89 there is no basis for vacatur of the plea under Indictment No. 10462/88 (cf., People v Clark, 45 N.Y.2d 432). Bracken, J.P., Lawrence, Eiber and Santucci, JJ., concur.