Opinion
10-31-2017
The PEOPLE of the State of New York Respondent, v. Freeman LOVELY, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Mark W. Zeno of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Megan DeMarco of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Mark W. Zeno of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Megan DeMarco of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bruce Allen, J.), rendered January 6, 2015, as amended February 17, 2015, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 4 ½ years, unanimously affirmed.
Regardless of whether defendant made a valid waiver of his right to appeal, we find that the court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. The stop of defendant's van was lawful even though one of the two bases for the stop mentioned in the officers' hearing testimony constituted an objectively reasonable mistake of law (see People v. Guthrie, 25 N.Y.3d 130, 138, 8 N.Y.S.3d 237, 30 N.E.3d 880 [2015] ), and defendant's remaining suppression arguments are unavailing.
Regardless of the effect of defendant's waiver of the right to appeal, defendant failed to preserve his claim that his out-of-state conviction was not the equivalent of a New York felony, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we reject it on the merits (see People v. Santiago, 143 A.D.3d 545, 39 N.Y.S.3d 435 [1st Dept.2016], lv. denied 28 N.Y.3d 1127, 51 N.Y.S.3d 23, 73 N.E.3d 363 [2016] ; People v. West , 58 A.D.3d 483, 871 N.Y.S.2d 120 [1st Dept.2009], lv. denied 12 N.Y.3d 822, 881 N.Y.S.2d 30, 908 N.E.2d 938 [2009] ).
RICHTER, J.P., WEBBER, KERN, MOULTON, JJ., concur.