Opinion
2013-01-8
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Justo QUESADO, Defendant–Appellant.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (William B. Carney of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Jamie Masten of counsel), for respondent.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (William B. Carney of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Jamie Masten of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Kibbie F. Payne, J.), rendered May 14, 2009, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender, to a term of 1 1/2 years, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. There is no basis for disturbing the court's credibility determinations. The experienced narcotics officer's observation of what appeared to be the exchange of a bag of white powder for money provided probable cause for defendant's arrest ( see People v. Jones, 90 N.Y.2d 835, 660 N.Y.S.2d 549, 683 N.E.2d 14 [1997] ).