Opinion
2013-607 K CR
12-31-2015
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Christopher Ransom, Appellant.
PRESENT: :
Appeal from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, Kings County (John H. Wilson, J.), rendered January 15, 2013. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal impersonation in the second degree.
ORDERED that the judgment of conviction is reversed, on the law, the count of the accusatory instrument charging criminal impersonation in the second degree is dismissed, the plea of guilty is vacated, the remaining counts of the accusatory instrument are reinstated, and the matter is remitted to the Criminal Court for further proceedings thereon.
On December 4, 2012, the People charged defendant, in an information, with criminal impersonation in the second degree (Penal Law § 190.25 [2]), criminal trespass in the third degree (Penal Law § 140.10 [a]), fraudulently obtaining a signature (Penal Law § 165.20), and trespass (Penal Law § 140.05), alleging that defendant had obtained a Supreme Court Justice's signature authorization to serve as an intern by falsely representing that he was a student at Kingsborough Community College, and that he was subsequently observed in portions of the Supreme Court building at 320 Jay Street, Kings County, which the public was not authorized to enter. On January 15, 2013, defendant waived prosecution by information and pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation in the second degree in satisfaction of the accusatory instrument. Defendant was sentenced to 45 days' incarceration.
On appeal, defendant argues that the factual allegations in support of the charge to which he pleaded guilty were legally insufficient, requiring that the judgment of conviction be reversed, the plea vacated, and the count alleging criminal impersonation in the second degree dismissed. He also argues that the accusatory instrument should be dismissed.
Although defendant waived prosecution by information, we agree that, even by the standards applicable to a misdemeanor complaint (People v Dumay, 23 NY3d 518, 522 [2014]), the facts alleged are legally insufficient to support a charge of criminal impersonation in the second degree. Consequently, the guilty plea thereto is vacated, and the count of the accusatory instrument alleging the offense is dismissed. While defendant has served his sentence, in light of the nature of the remaining charges, we decline to dismiss them in the interest of justice (cf. CPL 470.55).
Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is reversed, the count of the accusatory instrument charging criminal impersonation in the second degree is dismissed, the plea of guilty is vacated, the remaining counts of the accusatory instrument are reinstated and the matter is remitted to the criminal court to the Criminal Court for further proceedings thereon.
Pesce, P.J., Weston and Elliot, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: December 31, 2015