Opinion
April 12, 1999
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Schulman, J.).
Ordered that the judgment and amended judgment are affirmed.
We agree with the hearing court that the police, under the totality of the circumstances, had probable cause to arrest the defendant, and find that the defendant's motion to suppress the evidence recovered was properly denied ( see, People v. Jones, 90 N.Y.2d 835; People v. Moore, 240 A.D.2d 762). The record before the hearing court established that an experienced police officer observed the defendant engage in a transaction wherein he retrieved a bag of what appeared to be crack cocaine from a nearby fence post, exchanged it for money, and then, upon hearing the sirens of a police vehicle, attempt to flee. Moreover, when the defendant left the area, he relinquished any reasonable expectation of privacy he had concerning the area ( see, People v. Silas, 220 A.D.2d 467). After the defendant left the area, and prior to his arrest, the police officer recovered the crack cocaine from the fence post. Accordingly, the police were clearly justified in arresting the defendant.
The court properly revoked the defendant's sentence of probation ( see, People v. Britton, 158 A.D.2d 932).
The sentences imposed were not excessive ( see, People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
The defendant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit.
Altman, J. P., Friedmann, McGinity and Luciano, JJ., concur.