| People v Baafi (Clement) |
| 2022 NY Slip Op 50494(U) [75 Misc 3d 133(A)] |
| Decided on June 15, 2022 |
| Appellate Term, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Michael John Hartofilis, J.), rendered January 15, 2020, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of following too closely, and imposing sentence.
Per Curiam.
Judgment of conviction (Michael John Hartofilis, J.), rendered January 15, 2020, affirmed.
Since defendant waived the right to be prosecuted by information, the facial sufficiency of the accusatory instrument must be assessed under the standard required of a misdemeanor complaint (see People v Dumay, 23 NY3d 518, 522 [2014]) So viewed, the accusatory instrument was jurisdictionally valid. Sworn police allegations that defendant was observed "seated behind the steering wheel, keys inside the vehicle" with the "engine running [and] headlights on" satisfied the operation element of the charged Vehicle and Traffic Law offenses (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192[1],[3]; People v Alamo, 34 NY2d 453, 458-459 [1974]; People v Almanzar, 113 AD3d 527 [2014], lv denied 23 NY3d 1059 [2014]).
All concur
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
Clerk of the Court