PEOPLE v. QUENTIN (2019)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Thomas A. Farber, J.), rendered December 17, 2013, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, adjudicating him a youthful offender, and sentencing him to a term of five years' probation, unanimously affirmed.

Initially, we conclude that the record fails to support the People's contentions that defendant pleaded guilty before the trial court made a final ruling denying the motion to suppress (see CPL 710.70[2] ), or that effective appellate review of the ruling would require a remittitur for further proceedings.

The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion because a pursuit and stop did not occur until defendant had discarded his backpack, which contained a a pistol.  Prior to that time, the officers made a U-turn against traffic, without accelerating or without activating their sirens or flashing lights, to approach defendant.  Under the circumstances, the officers' conduct did not block defendant's course or otherwise control the direction or speed of his movement so as to rise to the level of a pursuit (see Matter of Jaime G., 208 A.D.2d 382, 617 N.Y.S.2d 13 [1st Dept. 1994];  see also People v. Foster, 302 A.D.2d 403, 756 N.Y.S.2d 239 [2d Dept. 2003], lv denied 100 N.Y.2d 581, 764 N.Y.S.2d 391, 796 N.E.2d 483 [2003];  People v. Thornton, 238 A.D.2d 33, 667 N.Y.S.2d 705 [1st Dept. 1998] ).