The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Louis Rodriguez, Appellant

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Louis Rodriguez, Appellant. [633 NYS2d 601] [MAJORITY] —Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Eng, J.), rendered June 20, 1994, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of the branch of the defendant’s omnibus motion which was to suppress physical evidence. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed. The handgun that was recovered by the police in the automobile that the defendant was driving was properly admitted into evidence. It is well settled that the automobile exception to the search warrant requirement permits the police to search a vehicle without a warrant when they have probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime, contraband, or a weapon may be found therein (see, People v Galak, 81 NY2d 463; People v Belton, 55 NY2d 49). The police had probable cause to search the defendant’s automobile based on information provided to them by an identified citizen who accused the defendant of a specific crime (see, People v Burton, 194 AD2d 683). Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see, People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620), we find that it is legally sufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, upon the exercise of our factual review power, we are satisfied that the verdict of guilt is not against the weight of the evidence (see, CPL 470.15 [5]). The defendant’s remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review (see, CPL 470.05 [2]) or without merit. Bracken, J. P., Miller, Altman and Florio, JJ., concur.