2597. PEOPLE, res, v. ALI CISSE, def-ap — Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Matthew Bova of counsel), for ap — Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Jessica Olive of counsel), for res — Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Herbert J. Adlerberg, J.H.O. at suppression hearing; Richard D. Carruthers, J. at suppression ruling; A. Kirke Bartley, Jr., J. at jury trial and sentencing), rendered June 9, 2014, convicting defendant of robbery in the first degree (two counts), robbery in the second degree, attempted robbery in the first degree (two counts), attempted robbery in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (two counts), reckless endangerment in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 12 years, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant’s motion to suppress physical evidence was properly denied. Defendant’s principal argument is that his initial encounter with the police, from which his arrest ultimately flowed, was at least a level two common-law inquiry unsupported by the necessary predicate. However, the record establishes that the police officer only conducted a level one request for information by telling defendant to “hold up for a second” or “hold on for a second,” and to “turn around” to face the officer, while standing about 10 or 15 feet away from him (see People v. Reyes, 83 NY2d 945 [1994], cert denied 513 US 991 [1994]; People v. Montero, 284 AD2d 159, 160 [1st Dept 2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 904 [2001]). This request for information was “supported by an objective, credible reason, not necessarily indicative of criminality” (People v. McIntosh, 96 NY2d 521, 525 [2001]), based on defendant’s suspicious behavior when he appeared to notice the marked police car (see Montero, 284 AD2d at 160). Defendant’s contention that the officer’s command to “turn around” was a level three stop is unpreserved, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. We reject defendant’s argument that, pursuant to CPL 470.15(1), we lack jurisdiction to review the level of the police encounter at issue here, as this case does not present a LaFontaine issue (People v. LaFontaine, 92 NY2d 470 [1998]). Although the judicial hearing officer’s decision may have been inartfully worded, the fair import of his finding that the officers had a “credible reason” to stop the defendant is that the encounter at issue was in fact a level one request for information (see People v. Nicholson, 26 NY3d 813, 825 [2016] [noting that an appellate court is not prohibited "from considering the record and the proffer colloquy with counsel to understand the context of the trial court's ultimate determination"]; People v. Garrett, 23 NY3d 878, 885 n 2 [2014]).
