People v. Morales

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Moldow, J.), rendered November 12,1980, convicting defendant after jury trial of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, is unanimously reversed, on the law and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and the case is remanded for a new trial. The crimes for which defendant was indicted and tried arise out of an alleged sale of cocaine to an undercover police officer in January, 1978. Free on bail, defendant absented himself from trial after jury selection but before opening statements by the attorneys. The entire…