Open Container Citation but No Presentation of Proper I.D.

[killmoonlight]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York

I was carrying a beer from a bar to my apartment where I'm living while working a summer internship in Manhattan.

I saw an unmarked police car sort of start to stalk me so I set my beer down on the street and crossed to the other side, but a plain clothes officer quickly stepped out of the vehicle while his partner parked, and approached me to cite me for an open container violation.

This seems fairly straightforward, except for this: when asked, I did not present my driver license/ID card to the officer, because the one I was carrying was...less than legitimate. Instead, I offered him my student ID card, which he surprisingly accepted without question. The ID card only carries my name, a pin number that is meaningless off-campus, and a photo of me along with my university's name/logo.

Additionally, the address I gave him is apparently incorrect--this was not intentional, but I had just moved into the temporary residence two days prior and wasn't sure the exact apartment number (obviously my memory was a bit impaired as well).

Now, I have 10-125 (2b) open container citation that lists my real name, a slightly inaccurate address, and my school pin code under "ID number." My question is whether, in your estimation, this citation is now legitimate enough to find its way to my proper identity and record. I currently have another misdemeanor charge in North Carolina (where I attend school) for "open container plus underage possession of a malt beverage" (I should obviously learn my lesson--I'm not in Europe anymore!) for which my prosecution has been deferred to September, and will eventually be expunged/dismissed since I've paid fines and completed mandatory education classes.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe my options are:
1. To be brazen (or stupid?) and ignore the citation since the information recorded was seemingly insufficient to really be matched up to me in a faraway state where I go to school
2. To plead guilty and send the mail-in fine, but risk this conviction complicating my still-pending court process in North Carolina.
3. To deal with getting a day off work to show up to court and hopefully get my case dismissed due to the seemingly insufficient transcription of my information.

A further complication is that my court summons date is three days after I'm scheduled to return to Colorado for a brief stay at home before the start of my last year at university.

I would greatly appreciate sound advice on this matter. I apologize if a similar question has already been covered in prior threads--I just thought the circumstances surrounding my particular case might have been unique and changed the course of the advice I'd be given.

Sincerely,
C.

[free9man]

1. To be brazen (or stupid?) and ignore the citation since the information recorded was seemingly insufficient to really be matched up to me in a faraway state where I go to school

They have your name and I'm guessing the name of the school you attend. While it would be a pain in the butt, it is not outside the realm of possibility that they could track you down. So it would be brazen and stupid.

2. To plead guilty and send the mail-in fine, but risk this conviction complicating my still-pending court process in North Carolina.

You can bet your bottom dollar a guilty plea will screw up your deferral in NC. They will most likely run you in NCIC prior to closing out the case and would see the conviction. I'm guessing a part of your deferral was to remain out of trouble so, buh-bye deferral.

3. To deal with getting a day off work to show up to court and hopefully get my case dismissed due to the seemingly insufficient transcription of my information.

You showing up and saying "Yeah, I got this ticket but the officer wrote down what was on my school id cause I didn't wanna give him the fake ID I had" won't impress the court. So asking for a dismissal would require admitting to 1, or possibly 2, criminal offenses.

There's also option 4. Hire a lawyer to deal with it.

You can request a continuance if you're going to be out of town, which by the way would require giving them valid contact information. No guarantee you'll get it and even if you do, you would have to return to face the charge sooner or later.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I understand Sec. 10–125 of the NYC Administrative Code to define your actions as a violation, not a misdemeanor. In New York, violations are not classified as criminal offenses and thus are not ordinarily abstracted to a criminal record - there is usually only a local record of the offense. That helps explain why the officer didn't take the additional time to obtain and verify your identity, or take such information as your SSN - it's a pretty minor legal matter. At the same time, if you blow off the ticket you can expect to end up with a bench warrant for your arrest - and while a conviction for a violation would not ordinarily show up in a criminal records check you can expect that a warrant will. And if you're picked up on a warrant, as free9man suggests, your "accidentally given" false address may become a much bigger issue - and a potential criminal charge.

You are probably required as a condition of your probation to report this incident to your probation officer.

[killmoonlight]

So, I doubt I'll decide to show up to court, but if I did with the intention of pleading "not guilty", how might this transpire, do you think? I'm curious why the officer didn't feel like retrieving the open container in question, to at least indicate what it was--i.e., not an RC cola.
@free9man, I don't see why appearing in court would necessitate any admission of having a fake ID. If I handed over an ID card that was on my person, why would I be at fault for choosing my school ID instead of a license, given the officer made no comment or request for something more official?
I tried to keep my mouth shut as much as possible, since I know how easy it is for officers to manipulate your words and coerce incriminating statements--but this also definitely pissed the guy off. Overall though, he was a respectful policeman, and even instructed me to "stop looking so damn sad. It's not the end of the world." This did kind of make me inwardly smile, though I was definitely reeling at the thought of the potential implications this incident could have on my still-pending misdemeanor. Formerly spotless record just three months ago....

Looks like my best course of action is to pay the fine and hope this record stays local. But one more point: I willfully told the officer my valid DOB (it wasn't on my school ID), which is a few months shy of the 21 year-old mark. Was it bad math or indifference that he didn't then decide to note that I was underage? And I'm I being overly anxious in worrying that, after I pay my fine, someone could notice that it's being submitted by a 20-year old and tack on the "underage" charge after the fact?

Thanks Mr. Knowitall and free9man for the advice.

[free9man]

@free9man, I don't see why appearing in court would necessitate any admission of having a fake ID. If I handed over an ID card that was on my person, why would I be at fault for choosing my school ID instead of a license, given the officer made no comment or request for something more official?

Because you said you wanted to try and get it dismissed b/c of what you felt was "insufficient transcription of my information." The officer put down the information you gave him, including the wrong address. He was acting in good faith based on what you gave him. The court might be curious, if you claim he didn't get enough info/wrong info, why you failed to give him a real ID/better information.

If you are just going to pay the fine, odds are they aren't going to come after you for the underage thing. Most likely he just fudged the math. Which is good for you b/c if he got it right and decided to arrest you, guess what they would have found? Your fake ID. Which would make another charge.

Oh, and you may be asked under oath prior to discharging your deferral if you have had any run-ins with the law. That means you either lie under oath (more charges!) or tell the truth and beg the court for mercy.