People v. Ellis

190 Misc. 2d 98, 737 N.Y.S.2d 232, 2001 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 892
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedDecember 13, 2001
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 190 Misc. 2d 98 (People v. Ellis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Ellis, 190 Misc. 2d 98, 737 N.Y.S.2d 232, 2001 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 892 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Larry M. Himelein, J.

Introduction

Defendant, who has been indicted for vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated (DWI), and related offenses, has moved to suppress statements she made to the police, a photographic identification of her, and evidence of the alcohol content of her blood. A hearing was held before this court on October 3, 2001. Timothy Cashimere and Michael Vitello of the Olean Police Department, Jeanne Jackson, John Ensell and John Probst of the State Police, Thomas Graves, a respiratory therapist at Olean General Hospital, and Amy Foster, a bartender at Randy’s Up the River, were all called as witnesses. The parties have also submitted memoranda. The court generally credits the testimony and makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on December 12, 1999, a car traveling on the River Road in the Town of Olean sheared a [100]*100telephone pole and plunged into the Allegany River. Officer Cashimere was first on the scene and observed defendant partially in the water and partially on the bank and another woman floating face down in the river. Sergeant Vitello arrived at nearly the same time and Cashimere helped Vitello down the bank and into the water to retrieve the woman in the river. With much difficulty, they were able to get the woman out of the water and onto the bank where emergency personnel began to work on her. Defendant, who had been yelling profanities, was ultimately brought out of the water and up the bank on a backboard. She told the officers, in response to their questions, that no one else was in the vehicle.

Investigator Jackson followed the ambulance to the hospital, called in the license plate of the vehicle and called the owner of the vehicle who told Jackson that his son, Jonathan Teuscher, had the car. Jackson then spoke to defendant who told Jackson that Jonathan had been in the car earlier but had stayed at Randy’s. Jackson then sent other officers to try to locate Jonathan. Several days later, his body was found in the river.

Investigator Jackson testified that defendant had the odor of alcohol about her and also told Jackson that she had been driving the vehicle. However, Jackson did not arrest defendant but instead read defendant her DWI warnings, omitting only the portion that tells a suspect they are under arrest for DWI. Although defendant was belligerent with hospital personnel, she was cooperative with Investigator Jackson. Jackson reiterated and emphasized at the hearing that defendant was not under arrest when she was asked to give blood. The blood was drawn by Mr. Graves, an advanced emergency medical technician. According to Graves, defendant made no protest to the drawing of the blood. However, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Graves was able to obtain only one tube for a sample rather than the two he would normally have drawn.

The following day, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Investigator Probst interviewed defendant at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), where defendant had been transferred the night before. Defendant told Investigator Probst that the previous day she and Jonathan had been studying, drank some beer in the afternoon and went to her father’s home for money to buy index cards. They then surprised her mother by picking her up at the bus stop. At that time, Jonathan was driving, defendant was riding in front and her mother, the deceased, was riding in the rear. This interview ended when defendant’s aunt came to visit.

[101]*101Amy Foster was tending bar at Randy’s on December 12, 1999. Between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m., a young couple came in and the female ordered a draft beer and paid for it. Foster spoke to the couple for a “couple minutes” and then went back to the kitchen. When Ms. Foster returned to the bar, the couple had left. On December 16th, Ms. Foster identified a single photograph of defendant, shown to her by Investigator Jackson, as the woman who had been in the bar the night of the accident.

Conclusions of Law

A.

Defendant moved to suppress her statements to the police, the identification by Amy Foster, and the results of the analysis of her blood. Defendant alleged that the statements were involuntary and made without the proper warnings. She also alleged that she was suffering from a severe diabetic condition and other injuries that affected her mental abilities. With respect to the identification, defendant alleged that it was suggestive and tainted because only defendant’s photograph was shown to Ms. Foster.

The People opposed the statement and identification hearings on the grounds that the moving papers were “insufficient in law and fact” to warrant a hearing and further, that there was no factual showing of an entitlement to a hearing. However, CPL 710.60 (3) (b) provides that no factual allegations are necessary to support a motion to suppress a statement or an identification, although defendant clearly made a number of factual claims. Notably, the People’s response alleges no facts in opposition to those asserted by defendant (see, People v Gruden, 42 NY2d 214).

Concerning the motion to suppress evidence of the analysis of defendant’s blood, defendant’s allegations are clearly on the thin side. All that is asserted is that blood was taken from defendant and that it “may have been illegally obtained without the proper warning or under illegal circumstances.” The People’s response similarly alleges no facts relating to the drawing of defendant’s blood but merely contends that defendant’s papers are insufficient to justify a hearing. That contention was also made at the start of the hearing and in the People’s posthearing memorandum.

Even if a defendant’s factual allegations are insufficient, the court is not obligated to deny a suppression motion. CPL 710.60 (3) provides only that the court may summarily deny the mo[102]*102tion if the factual claims are insufficient to support suppression of the evidence. Moreover, where a Huntley or Wade hearing has been directed and a Mapp motion involves the same facts and witnesses, the Court of Appeals instructs that the better procedure may be to hold a Mapp hearing at the same time, despite any perceived pleading deficiencies (see, People v Mendoza, 82 NY2d 415, 429).

For a number of reasons, this court declines to summarily deny the motion to suppress the blood test results. While defendant’s allegations are sparse, there is a claim that blood was drawn without a proper warning. Further, the circumstances surrounding the accident might have made it difficult to make factual assertions. Defendant had been involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident, had been partially submerged in the freezing waters of the Allegany River, was allegedly intoxicated and had blood drawn only after being seriously injured and taken by ambulance to the hospital. Additionally, Huntley-Wade hearings had been directed and it was appropriate to conduct a Mapp hearing that involved the same incident and the same witnesses. Finally, the People made no factual contentions of their own.

B.

At the scene of the accident, the officers were involved in rescue efforts and defendant simply screamed obscenities. At that time, defendant was not in custody (People v Yukl, 25 NY2d 585, cert denied 400 US 851).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
190 Misc. 2d 98, 737 N.Y.S.2d 232, 2001 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ellis-nycountyct-2001.