People v. Hall

23 A.D.3d 151, 802 N.Y.S.2d 691

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Gregory Carro, J.), rendered March 26, 2003, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of three years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s suppression motion was properly denied. The evidence establishes that the police had reasonable suspicion justifying their seizure of defendant, who met a detailed description of a man carrying a gun. The information the police relied on came from a source that was not anonymous, but rather had identifying characteristics that rendered it reliable, including a partial name and callback number (see People v Herold, 282 AD2d 1, 5-6 [2001], lv denied 97 NY2d 682 [2001]; compare Florida v J.L., 529 US 266 [2000]). Furthermore, this information was corroborated by defendant’s conduct, which was suggestive of criminality. When the officer confronted defendant in a store, defendant turned toward the officer while moving his hand toward his waistband (see People v Benjamin, 51 NY2d 267, 270-271 [1980]; People v Jenkins, 292 AD2d 188 [2002], lv denied 98 NY2d 711 [2002]). Accordingly, the officer lawfully grabbed defendant’s hand as a self-protective measure, and, in doing so, observed a knife in defendant’s waistband. This observation led to the lawful recovery of the knife and other contraband. Concur—Buckley, P.J., Tom, Mazzarelli, Marlow and Catterson, JJ.