People v. Little

121 A.D.3d 487, 993 N.Y.S.2d 503

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Juan M. Merchan, J., at suppression hearing; Lewis Bart Stone, J., at plea and sentencing), rendered November 17, 2011, convicting defendant of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him to a term of one year, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly denied defendant’s suppression motion. Police officers heard women screaming from inside an apartment in an area where a series of burglaries and robberies had taken place. They found the door to the building unlocked and defendant standing in the vestibule with a companion, with the women pointing at them and continuing to scream. Defendant gave a false explanation for his presence, and effectively admitted that he was at least a trespasser. The circumstances facing the officers, with particular reference to the women’s demeanor (see e.g. People v Hicks, 279 AD2d 332 [1st Dept 2001], lv denied 96 NY2d 801 [2001]), provided them with reasonable suspicion that defendant had committed, or was about to commit, a burglary or robbery. This justified an immediate protective frisk for weapons (see People v Mack, 26 NY2d 311 [1970], cert denied 400 US 960 [1970]). The police lawfully recovered drugs in the course of the protective frisk.

Concur — Friedman, J.E, Moskowitz, Feinman, Gische and Kapnick, JJ.