People v. Alford
| Decision Date | 17 January 1989 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Darren ALFORD, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
John F. Clennan, Ronkonkoma, for appellant.
Denis Dillon, Dist. Atty., Mineola (Anthony J. Girese and Lisa J. Becker, of counsel), for respondent.
Before MOLLEN, P.J., and BRACKEN, SULLIVAN and HARWOOD, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Nassau County (Harrington, J.), rendered June 29, 1987, convicting him of attempted robbery in the second degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress identification testimony and physical evidence.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
We agree with the hearing court that the defendant's initial detention was lawful and that his ensuing arrest was based on probable cause. The arresting officer received a radio transmission regarding a knife-point robbery at an Exxon station involving three black males. Approximately 15 minutes after receiving the transmission, the officer observed, in the vicinity of the scene of the crime, three black males, two of whom wore clothing matching the description furnished in the transmission. When the officer called out to the defendant and his companions, requesting them to stop, they changed direction and increased their pace. The officer then ordered the suspects to stop. We find that the defendant's initial detention was supported by reasonable suspicion founded on articulable facts (see, CPL 140.50; People v. De Bour, 40 N.Y.2d 210, 386 N.Y.S.2d 375, 352 N.E.2d 562; People v. Alleyne, 136 A.D.2d 552, 523 N.Y.S.2d 170, lv. denied 71 N.Y.2d 892, 527 N.Y.S.2d 1001, 523 N.E.2d 308; People v. Davis, 123 A.D.2d 640, 506 N.Y.S.2d 783, lv. denied 69 N.Y.2d 710, 512 N.Y.S.2d 1036, 504 N.E.2d 404). Moreover, once the officer observed a bulge in the defendant's pocket, he was justified in conducting a limited pat-down search to ascertain whether the defendant was armed with a weapon (see, People v. Spivey, 46 N.Y.2d 1014, 416 N.Y.S.2d 534, 389 N.E.2d 1056; People v. Rosa, 138 A.D.2d 756, 526 N.Y.S.2d 569, lv. denied 72 N.Y.2d 866, 532 N.Y.S.2d 516, 528 N.E.2d 906). Probable cause to arrest the defendant existed upon the discovery of a knife in his pocket (see, CPL 140.10 People v. De Bour, supra; People v. Cantor, 36...
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