People v. Hines
| Decision Date | 09 December 2019 |
| Docket Number | Indictment 19-0181 |
| Citation | 2019 NY Slip Op 34387 (U) |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK v. WILLIAM HINES, Defendant. |
| Court | New York County Court |
2019 NY Slip Op 34387(U)
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
v.
WILLIAM HINES, Defendant.
Indictment No. 19-0181
County Court, Westchester County
December 9, 2019
Unpublished Opinion
HON. ANTHONY SCARPINO District Attorney,
BRENDAN O'MEARA Counsel to Defendant William Hines
DECISION AND ORDER
HON. ANNE E. MINIHAN, A.J.S.C.
The defendant is charged by consolidated Indictment Number 19-0181 with robbery in the 2nd degree (Penal Law § l60.10[2a]), assault in the 2nd degree (Penal Law § 120.05[6]), grand larceny in the 4th degree (Penal Law § 155.30[5]), criminal possession of stolen property in the 5thdegree (Penal Law § 165.40 [5]), criminal trespass in the 3rd degree (Penal Law § 140.10[c]), and robbery in the 3rd degree (Penal Law, §160.05). The People allege that on February 4, 2019, at approximately 12:30 a.m. in the area of 140 Elm Street in the City of Yonkers, in the County of Westchester, in the State of New York, that the defendant, William Hines did forcibly steal property from Israel Andres Garcia and that in the course of this incident, he repeatedly punched Mr. Garcia, causing him physical injury. They allege further that on January 6, 2019, at approximately 5:30 p.m., in the area of Palisades Avenue in the City of Yonkers, that the defendant, William Hines stole money from the hand of Juan Soriano, that he possessed this stolen money with the intent to benefit himself or someone other than the owner or to impede the recovery of that money by Mr. Soriano. They further allege that after fleeing Palisade Avenue, the defendant knowingly entered and remained unlawfully at 8 Schroeder Street in Yonkers, which is properly used as a public housing project, and that in so doing he violated the "No Trespassing" signs which were conspicuously posted around the property. Finally, the People allege that on February 12, 2019, at approximately 8:00 p.m., in the area of Ashburton Avenue in the City of Yonkers, that the defendant, William Hines did forcibly steal money from the person of Guardial Singh.
Defendant, claiming to be aggrieved by the improper or unlawful acquisition of evidence, has moved to suppress five noticed identifications of him made by witnesses, three by way of photographic array and two by showup identifications. The defendant has further moved to suppress three noticed statements as well as the seizure of evidence from his person. He also seeks a pre-trial Sandoval ruling by the court.
By Decision and Order dated May 28, 2019, this court (Fufidio, J., ) granted so much of the defendant's omnibus motion on Indictment Number 19-0089 as sought suppression of physical evidence seized from the defendant as well as the suppression of noticed statements and identifications to the extent that Mapp/Dunaway, Huntley, and Wade hearings were ordered to be held prior to trial. Thereafter, the defendant filed an omnibus motion with respect to Indictment Number 19-0181. The People moved to consolidate the indictments and consented to so much of the defendant's motion for omnibus relief under Indictment Number 19-0181 as sought pre-trial hearings on suppression of physical evidence and noticed statements and identifications. By Decisions and Orders dated November 29, 2019, this court granted the People's application to consolidate and directed that combined pre-trial Mappl Dunaway, Huntley, and Wade hearings be held with respect to those hearings ordered under the Decision and Order dated May 28, 2019 (Indictment Number 19-0089) as well as those ordered under the Decision and Order dated November 29, 2018 (Indictment Number 19-0181).
On December 5, 2019, these hearings were held before this court[1] at which the People called 8 witnesses from the Yonkers Police Department: Sergeant Andrew Lane, Sergeant Victoria Kusick, Detective John Viviano, Officer Joseph Parrella, Detective Adam Walencik, Detective Christopher Detz, Detective Stephen Sokolik, and Detective Sergeant Louis Venturino. Received into evidence at the hearing were two photograph array packets. The defendant neither called witnesses nor offered evidence.
The court finds the testimony offered by the People's witness to be plausible, candid, and fully credible and makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.
FINDINGS of FACT
On January 6, 2019 at approximately 5:50 p.m., Sergeant Andrew Lane and his partner received a dispatch call to report to the scene of a robbery that had just occurred on or near Palisade Avenue and Walsh Road in Yonkers. The dispatcher, who was still speaking with the 911 caller while they were driving to the area, redirected them en route to 3 Schroeder Street where they encountered Juan Soriano who reported having just been robbed by a six foot tall black man wearing a camouflage jacket, blue jeans, and a red hat. Either Sergeant Lane or his partner put the description of the perpetrator on the radio before they left Mr. Soriano in the care of other officers in order to canvass the area. During the canvass, they located and detained an individual while entering the rear gate of the housing complex at 8 Schroeder Street. Although it was dark by that time, street lights illuminated the area. The defendant, the suspect who was detained, matched the physical description given by Mr. Soriano and was wearing a camouflage
jacket and blue jeans. Two minutes later[2], Mr. Soriano was brought to their Schroeder Street location and, after making a positive identification of the defendant as the individual who had robbed him, the defendant was placed under arrest. It was Sergeant Lane's recollection that the defendant was reasonably cooperative during this time period and that they had positioned the defendant on the sidewalk in a way that he could not leave but the sergeant could not remember whether the defendant was in handcuffs or whether there were other people around when the showup identification occurred. A search incident to the defendant's arrest yielded $14 and various personal effects.
Sergeant Victoria Kusick was working that same evening as a patrol sergeant when the robbery call came in. She responded to 3 Schroeder Street and spoke with Mr. Soriano and, while there, learned that someone matching the description given by Mr. Soriano had been detained at the rear of the Schroeder Street complex. Sergeant Kusick brought Mr. Soriano, who had told her that he believed he could identify the person who had taken his money, to the nearby area where the suspect had been detained. Once there, she found Sergeant Lane together with his partner and a detained individual. She estimated the distance between her patrol car and the area where the suspect was standing to be about fifteen feet. Sergeant Kusick testified that the officers were standing close and next to the suspect. Like Sergeant Lane, Sergeant Kusick was also unable to recall whether there were other people in the area and whether there was an officer on both sides of the suspect. Without question or prompting, Mr. Soriano said, upon seeing the defendant, "That's him."
On February 4, 2019 at approximately 12:35 a.m., Detective John Viviano, assigned to the Major Case Squad, received a call from patrol about a robbery and assault that had occurred in the.area of 136 Elm Street. Officers told him that the victim, Israel Andres Garcia, had been taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and in response, Detective Viviano interviewed him but he was unable to identify the perpetrator. Detective Viviano was aware that other witnesses to this incident, Alexander Pinto and Fanny Cano, had identified the defendant as the individual who had robbed and assaulted Mr. Garcia. While he initially could not recall having been involved in the identification procedures in this case, once his recollection was refreshed, testified that on February 13, 2019, he had prepared the array that had been shown to Mr. Pinto (People's exhibit 26). Detective Viviano testified that he obtained the photographs that were used in the array by putting a description into the system which usually produced about 100 photographs to choose from. Once the array was completed, he gave the array to Detective Stephen Sokolik and it was his belief that the array was shown to Mr. Pinto that same day. He left blank the page in the array packet where the names of the individuals depicted in the filler photographs are placed and, after the array was used, he put the names on the form.
On February 12, 2019 at approximately 8:06 p.m., Police Officer Joseph Parrella received the call reporting the robbery of an elderly man in at 109 Ashburton Avenue in Yonkers. The description of the perpetrator, which derived from the 911 caller, was a black male wearing a burgundy colored jacket who was seen fleeing the area. About a minute after receiving the call, while he and his partner were en route to the area where the robbery had been reported, he was flagged down by (Kareema) Braxton who was with the elderly victim of that robbery. He learned at about this time that someone matching the description had been detained nearby at the intersection of Palisades Avenue and Walsh Road and he asked Ms. Braxton if she thought she could identify the suspect. When Ms. Braxton indicated that she could, they went to the location where the suspect had been detained and, on the way, Officer Parrella told her that if the person she saw was the perpetrator, she should tell him and if he was not, she should tell him that too. The officer recalled that Ms. Braxton gave him the impression that she knew the suspect from Schroeder Street and that she referred to him by a nickname. Once at the location, which was about a block from where he first encountered Ms. Braxton, he observed the defendant with Sergeant Kusick and other officers and he testified that the appearance of the defendant appeared to match the description that had been given of the suspect. Officer Parrella...
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