People v. Hunter
| Decision Date | 23 March 2000 |
| Citation | 705 N.Y.S.2d 118,270 A.D.2d 712 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,<BR>v.<BR>TRACEY K. HUNTER, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Defendant was charged in a two-count indictment with the crimes of forgery in the second degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree. The charges stem from allegations that he provided a stolen credit card to another individual who attempted to use it to purchase merchandise at a department store. Defendant moved to suppress certain oral and written statements he made to police on the ground that, inter alia, his arrest outside the department store was not supported by probable cause. County Court denied the motion after a hearing and defendant ultimately pleaded guilty to the crime of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree in full satisfaction of the indictment. He was sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement as a second felony offender to a prison term of 2 to 4 years. Defendant appeals, challenging County Court's suppression ruling that the police had probable cause to arrest him for theft of services.
The suppression hearing testimony credited by County Court established that, on the evening in question, a police officer responded to a radio report that a taxicab driver parked outside a department store was experiencing difficulty obtaining payment from his passenger. Upon arriving at the scene, the taxicab driver informed the police officer that the passenger, defendant, could not pay the fare and had been waiting in the taxicab for a significant period of time for a second passenger— who had entered the department store—to return and pay the fare. The taxicab driver, based upon a belief that the second passenger was not going to return, expressed interest in filing theft of services charges (see, Penal Law § 165.15 [3]), prompting the police officer to request that defendant step out of the taxicab and identify himself.
While the police officer was interviewing defendant, the department store manager approached the police officer regarding an individual inside the store who had attempted to use a stolen credit card. When store security officers brought the individual outside, the taxicab driver identified him as the second passenger who had exited the taxicab. The individual stated that he obtained the stolen credit card from defendant, at which point defendant stated that the credit card belonged to a relative. Defendant then agreed to accompany the police officer to the department store's security office where, after it was ascertained that the credit card had been reported stolen, defendant was formally arrested and provided a written inculpatory...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Holton, 107816
...A.D.3d 1103, 1106, 987 N.Y.S.2d 660 [2014], lv denied26 N.Y.3d 925, 17 N.Y.S.3d 88, 38 N.E.3d 834 [2015] ; People v. Hunter,270 A.D.2d 712, 713, 705 N.Y.S.2d 118 [2000] ). Nevertheless, deferring to County Court's credibility determinations, the correction officers' testimony established th......
-
People v. Vazquez
...marks, brackets and citations omitted], lvs. denied 22 N.Y.3d 957, 977 N.Y.S.2d 188, 999 N.E.2d 553 [2013] ; see People v. Hunter, 270 A.D.2d 712, 713, 705 N.Y.S.2d 118 [2000] ). The court determined that defendant's claims that he did not receive Miranda warnings and that the investigator ......