People v. Knupp

• Decision Date: 15 March 2018
• Docket Number: Ind. 390/15,6003,6002
• Citation: 72 N.Y.S.3d 74,159 A.D.3d 510
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Christopher KNUPP, et al., Defendant–Respondent. The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v. Sean McCants, Defendant–Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

159 A.D.3d 510
72 N.Y.S.3d 74

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Appellant,
v.
Christopher KNUPP, et al., Defendant–Respondent.

The People of the State of New York, Appellant,
v.
Sean McCants, Defendant–Respondent.

6002
6003
Ind. 390/15

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

ENTERED: MARCH 15, 2018

Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Paul A. Andersen of counsel), for appellant.

Christina Swarns, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York (Kami Lizarraga of counsel), for Christopher Knupp, respondent.

Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Rachel T. Goldberg of counsel), and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, New York (Jesse Feitel of counsel), for Sean McCants, respondent.

Acosta, P.J., Richter, Kapnick, Kahn, Gesmer, JJ.

159 A.D.3d 510

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (April A. Newbauer, J.), entered July 27, 2016, which granted both defendants' motions to suppress physical evidence and defendant Christopher Knupp's motion to suppress his written statement, unanimously affirmed.

There is no basis for disturbing the suppression court's credibility determinations, which are accorded great deference (see People v. Prochilo, 41 N.Y.2d 759, 761, 395 N.Y.S.2d 635, 363 N.E.2d 1380 [1977] ). The record supports the court's finding that the officer's conclusory and sometimes contradictory testimony failed to establish that he stopped the car defendant McCants was driving, in which defendant Knupps was a passenger, because the officer reasonably believed that McCants was guilty of reckless driving (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1212 ; People v. Guthrie, 25 N.Y.3d 130, 8 N.Y.S.3d 237, 30 N.E.3d 880 [2015] ; People v. Robinson, 97 N.Y.2d 341, 348–349, 741 N.Y.S.2d 147, 767 N.E.2d 638 [2001] ; see also Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 809–810, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 [1996] ).

Reckless driving is defined as "driving or using any motor vehicle ... in a manner which unreasonably interferes with the free and proper use of the public highway, or unreasonably endangers users of the public highway" ( Vehicle...