People v. Plumley

• Decision Date: 15 November 2013
• Citation: 111 A.D.3d 1418,975 N.Y.S.2d 309,2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 07624
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Michael PLUMLEY, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

111 A.D.3d 1418

975 N.Y.S.2d 309

2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 07624

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.Michael PLUMLEY, Defendant–Appellant.

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

Nov. 15, 2013.

Erickson Webb Scolton & Hajdu, Lakewood (Lyle T. Hajdu of Counsel), for Defendant–Appellant.

Michael Plumley, Defendant–Appellant pro se.

David W. Foley, District Attorney, Mayville (Laurie M. Beckerink of Counsel), for Respondent.

PRESENT: SMITH, J.P., CENTRA, FAHEY, CARNI AND WHALEN, JJ.

MEMORANDUM:

Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty of robbery in the first degree (Penal Law § 160.15[1] ). We reject defendant's contention that County Court erred in refusing to suppress physical evidence seized by the police from the bedroom and an adjoining room in an apartment in which defendant had stayed. “It is well established that the police need not procure a warrant in order to conduct a lawful search when they have obtained the voluntary consent of a party possessing the requisite authority or control over the premises or property to be inspected” (People v. Adams, 53 N.Y.2d 1, 8, 439 N.Y.S.2d 877, 422 N.E.2d 537, rearg. denied54 N.Y.2d 832, 443 N.Y.S.2d 1031, 427 N.E.2d 1192, cert. denied454 U.S. 854, 102 S.Ct. 301, 70 L.Ed.2d 148; see People v. Cosme, 48 N.Y.2d 286, 290, 422 N.Y.S.2d 652, 397 N.E.2d 1319). Thus, “ ‘where two or more individuals share a common right of access to or control of the property to be searched, any one of them has the authority to consent to a warrantless search in the absence of the others' ” (People v. Rivera, 83 A.D.3d 1370, 1372, 919 N.Y.S.2d 691, lv. denied17 N.Y.3d 904, 933 N.Y.S.2d 659, 957 N.E.2d 1163, quoting Cosme, 48 N.Y.2d at 290, 422 N.Y.S.2d 652, 397 N.E.2d 1319).

Here, the People met their burden of establishing that the police reasonably believed that the lessee of the subject apartment had the authority to consent to the search of the apartment, including the areas of the apartment from which the physical evidence was seized ( see People v. Smith, 101 A.D.3d 1794, 1794, 958 N.Y.S.2d 253, lv. denied20 N.Y.3d 1104, 965 N.Y.S.2d 800, 988 N.E.2d 538; see also Adams, 53 N.Y.2d at 9–10, 439 N.Y.S.2d 877, 422 N.E.2d 537; see generally People v. Berrios, 28 N.Y.2d 361, 367, 321 N.Y.S.2d 884, 270 N.E.2d 709). Indeed, the police searched the apartment pursuant to a waiver that was voluntarily signed by the lessee of that premises, and the bedroom and an adjoining room from which the physical evidence was seized were areas that were accessible to everyone in the apartment. Specifically, the evidence establishes that there was no door to the bedroom, and that the adjacent room at issue was connected to the bedroom by “an open doorway.”

Defendant appears to contend that we should also consider whether the police had consent to search the bags found within the rooms at issue. Although defendant relies on case law containing the well-settled principle that general consent granted by someone other than a defendant to search a premises does not validate the search of something used exclusively by the defendant for personal effects, i.e., a drawer, bag or similar item ( see People v. Holmes, 89 A.D.3d 1491, 1492, 932 N.Y.S.2d 270; see also People v. Gonzalez, 88 N.Y.2d 289, 294–295, 644 N.Y.S.2d 673, 667 N.E.2d 323), that reliance is misplaced inasmuch as there is no evidence that the police seized anything from the apartment that was stored inside of a bag. Although the police officer who testified on behalf of the People at the suppression hearing acknowledged that there were bags in the area that was searched, he provided no indication that such bags were opened or that evidence was taken from those bags. We thus conclude that the People met “the burden of going forward to show the legality of the police conduct in the first instance” (Berrios, 28 N.Y.2d at 367, 321 N.Y.S.2d 884, 270 N.E.2d 709 [internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted] ), and that defendant otherwise failed to meet his “ultimate burden of proving that the [seized] evidence should not be used against him” ( id.).

We also reject defendant's contention that the court erred in refusing to suppress evidence of the victim's identification of him. Contrary to defendant's contention, “the subjects depicted in the photo array are sufficiently similar in appearance so that the viewer's attention is not drawn to any one photograph in such a way as to indicate that the police were urging a particular selection” (People v. Quinones, 5 A.D.3d 1093, 1093, 773 N.Y.S.2d 671, lv. denied3 N.Y.3d 646, 782 N.Y.S.2d 417, 816 N.E.2d 207; see People v. Page, 105 A.D.3d 1380, 1382, 964 N.Y.S.2d 339). The fact that defendant is the only person in the photo array wearing a red shirt is of no moment inasmuch as defendant was not the only person shown wearing a dark-colored shirt, defendant was not shown in a shirt similar to the white thermal shirt that he was wearing for a prior showup identification, and shirt color was not a part of the description of the assailant that the victim provided to the police ( see People v. Bell, 19 A.D.3d 1074, 1075, 796 N.Y.S.2d 464, lv. denied5 N.Y.3d 803, 803 N.Y.S.2d 32, 836 N.E.2d 1155; People v. Porter, 2 A.D.3d 1429, 1430, 768 N.Y.S.2d 905, lv. denied2 N.Y.3d 744, 778 N.Y.S.2d 470, 810 N.E.2d 923). Contrary to defendant's further contention, the fact that the severely injured...