People v. Sauger
| Decision Date | 14 July 1977 |
| Citation | 58 A.D.2d 919,396 N.Y.S.2d 910 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Charles SAUGER, Jr., Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Alexander W. Luckanick, Binghamton, for appellant.
Patrick D. Monserrate, Broome County Dist. Atty., Binghamton (Patrick H. Mathews, Binghamton, of counsel), for respondent.
Before KOREMAN, P. J., and GREENBLOTT, MAIN, LARKIN and HERLIHY, JJ.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Broome County, rendered June 14, 1974, convicting defendant on his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
During the early morning hours of February 8, 1973, two New York State troopers observed the car operated by the defendant as it made erratic movements while proceeding along the Stella Ireland Road in Broome County. The troopers stopped the defendant's vehicle and, while Trooper Clark asked the defendant for his operator's license and registration, Trooper Micilcavage, with the aid of a flashlight, observed the interior of the defendant's vehicle. He then advised Trooper Clark that he had observed what he thought to be the remains of a marijuana cigarette (a roach). Clark's observation roused the same suspicions and Trooper Micilcavage reached into the vehicle and removed the roach and, after close observations, the officers' suspicions were confirmed and the defendant was arrested and advised of his rights. A body search of the defendant produced, inter alia, several rounds of .22 calibre ammunition. Search of the vehicle produced nothing, but a search of the ground area near the left rear of the vehicle where the defendant had been standing produced a loaded .22 calibre handgun for which the defendant had no permit.
The defendant's subsequent motion to suppress the evidence seized was denied, whereupon the defendant pled guilty to the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree (Penal Law 265.05, subd. (2)), a class D felony, and was sentenced to a conditional discharge for a period of three years. On appeal, the defendant asserts that there was no probable cause to arrest him and that it was error not to exclude the evidence seized because the search was illegal. We disagree.
While it is true that an automobile may not be lawfully stopped upon the public highway because of whim, caprice or idle curiosity (People v. Ingle, 36 N.Y.2d 413, 420, 369 N.Y.S.2d 67, 74, 330 N.E.2d 39, 44), it is equally true that it is enough if the stop is based upon "specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant (the) intrusion" (Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1880, 20 L.Ed.2d 889; People v. Singleton, 41 N.Y.2d 402, 404, 393 N.Y.S.2d 353, 355, 361 N.E.2d 1003, 1005; see also, People v. Prochilo, 41 N.Y.2d 759, 395 N.Y.S.2d 635, 363 N.E.2d 1380 (1977)). Put more simply, a motor vehicle on a public highway may be stopped only where the officer has specific cause or reasonable suspicion...
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People v. Belton
...driver had been arrested for driving while impaired and after pills were found during a search of his person (see also, People v. Sauger, 58 A.D.2d 919, 396 N.Y.S.2d 910; People v. Mangan, 55 A.D.2d 247, 249, 390 N.Y.S.2d 384, The officer's search of defendant's jacket which he found in the......
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U.S. v. Ramirez
...conditional discharge for misdemeanor convictions), or indeed, for a felony, see N.Y. Penal Law § 65.05(3)(a); People v. Sauger, 58 A.D.2d 919, 396 N.Y.S.2d 910, 911 (1977) (noting that defendant received conditional discharge for felony conviction). Of course, misdemeanor and felony convic......
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People v. Jenkins
...Hartman was entitled to examine further (see People v. Rowell, 27 N.Y.2d 691, 314 N.Y.S.2d 10, 262 N.E.2d 217; People v. Sauger, 58 A.D.2d 919, 396 N.Y.S.2d 910; cf. United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427; United States v. Ochs, 595 F.2d 1247, 1256-1258 (2d Ci......
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People v. Terrero
...the Trooper to direct defendant out of the car and provided probable cause to place him under arrest ( see, People v. Sauger, 58 A.D.2d 919, 920, 396 N.Y.S.2d 910; see also, People v. Schobert, 93 A.D.2d 949, 950, 463 N.Y.S.2d 277). As in People v. Sauger (supra), the full search of defenda......