People v. Spradlin

• Decision Date: 11 March 2021
• Docket Number: 111253,110871
• Citation: 192 A.D.3d 1270,143 N.Y.S.3d 155
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Benjamin SPRADLIN, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

192 A.D.3d 1270

143 N.Y.S.3d 155

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,

v.Benjamin SPRADLIN, Appellant.

110871

111253

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

Calendar Date: January 14, 2021

Decided and Entered: March 11, 2021

Teresa C. Mulliken, Harpersfield, for appellant.

Matthew Van Houten, District Attorney, Ithaca (Andrew J. Bonavia of counsel), for respondent.

Before: Garry, P.J., Lynch, Clark, Aarons and Colangelo, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Colangelo, J.

Appeals (1) from a judgment of the County Court of Tompkins County (Miller, J.), rendered April 6, 2018, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of robbery in the first degree, and (2) by permission, from an order of said court, entered May 7, 2019, which denied defendant's motion pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacate the judgment of conviction, without a hearing.

In December 2016, defendant was charged by indictment with robbery in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. The charges stemmed from allegations that defendant unlawfully entered a home located in the Town of Enfield, Tompkins County, and stole money from two victims at gunpoint, after which time the victims identified defendant as the perpetrator in a show-up identification procedure. Prior to defendant's arrest, law enforcement identified defendant, who they suspected was the perpetrator, riding in the back seat of a pickup truck, stopped and searched that pickup truck and seized a jacket matching the victims' description of the jacket that the perpetrator had been wearing during the home invasion.

Defendant subsequently moved to suppress the identification as unduly suggestive, as well as the stop and seizure of the pickup truck, his person and the jacket. Following a suppression hearing, County Court found that, although the show-up procedure was unduly suggestive and evidence regarding the show-up was therefore inadmissible at trial, the People established by clear and convincing evidence that the victims had an independent recollection from the robbery to make an in-court identification of defendant at trial. County Court also denied that portion of defendant's motion seeking suppression of the results of the search and the seizure. Thereafter, defendant, in full satisfaction of the indictment, pleaded guilty to robbery in the first degree. Consistent with the terms of the plea agreement, defendant was sentenced, as a second felony offender, to a prison term of eight years to be followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Defendant's subsequent pro se motion pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacate his judgment of conviction was denied by County Court without a hearing. Defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction and, by permission, from the denial of his CPL article 440 motion.

Defendant argues that, although County Court properly found that the show-up procedure was unduly suggestive, County Court erred in finding that the People had proven by clear and convincing evidence that the victims had an independent recollection of the perpetrator to make an in-court identification of defendant. We disagree. Where a defendant has shown that a pretrial identification procedure was unduly suggestive, the People have the burden to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that an in-court identification is derived from the witness's independent recollection – often called "independent source" evidence ( People v. Marte, 12 N.Y.3d 583, 586, 884 N.Y.S.2d 205, 912 N.E.2d 37 [2009] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted], cert denied 559 U.S. 941, 130 S.Ct. 1501, 176 L.Ed.2d 117 [2010] ; see People v. Adams, 53 N.Y.2d 241, 251, 440 N.Y.S.2d 902, 423 N.E.2d 379 [1981] ; People v. Gray, 135 A.D.3d 874, 874, 23 N.Y.S.3d 373 [2016], lv denied 27 N.Y.3d 998, 38 N.Y.S.3d 107, 59 N.E.3d 1219 [2016] ; People v. Bateman, 124 A.D.3d 983, 984, 999 N.Y.S.2d 614 [2015], lv denied 25 N.Y.3d 949, 7 N.Y.S.3d 278, 30 N.E.3d 169 [2015] ; People v. Smith, 122 A.D.3d 1162, 1163, 997 N.Y.S.2d 534 [2014] ). "The independent observation must be reliable under the totality of the circumstances" ( People v. Gray, 135 A.D.3d at 874, 23 N.Y.S.3d 373 ; see People v. Adelman, 36 A.D.3d 926, 927, 828 N.Y.S.2d 555 [2007], lv denied 9 N.Y.3d 872, 842 N.Y.S.2d 784, 874 N.E.2d 751 [2007] ). "[F]actors to be considered in evaluating the likelihood of misidentification include the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime, the witness' degree of attention, the accuracy of the witness' prior description of the criminal, the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation, and the length of time between the crime and the confrontation" ( Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 199–200, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 [1972] ; see People v. Carson, 122 A.D.3d 1391, 1391, 997 N.Y.S.2d 881 [2014], lv denied 25 N.Y.3d 1161, 15 N.Y.S.3d 293, 36 N.E.3d 96 [2015] ).

Here, the victims' testimony at the suppression hearing established that, although the perpetrator had partially covered his lower face with his arm during the crime, they had observed his gender, race, approximate height, multiple distinctive facial features, and unique jacket after observing him face-to-face, at very close range in well-lit surroundings during the commission of the crime, for a period of several minutes (see People v. Small, 110 A.D.3d 1106, 1106–1107, 973 N.Y.S.2d 796 [2013], lv denied 22 N.Y.3d 1043, 981 N.Y.S.2d 377, 4 N.E.3d 389 [2013] ; People v. Lopez, 85 A.D.3d 1641, 1642, 924 N.Y.S.2d 871 [2011], lv denied 17 N.Y.3d 860, 932 N.Y.S.2d 25, 956 N.E.2d 806 [2011] ). Defendant emphasized, both at the hearing and upon this appeal, that the victims failed to note a distinctive facial feature, i.e., a flesh colored bump on his forehead. Upon review, we do not find this argument persuasive, but instead agree with County Court that the inconsistencies in such details could be developed at trial and considered by the jury (see People v. Adams, 53 N.Y.2d at 251, 440 N.Y.S.2d 902, 423 N.E.2d 379 ; People v. Hosannah, 178 A.D.3d 1074, 1076, 117 N.Y.S.3d 60 [2019], lv denied 35 N.Y.3d 942, 124 N.Y.S.3d 300, 147 N.E.3d 570 [2020] ). Accordingly, we find that the court, which reviewed the appropriate factors (see Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. at 199–200, 93 S.Ct. 375 ; People v. Lopez, 85 A.D.3d at 1641, 924 N.Y.S.2d 871 ), properly determined that the People established by clear and convincing evidence that the victims' observations during the commission of the crime provided an independent basis for their in-court identification of defendant (see People v. Hosannah, 178 A.D.3d at 1076, 117 N.Y.S.3d 60 ; People v. Vazquez, 175 A.D.3d 1822, 1823, 107 N.Y.S.3d 767 [2019], lv denied 34 N.Y.3d 1082, 116 N.Y.S.3d 137, 139 N.E.3d 795 [2019] ; People v. Gray, 135 A.D.3d at 874, 23 N.Y.S.3d 373 ; People v. Small, 110 A.D.3d at 1106–1107, 973 N.Y.S.2d 796 ; People v. Lopez, 85 A.D.3d at 1642, 924 N.Y.S.2d 871 ; People v. Mosley, 110 A.D.2d 937, 938–939, 488 N.Y.S.2d 92 [1985] ).¹

We reject defendant's contention that County Court erred in denying his CPL 440.10 motion to vacate his judgment of conviction. "The purpose served by a CPL article 440 motion is to inform a court of facts not reflected in the record and unknown at the time of the judgment. By its very nature, the procedure cannot be used as a vehicle for an additional appeal" ( People v. Spradlin, 188 A.D.3d 1454, 1460, 136 N.Y.S.3d 517 [2020] [internal quotation marks, brackets and citations omitted]). A motion to vacate a judgment of conviction made pursuant to CPL article 440 must be denied when "[t]he judgment is, at the time of the motion, appealable or pending on appeal, and sufficient facts appear on the record with respect to the ground or issue raised upon the motion to permit adequate review thereof upon such an appeal" ( CPL 440.10[2][b] ; see People v. Drayton, 189 A.D.3d 1888, 1891, 138 N.Y.S.3d 275 [2020] ; People v. Spradlin, 188 A.D.3d at 1460, 136 N.Y.S.3d 517 ; People v. Trombley, 91 A.D.3d 1197, 1203, 937 N.Y.S.2d 665 [2012], lv denied 21 N.Y.3d 914, 966 N.Y.S.2d 366, 988 N.E.2d 895 [2013] ). "Upon considering the merits of the motion, the court may deny it without conducting a hearing if ... [t]he moving papers do not allege any ground constituting legal basis for the motion" ( CPL 440.30[4][a] ; see People v. Jones, 24 N.Y.3d 623, 634–635, 2 N.Y.S.3d 815, 26 N.E.3d 754 [2014] ; People v. Spradlin, 188 A.D.3d at 1460, 136 N.Y.S.3d 517 ). "[W]hether a defendant is entitled to a hearing on a CPL 440.10 motion is a discretionary determination ... that is subject to [appellate] review for an abuse of discretion" ( People v. Jones, 24 N.Y.3d at 635, 2 N.Y.S.3d 815, 26 N.E.3d 754 ).

The majority of the claims that defendant raises in his appeal from the denial of his CPL 440.10 motion — to wit, defendant's challenge to the permitted in-court identification and the search and seizure of his person and the jacket — are based on facts that were either apparent from the face...