People v. Williams
| Decision Date | 24 June 1975 |
| Citation | 371 N.Y.S.2d 880,37 N.Y.2d 206,333 N.E.2d 160 |
| Parties | , 333 N.E.2d 160 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Charles WILLIAMS, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Zenaida Drabkin and Jesse Siskind, New York City, for appellant.
Mario Merola, Dist. Atty. (Robert M. Moll, New York City, of counsel), for respondent.
Order, of the Appellate Division reversed, the plea of guilty and judgment of conviction vacated, the motion insofar as it sought to suppress physical evidence granted, and the action remitted to Supreme Court for appropriate proceedings. Defendant was arrested and handcuffed in the hallway adjoining the door of his apartment, or immediately inside the door in the foyer. The police, without a warrant, proceeded nevertheless to search defendant's living room and bedroom seeking the stolen television set. The television set was not found, but in the bedroom the police found an imitation pistol similar to that used in the robbery lying in 'plain view' in a partially-open dresser drawer. The search was not conducted pursuant to a valid search warrant, or incidental to the completed arrest outside the searched premises, or with defendant's consent. Thus, the physical evidence seized should be suppressed because it was the product of an illegal search, although the arrest was proper (see Agnello v. United States, 269 U.S. 20, 33, 46 S.Ct. 4, 70 L.Ed. 145; Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 763, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685; cf. People v. Loria, 10 N.Y.2d 368, 373--374, 223 N.Y.S.2d 462, 466--467, 179 N.E.2d 478, 482).
Order reversed, plea of guilty and judgment of conviction vacated, motion insofar as it sought to suppress physical evidence granted, and case remitted to Supreme Court, Bronx County, for further proceedings in accordance with the memorandum herein.
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