| People v Booker |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 05698 [64 AD3d 899] |
| July 9, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v JonathonBooker, Appellant. |
—[*1] Gwen Wilkinson, District Attorney, Ithaca (Michael Carman of counsel), forrespondent.
Garry, J. Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Tompkins County (Sherman, J.),rendered September 11, 2008, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crimes ofrobbery in the second degree (four counts), burglary in the third degree, grand larceny in thefourth degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree.
In two separate incidents occurring on the same day in the same part of the City of Ithaca,Tompkins County, victims reported that they were robbed at gunpoint by two black men. One ofthe victims pursued the men and saw them get into the back seat of a white vehicle that hedescribed as similar in model and style to a Chevrolet HRR. The victim jumped onto the car'shood and pounded it with his fist. He saw two white women in the front seat; he recognized thepassenger and was able to give a specific description to the police.
Police investigators determined that the detailed description of this passenger's appearancematched that of a woman whom police had recently stopped while driving a white PT Cruiser, avehicle similar in body type and style to that described by the victim. Approximately 15 hoursafter the second burglary, police officers went to an apartment complex frequented by thiswoman. In the parking lot, they found and photographed a white PT Cruiser with a small dent onthe hood, as well as smears appearing to be fingermarks. Shortly thereafter, officers saw thesame vehicle—now occupied by several people—being operated on a nearby street.They [*2]stopped the vehicle, which proved to contain two blackmen, one of whom was defendant, and a white man in the back seat. Two white women were inthe front, one of whom was the woman previously stopped by the police. Defendant and theother occupants, except for the white male, were arrested. The vehicle was searched with theconsent of the woman who had rented it. Inside a backpack in the car, police found a pellet gunand a stolen laptop computer.
After his indictment, defendant moved, among other things, to suppress the physicalevidence obtained as a result of the vehicle search, as well as statements he made to police.County Court denied the motion following a hearing. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty tofour counts of robbery in the second degree and one count each of burglary in the third degree,grand larceny in the fourth degree, and conspiracy in the fourth degree. He now appeals,contending that the vehicle stop and the subsequent search were unlawful.
To stop a vehicle lawfully, police must have "at least a reasonable suspicion that itsoccupants had been, are then, or are about to be, engaged in conduct in violation of law"(People v Sobotker, 43 NY2d 559, 563 [1978] [emphasis omitted]; see People v Wallace, 53 AD3d795, 796 [2008], lv denied 11 NY3d 795 [2008]). Reasonable suspicion is " 'thequantum of knowledge sufficient to induce an ordinarily prudent and cautious [person] under thecircumstances to believe that criminal activity is at hand' " (People v Sobotker, 43 NY2dat 564, quoting People v Cantor, 36 NY2d 106, 112-113, [1975]). We agree with CountyCourt that the police had reasonable suspicion to believe that the occupants of the PT Cruiser hadbeen involved in unlawful conduct, based on its similarity in color, body type, and style to thevehicle involved in the robbery, the marks on its hood, and the physical resemblance between thevictim's description of the woman involved in the robbery and the woman police had previouslystopped while operating a similar vehicle. Thus, the stop was proper (see People vWallace, 53 AD3d at 796; People v Swanston, 277 AD2d 600, 602 [2000], lvdenied 96 NY2d 739 [2001]). Further, defendant's warrantless arrest was supported byprobable cause (see People v De Bour, 40 NY2d 210, 223 [1976]; People vSwanston, 277 AD2d at 602-603; see also CPL 140.10 [1] [b]). Considering all ofthe circumstances, police had " 'information sufficient to support a reasonable belief' " thatdefendant had committed a crime (People v Shulman, 6 NY3d 1, 25 [2005], quoting People vBigelow, 66 NY2d 417, 423 [1985]; accord People v Tillman, 57 AD3d 1021, 1021-1023 [2008]).
Cardona, P.J., Spain, Rose and Kane, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.