| People v Brown |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 08401 [67 AD3d 1439] |
| November 13, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v DariusBrown, Appellant. |
—[*1] Michael C. Green, District Attorney, Rochester (Stephen X. O'Brien of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Monroe County (Joseph D. Valentino, J.),rendered August 17, 2006. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, ofcriminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty ofcriminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (Penal Law § 265.02 [former (4)]),defendant contends that Supreme Court erred in refusing to suppress the gun found on his personand his statements to the police on the ground that he was unlawfully detained. Contrary todefendant's contention, we conclude that the police officer had a founded suspicion that criminalactivity was afoot and thus was justified, based on a common-law right of inquiry, in orderingdefendant to stop walking away from him (see generally People v Bora, 83 NY2d 531,534-536 [1994]; People v De Bour, 40 NY2d 210, 223 [1976]). The People thereforesustained their burden at the suppression hearing "of going forward to show the legality of thepolice conduct in the first instance" (People v Di Stefano, 38 NY2d 640, 652 [1976]).We further conclude that defendant's flight when approached by the officer, in conjunction withthe attendant circumstances, gave rise to the requisite reasonable suspicion justifying policepursuit (see People v Martinez, 59AD3d 1071, 1072 [2009], lv denied 12 NY3d 856 [2009]). Present—Scudder,P.J., Centra, Fahey, Green and Gorski, JJ.