People v Caicedo
2010 NY Slip Op 00699 [69 AD3d 954]
January 26, 2010
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, March 10, 2010


The People of the State of New York,Respondent,
v
Thomas Caicedo, Appellant.

[*1]Seiff Kretz & Abercrombie, New York, N.Y. (Eric A. Seiff of counsel), for appellant.

Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, JeanetteLifschitz, and Howard McCallum of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Knopf, J.),rendered December 6, 2007, convicting him of criminal possession of a weapon in the seconddegree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree (two counts), upon a jury verdict,and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing (O'Dwyer,J.H.O.), of that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress physicalevidence.

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

In order to justify a frisk or "pat-down" of a suspect's outer clothing, a police officer musthave "knowledge of some fact or circumstance that supports a reasonable suspicion that thesuspect is armed or poses a threat to safety" (People v Batista, 88 NY2d 650, 654 [1996];see People v De Bour, 40 NY2d 210, 223 [1976]; CPL 140.50 [1], [3]). Contrary to thedefendant's contention, the police officer who attempted to pat down his right jacket pocket hadreason to suspect that he was armed (see People v Mims, 32 AD3d 800 [2006];People v Robinson, 278 AD2d 808, 809 [2000]; People v Pettis, 195 AD2d 421,422 [1993]). Accordingly, the judicial hearing officer properly denied that branch of thedefendant's motion which was to suppress the gun, the magazine, and the bullet cartridges whichhe discarded after fleeing from the officer.

We decline the defendant's request to reduce the sentence imposed on the criminalpossession of a weapon in the second degree count in the exercise of our interest of justicejurisdiction (see CPL 470.15 [3] [c]; People v Martinez, 58 AD3d 754, 756[2009]). Rivera, J.P., Dillon, Belen and Roman, JJ., concur.


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