| People v Carter |
| 2013 NY Slip Op 06195 [109 AD3d 1188] |
| September 27, 2013 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Tarrell J. Carter, Appellant. |
—[*1] Sandra Doorley, District Attorney, Rochester (Amanda Dreher of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Monroe County Court (Alex R. Renzi, J.), renderedApril 15, 2009. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminalpossession of a weapon in the second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his plea ofguilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law §265.03 [3]). Contrary to defendant's contention, County Court properly refused tosuppress the gun seized by the police from defendant's person during a pat friskconducted during a traffic stop. As defendant correctly concedes, the police officerlawfully stopped defendant's vehicle because it had a broken taillight (see generally People v Fagan,98 AD3d 1270, 1271 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 1061 [2013]; People v Dempsey, 79 AD3d1776, 1777 [2010], lv denied 16 NY3d 830 [2011]), and defendantvoluntarily exited the vehicle. Given defendant's furtive behavior before and after exitinghis vehicle, including being "fidgety" and "evasive" when answering the police officer'squestions, turning the right side of his body away from the police officer, and placing hisright hand in his jacket pocket, the police officer "reasonably suspected that defendantwas armed and posed a threat to [his] safety" (Fagan, 98 AD3d at 1271; see People v Daniels, 103AD3d 1204, 1205 [2013]). "Based upon [his] reasonable belief that defendant wasarmed, the officer[ ] lawfully conducted [the] pat frisk" that resulted in the seizure of thegun (Fagan, 98 AD3d at 1271; see People v Batista, 88 NY2d 650, 654[1996]; People v Grant, 83AD3d 862, 863-864 [2011], lv denied 17 NY3d 795 [2011]).Present—Scudder, P.J., Fahey, Sconiers and Valentino, JJ.