| People v Gayden |
| 2015 NY Slip Op 02629 [126 AD3d 1518] |
| March 27, 2015 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
[*1]
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v John Gayden, Appellant. |
Timothy P. Donaher, Public Defender, Rochester (David R. Juergens of counsel), fordefendant-appellant.
Sandra Doorley, District Attorney, Rochester (Daniel Gross of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Monroe County Court (Vincent M. Dinolfo, J.),rendered March 3, 2011. The judgment convicted defendant, upon his plea of guilty, ofcriminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (two counts) and criminalpossession of a weapon in the third degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimouslyaffirmed.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty oftwo counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law§ 265.03 [1] [b]; [3]) and one count of criminal possession of a weapon inthe third degree (§ 265.02 [1]), defendant contends that County Court erredin refusing to suppress the weapon he discarded while he was being pursued by thepolice. We reject that contention. According to the evidence at the suppression hearing,there was a radio dispatch concerning an anonymous tip that two individuals werecarrying handguns in a certain location, and a police officer who arrived at the scene lessthan two minutes after the dispatch observed that defendant and another individualmatched the general description of the suspects and were within a block of the locationdescribed in the tip. The officer thus had a founded suspicion that criminal activity wasafoot, justifying his initial common-law inquiry of defendant (see People v Price, 109 AD3d1189, 1190 [2013], lv denied 22 NY3d 1043 [2013]; see generallyPeople v Stewart, 41 NY2d 65, 69 [1976]). Defendant's flight upon seeing theofficer exit his vehicle provided the officer with the requisite reasonable suspicion ofcriminal activity to warrant his pursuit of defendant (see Price, 109 AD3d at1190). Defendant dropped the gun during the pursuit, which gave rise to probable causeto arrest defendant (see People vWilson, 49 AD3d 1224, 1224-1225 [2008], lv denied 10 NY3d 966[2008]; People v Lindsay, 249 AD2d 937, 938 [1998], lv denied 92NY2d 900 [1998]), and "the recovery of the gun discarded during [defendant's] flightwas lawful inasmuch as the officer's pursuit . . . of defendant [was] lawful"(People v Norman, 66AD3d 1473, 1474 [2009], lv denied 13 NY3d 940 [2010]).Present—Centra, J.P., Peradotto, Lindley and DeJoseph, JJ.