126 A.D.3d 1304
N.Y. App. Div.2015Background
- Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree after police recovered a handgun from beneath the front passenger seat of a white vehicle in which he was a passenger.
- A 911 caller reported that near a specified location “some guys in a white car” looked like they were about to fight and that one of the men had pulled out a gun.
- Two patrol officers had seen a white vehicle improperly parked near that location with two men standing outside and a crowd nearby; they asked the men to move the car, and the men drove away.
- After receiving the 911 dispatch, the officers located and followed the same white vehicle a few blocks away and then conducted a traffic stop, removed the driver and front-seat passenger (defendant), and searched the vehicle.
- The handgun was found under the front passenger seat; defendant moved to suppress the gun, arguing the stop was improper.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legality of the vehicle stop | Police had reasonable suspicion based on the 911 tip corroborated by their observations to stop the car | Stop was improper because the 911 tip was unreliable and insufficient to justify an investigative stop | Stop was lawful; officers had reasonable suspicion based on a contemporaneous 911 report corroborated in part by police observations |
| Reliability of the 911 tip | Caller made a contemporaneous, excited statement and indicated urgency, providing indicia of reliability | Tip was anonymous and therefore like an unreliable anonymous tip in Florida v. J.L. | Tip carried sufficient reliability (contemporaneous observation, corroboration, indicia of reliability) to support reasonable suspicion |
Key Cases Cited
- Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (2014) (a contemporaneous 911 report can supply reasonable suspicion when reliable indicators exist)
- Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000) (an anonymous tip lacking indicia of reliability does not justify a stop)
- People v. Argyris, 24 N.Y.3d 1138 (N.Y. 2014) (discusses reasonable-suspicion analysis for stops based on tips)
- People v. Moss, 89 A.D.3d 1526 (App. Div. 2011) (tip corroboration can support an investigative stop)
- People v. Jeffery, 2 A.D.3d 1271 (App. Div. 2003) (911 caller’s contemporaneous observation and conduct-based report carry reliability when not concealed)