When officers responded to an anonymous call about a man with a gun, they arrived at the designated spot, arrested a guy matching the given description, and retrieved a gun from his person.
Although Andre Villegas asserted that the officers' search was illegal, the court chose to credit the arresting officers' testimony that the 911 dispatcher had "successfully recontacted" the tipster, who provided additional details which justified Andre's apprehension and detention. And after he was convicted of second degree criminal possession of a weapon and sentenced to an 8-year term, Andre appealed.
Because the 911 dispatcher wasn't able to reach the caller, the Appellate Division, First Department, saw the tip as "uncorroborated" and lacking "any indicia of reliability." And because officers didn't have a legal basis to "stop and frisk" the guy, a new trial was ordered. (It refused to dismiss the case because the call logs had been shared with Andre's attorney and any failure by prosecutors to advise the trial judge of the officers' inaccurate testimony was seen as mere "inadvertence.")
They needed to dial it back.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: People v. Villegas