In People v W*, the Appellate Division, First Department, upheld the defendant’s conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
The central issue on appeal was whether the trial court had properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the firearm found in his vehicle. The appellate court deferred to the lower court’s credibility determinations, which favored the testimony of law enforcement. Officers had observed the defendant in a double-parked vehicle -- a violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1202(a)(1)(a) -- and since none of the statutory exceptions for temporary double-parking applied, the officers had a valid legal reason to approach the vehicle.
Upon doing so, one officer noticed the butt of a firearm sticking out of a pocket on the back of the front passenger seat. A second officer confirmed the sighting with a flashlight, leading to the recovery of a revolver. The court ruled that the officers were lawfully positioned to see the firearm, making its seizure valid under the plain view doctrine (People v Messano, 41 NY3d 228 [2024]; People v Brown, 96 NY2d 80 [2001]).
The appellate court found no grounds to reduce the defendant’s sentence, citing his criminal record—which included two prior felony convictions for second-degree robbery in 2012 and third-degree burglary in 2014. As a second violent felony offender, W* received a 10-year prison sentence with 5 years of post-release supervision.
Think he had a seizure when that seizure occurred?
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DECISION