(DOWNLOAD) "People State New York v. Leslie J. Maize" by Supreme Court of New York ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People State New York v. Leslie J. Maize
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 15, 1969
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 64 KB
Description
[32 A.D.2d 1031 Page 1031] In our opinion, the County Court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress. Within minutes after receipt of a radio
alarm that certain premises in Roslyn Heights had just been burglarized and that a male Negro had been observed leaving the
scene, the arresting officer saw defendant, a male Negro, operating a car 2 1/2 blocks from the burgled premises. The time
was approximately 5:15 a.m. The observant officer stopped the car and asked defendant to produce his driver's license and
registration. Beyond cavil, the officer was justified in detaining defendant briefly for purposes of inquiry (People v. Merola,
30 A.D.2d 963). While waiting for defendant to produce his license and registration, the officer saw a portable television
set on the floor in the front of the car. Upon examination of the proffered documents, the officer noted that the license
and registration were different and that the license was not the original but a duplicate. Asked whether he had lost his original
license, defendant replied that he had not. He could not provide an adequate explanation for the duplicate license. In addition,
defendant was evasive in explaining his presence in the area, giving the excuse that he had just dropped off a girl. He was
unable to say where. Subsequently, defendant got out of the car to check his rear lights at the officer's request and the
officer saw a pair of wet gloves on the front seat. Defendant was in wet stockinged feet and the knees of his trousers were
also wet. At this point, the officer placed defendant under arrest. Manifestly, the totality of these circumstances -- defendant's
proximity to the scene of the burglary, his evasive and unsatisfactory answers to proper police inquiry about his license,
his registration and what he was doing in the area at that early morning hour, the officer's own observations of the television
set, the wet gloves and the condition of defendant's clothing demonstrate the existence of probable cause for defendant's
arrest. Since the arrest was legal, the subsequent and incidental search which uncovered a large sum of cash, jewelry, three
wristwatches, clocks and a broken-bladed pocketknife was also legal.