Opinion
1999-01915
Argued April 8, 2002.
April 29, 2002.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Katz, J.), rendered January 6, 1999, convicting him of burglary in the first degree (two counts), burglary in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing (Latella, J.), of that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress his statements to law enforcement officials.
Lynn W. L. Fahey, New York, N.Y. (Lisa Napoli of counsel), for appellant.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Johnnette Traill, and Traci R. Wilkerson of counsel), for respondent.
Before: DAVID S. RITTER, J.P., SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, BARRY A. COZIER, JJ.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The hearing court properly denied that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress two written statements that he made to the police. The hearing court correctly found that the defendant's right to counsel had not attached before he made the statements and that the statements were voluntary (see generally, People v. Pulliam, 292 A.D.2d 399 [2d Dept, Mar. 4, 2002]; People v. Lennon, 243 A.D.2d 495; People v. Cameron, 167 Misc.2d 61, 68-69; cf. People v. Garofolo, 46 N.Y.2d 592; People v. Pinzon, 44 N.Y.2d 458). The hearing court's finding should be accorded great weight on appeal and should not be disturbed unless clearly unsupported by the record (see People v. Davis, 221 A.D.2d 358; People v. Garafolo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88). As the record supports the hearing court's determination, we agree that there was no basis for suppressing the statements.
RITTER, J.P., FEUERSTEIN, GOLDSTEIN and COZIER, JJ., concur.