Opinion
No. 3033.
March 11, 2008.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Richard D. Carruthers, J., at suppression hearing; Gregory Carro, J., at plea and sentence), rendered March 8, 2006, convicting defendant of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of five years, unanimously affirmed.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Robert Budner of counsel), for appellant.
Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Dennis O. Cohen of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Mazzarelli, J.P., Saxe, Friedman and Nardelli, JJ.
The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. There is no basis for disturbing the court's credibility determinations, which are supported by the record ( see People v Prochilo, 41 NY2d 759, 761). The officer had reasonable suspicion to frisk defendant during a lawful traffic stop, where the officer observed a large bulge in defendant's pocket and defendant repeatedly disregarded the officer's requests that he keep his hands away from the bulge ( see People v Mims, 32 AD3d 800; People v Fludd, 20 AD3d 351, lv denied 5 NY3d 852; see also People v Moret, 240 AD2d 321, lv denied 90 NY2d 908). Defendant's hand movements with regard to the bulge were not innocuous, and they caused the officer to have a reasonable fear that defendant was preparing to draw a weapon.
We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.