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People v. St. John

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Oct 7, 1992
186 A.D.2d 1049 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)

Opinion

October 7, 1992

Appeal from the Niagara County Court, Hannigan, J.

Present — Denman, P.J., Green, Balio, Boehm and Davis, JJ.


Judgment unanimously reversed on the law, motion granted and matter remitted to Niagara County Court for further proceedings on the indictment. Memorandum: County Court erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The testimony at the suppression hearing established that defendant was arrested based upon the observations of two sheriff's deputies over a 90-minute period. Defendant and John Hill were observed exchanging items with numerous individuals outside a bar in an area known for narcotics trafficking. That testimony revealed, however, that the deputies could not identify or describe any of the items allegedly exchanged. Without any information tending to establish the nature of those items, the deputies lacked probable cause for defendant's arrest (cf., People v McRay, 51 N.Y.2d 594, 602, 605). The property seized from defendant incident to that unlawful arrest must, therefore, be suppressed.


Summaries of

People v. St. John

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department
Oct 7, 1992
186 A.D.2d 1049 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
Case details for

People v. St. John

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. LENNOX ST. JOHN…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Fourth Department

Date published: Oct 7, 1992

Citations

186 A.D.2d 1049 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992)
588 N.Y.S.2d 490

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