Opinion
10406 Ind. 2597/15
11-21-2019
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Michael WILLIAMS, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Beulah Agbabiaka of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Laura E. Meehan of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Beulah Agbabiaka of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Laura E. Meehan of counsel), for respondent.
Richter, J.P., Manzanet–Daniels, Gische, Webber, Kern, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Laura A. Ward, J. at suppression hearing; Ellen N. Biben J. at plea; Charles H. Solomon, J. at sentencing), rendered August 17, 2017, convicting defendant of kidnapping in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to a term of 10 years, unanimously affirmed.
The record supports the hearing court's finding that the lineup at which defendant was identified was not unduly suggestive (see People v. Chipp, 75 N.Y.2d 327, 336, 553 N.Y.S.2d 72, 552 N.E.2d 608 [1990], cert denied 498 U.S. 833, 111 S.Ct. 99, 112 L.Ed.2d 70 [1990] ). Although defendant was the only person wearing shorts in the lineup conducted several days after the crime, a fair reading of the investigating detective's testimony fails to support defendant's assertion that the identifying witness had described defendant as wearing shorts, let alone that this was a "prominent" feature of the witness's detailed description. In any event, the shorts (worn in July), and the other clothing features that defendant cites as suggestive were generic and ordinary articles of clothing (see People v. McBride, 14 N.Y.3d 440, 448, 902 N.Y.S.2d 830, 928 N.E.2d 1027 [2010] ; People v. Gilbert, 295 A.D.2d 275, 277, 745 N.Y.S.2d 155 [1st Dept. 2002], lv denied 99 N.Y.2d 558, 754 N.Y.S.2d 210, 784 N.E.2d 83 [2002] ), and there is no reason to believe that defendant was singled out for identification.