Opinion
June 1, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Ronald Zweibel, J.).
Defendant's motion to suppress evidence was properly denied. Defendant's purchase of a holster in a 42nd Street "novelty shop" gave the police the right to make a common-law inquiry, and, while defendant's nervous behavior was not sufficient by itself to permit further intrusion ( People v. Johnson, 54 N.Y.2d 958), the added factor of defendant's adjustments of some object in his waistband ( compare, People v. Taveras, 207 A.D.2d 306, lv denied 84 N.Y.2d 940, with People v. Marine, 142 A.D.2d 368) permitted the minimal intrusion of requesting defendant to open his jacket ( People v. De Bour, 40 N.Y.2d 210, 221), whereupon defendant's evasive and potentially menacing movements created reasonable suspicion of criminality and a threat to the officer's safety, permitting the officer to reach for defendant's waistband area where a pistol was discovered ( People v. Samuels, 50 N.Y.2d 1035, cert denied 449 U.S. 984).
Concur — Rubin, J.P., Kupferman, Asch and Tom, JJ.