People Did Not Meet Their Burden of Demonstrating the Legality of the Police Action—Seized Handgun, Identification and Statement Properly Suppressed

The Second Department determined the People did not meet their burden of demonstrating the legality of the police action at the suppression hearing.  The handgun recovered from the defendant’s backpack was properly suppressed:

Where a defendant moves to suppress evidence, the People bear the initial burden of establishing the legality of the police conduct in the first instance, while the defendant bears the ultimate burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the challenged evidence should not be used against him or her … . Based on the record before it, the Supreme Court properly suppressed the handgun seized from the backpack in the defendant’s possession, since the People failed to meet their burden of demonstrating the legality of the police conduct. Although the police officers properly initiated a common-law inquiry to obtain explanatory information from a group of six men, which included the defendant, based upon information from an anonymous informant …, reasonable suspicion justifying an intrusive search of the backpack in the defendant’s possession never arose … . Accordingly, the police search of the backpack was improper, requiring suppression of the handgun recovered from the backpack. Additionally, suppression of identification evidence and a statement made by the defendant to law enforcement officials was also required, as such evidence was fruit of the poisonous tree … . People v Nichols, 2014 NY Slip Op 03541, 2nd Dept 5-14-14