Opinion
242 A.D.2d 409 661 N.Y.S.2d 230 The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Manuel BERMUDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. 1997-07281 Supreme Court of New York, First Department September 4, 1997.
Howard B. Sterinbach, for Respondent.
John J. Janiec, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before MURPHY, P.J., and MILONAS, TOM, ANDRIAS and COLABELLA, JJ.
MEMORANDUM DECISION.
Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Joseph Mazur, J.), rendered November 4, 1994, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant's suppression motions were properly denied. The arresting officers observed heightened activity of numerous police officers from an adjacent precinct and overheard radio reports of a shooting including a general description that featured the significant fact of the suspects being coatless on a cold January night. These radio reports were based on information emanating from unidentified civilian informants and from a pursuing officer. The arresting officers further observed defendant and his companion, who matched the description including coatlessness, walking quickly while repeatedly looking back toward the direction of the nearby crime scene. These circumstances provided reasonable suspicion upon which to stop, pat down and detain defendant and his companion for the purpose of identification (see, People v. Acevedo, 222 A.D.2d 217, 634 N.Y.S.2d 488, lv. denied 87 N.Y.2d 919, 641 N.Y.S.2d 601, 664 N.E.2d 512; People v. Foster, 209 A.D.2d 348, 619 N.Y.S.2d 22, affd. 85 N.Y.2d 1012, 630 N.Y.S.2d 968, 654 N.E.2d 1216, see also, People v. Rosario, 78 N.Y.2d 583, 587-589, 578 N.Y.S.2d 454, 585 N.E.2d 766, cert. denied 502 U.S. 1109, 112 S.Ct. 1210, 117 L.Ed.2d 448). When the two gave implausible responses to the officers' questions, this justified further detention, whereupon the pursuing officer immediately arrived and identified defendants as the suspects he had been pursuing. Although the pursuing officer had not observed the suspects commit a crime, the police were now in possession of probable cause to arrest (see, People v. Elwell, 50 N.Y.2d 231, 428 N.Y.S.2d 655, 406 N.E.2d 471), based upon the information received from the unidentified civilian informants in a face to face interview (see, People v. Spearman, 226 A.D.2d 180, 640 N.Y.S.2d 532, lv. denied 88 N.Y.2d 886, 645 N.Y.S.2d 460, 668 N.E.2d 431; People v. Irizarry, 177 A.D.2d 457, 458, 576 N.Y.S.2d 553 lv. denied 79 N.Y.2d 948, 583 N.Y.S.2d 202, 592 N.E.2d 810), strongly corroborated by highly incriminating circumstances, notably that the pursuing officer was aware that the suspects had "sought to evade identification by discarding [their] coat[s] in the cold of winter." (People v. Crosby, 91 A.D.2d 20, 27, 457 N.Y.S.2d 831, lv. denied 59 N.Y.2d 765, 464 N.Y.S.2d 1028, 451 N.E.2d 507).
We have reviewed defendant's remaining claims and find them to be without merit.