Opinion
June 16, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ira R. Globerman, J.).
The IAS Court erred in suppressing the shotgun, since the police had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant due to the missing car door lock and the defendant's slow driving in the left traffic lane (People v. Johnson, 56 A.D.2d 661; People v Chestnut, 36 N.Y.2d 971). The IAS Court's reliance on People v Elam ( 179 A.D.2d 229, appeal dismissed 80 N.Y.2d 958) was misplaced here in that, as the Elam majority stated, a broken car window is an equivocal indicator of possible car theft; a missing door lock cylinder, however, is a much more likely one, indicating a probable attempt to enter the vehicle without using a key.
Concur — Carro, J.P., Wallach, Asch, Nardelli and Williams, JJ.