Opinion
2000-09621
Argued January 16, 2002.
February 14, 2002.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Roman, J.), rendered September 21, 2000, convicting him of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress physical evidence.
David Louis Cohen, Kew Gardens, N.Y., for appellant.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano and Susan Lee Kim of counsel), for respondent.
Before: SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, J.P., GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, JJ.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends that the arresting officer lacked probable cause to arrest him. Contrary to the defendant's contention, the arresting officer had probable cause to arrest him pursuant to the "fellow officer rule" (People v. Maldonado, 86 N.Y.2d 631, 635; see, People v. Bigelow, 66 N.Y.2d 417, 423; People v. McRay, 51 N.Y.2d 594, 602). Therefore, the Supreme Court properly denied that branch of the defendant's omnibus motion which was to suppress physical evidence.
The Supreme Court properly permitted the People to introduce evidence of statements made by the defendant's accomplice (see, People v. Crimmins, 36 N.Y.2d 230; People v. Marks, 6 N.Y.2d 67, cert denied 362 U.S. 912; People v. Thompson, 186 A.D.2d 768; People v. Sostre, 70 A.D.2d 40, affd 51 N.Y.2d 958; see also, People v. Ayala, 273 A.D.2d 40; People v. DeJesus, 272 A.D.2d 61).
The sentence imposed was not excessive (see, People v. Felix, 58 N.Y.2d 156; People v. Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80).
FEUERSTEIN, J.P., KRAUSMAN, FRIEDMANN and SCHMIDT, JJ., concur.