PEOPLE v. BAEZ CABAN (2023)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Thomas Farber, J.), rendered November 29, 2016, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of four counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree and four counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 11/212 to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress his statement and physical evidence as fruits of unlawful police conduct.  The officers had a founded suspicion of criminality, warranting their inquiry into whether the backpack defendant was carrying belonged to him, based on a combination of factors, including an increase of thefts of unattended bags from the nearby sports fields, defendant's known history of stealing bags from the fields, and their observation of defendant running away from a field with a backpack on his shoulder (see People v. Hollman, 79 N.Y.2d 181, 184–185, 581 N.Y.S.2d 619, 590 N.E.2d 204 [1992];  People v. De Bour, 40 N.Y.2d 210, 215–216, 386 N.Y.S.2d 375, 352 N.E.2d 562 [1976]).  The officers' following of defendant in their vehicle prior to the stop did not constitute a pursuit, requiring reasonable suspicion that a crime had been or was being committed (see People v. Thornton, 238 A.D.2d 33, 36, 667 N.Y.S.2d 705 [1st Dept. 1998]).  Because defendant was not “seized” at the time of the inquiry, Miranda warnings were not required (see People v. Townsend, 202 A.D.3d 447, 448, 160 N.Y.S.3d 251 [1st Dept. 2022], lv denied 38 N.Y.3d 954, 165 N.Y.S.3d 446, 185 N.E.3d 967 [2022];  People v. Clarke, 157 A.D.3d 616, 616, 70 N.Y.S.3d 2 [1st Dept. 2018], lv. denied 31 N.Y.3d 1080, 79 N.Y.S.3d 101, 103 N.E.3d 1248 [2018]).