The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Thomas Correa, etc., Defendant-Appellant. (2010)

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Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Laura A. Ward, J. at suppression hearing;  James A. Yates, J. at plea and sentence), rendered December 4, 2008, convicting defendant of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second violent felony offender, to a term of 6 years, unanimously affirmed.

The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion.   Police investigating a possible narcotics transaction in an apartment building had an objective, credible reason to make a common-law inquiry of defendant.   The officers were in the stairwell of a crime-ridden location when defendant descended the stairs, made eye contact with one of the officers, grabbed at a large bulge in his pocket, and turned to walk back up the stairs (see e. g. People v. Flores, 226 A.D.2d 181 [1996], lv denied 88 N.Y.2d 985 [1996] ).   The record fails to support defendant's assertion that the police saw the bulge only after they had already made a level-two inquiry, or his characterization of the police action in following him up a stairway as “pursuit.”   Instead, the police did no more than “follow defendant while attempting to engage him,” which is within the scope of a level-two inquiry (People v. Moore, 6 NY3d 496, 500 [2006] ).   When defendant engaged in additional suspicious conduct regarding the bulge in the pocket, the officers were justified in taking self-protective measures by removing him from the stairwell into the hallway and patting down the bulge, which led to the discovery of a firearm.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

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CLERK