People v. Asbury
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Criminal procedure and suppression of evidence, specifically whether police had probable cause under the fellow officer rule to arrest defendant and search him based on relayed information from another officer and a civilian identification.
Monroe County Court denied the suppression motion and accepted defendant's guilty plea to Penal Law § 265.03 (3) [criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree] and Penal Law § 265.02 (3) [criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree].
The Appellate Division reversed the judgment, vacated the guilty plea, granted suppression of the firearm and statements, and dismissed the indictment.
The People failed to establish probable cause for the arrest. Once defendant specifically challenged the relayed information, the People had to show that the originating source had a reliable basis of knowledge. They did not prove the civilian identifier's basis of knowledge or provide sufficient corroboration, so the arrest, search, and resulting statements were unlawful.
Background
Defendant was arrested after officers relied on information that he was wanted in connection with a prior shooting. At the suppression hearing, one arresting officer testified that he had reviewed a report about the shooting, spoke with the reporting officer, and watched a video of the incident. He also testified that a civilian property owner near the scene identified defendant as the shooter and claimed to have interacted with him more than 100 times. After defendant was arrested, officers searched him and recovered a firearm, and defendant later made statements to police.
Lower Court Decision
County Court denied the parts of defendant's supplemental motion seeking to suppress tangible property and statements, and defendant then pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree weapon possession charges.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division held that the People did not satisfy their burden under the fellow officer rule. Although officers may initially rely on another officer's communication, a specific suppression challenge requires the prosecution to prove that the sending officer or source had probable cause. Here, the hearing proof did not establish the civilian informant's basis of knowledge. The supporting deposition and video were not introduced, the testimony lacked enough detail to show that the identification rested on personal knowledge rather than speculation, and police testimony did not supply adequate corroboration. Because probable cause was not shown, the gun and post-arrest statements had to be suppressed. With all evidentiary support eliminated, the indictment was dismissed and the matter remitted for proceedings pursuant to CPL 470.45.
Legal Significance
This decision reinforces that the fellow officer rule does not excuse the prosecution from proving the underlying reliability of relayed information once a defendant specifically challenges probable cause. A conclusory identification by a civilian, even when passed through police channels, is insufficient unless the People show the informant's basis of knowledge and veracity, including at each link of any hearsay chain under the Aguilar-Spinelli framework.
When an arrest is based on secondhand police information, the People must do more than show that officers acted on a wanted notice or another officer's communication; they must prove the original source of the accusation was reliable and had a demonstrated basis for the identification. If they fail to do so, the arrest and any resulting search or statements will be suppressed.