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People v. Vafiadis
Citations: 88 A.D.2d 808; 450 N.Y.S.2d 821; 1982 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 17111
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; June 3, 1982; New York; State Appellate Court
An appeal from a judgment in the Supreme Court of New York County, involving a defendant sentenced for criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, is held in abeyance pending a hearing to determine whether statements made by the defendant should be suppressed. The trial court had previously denied the defendant's motion for such a hearing. The District Attorney acknowledged that the denial was erroneous due to insufficient sworn allegations of fact, which do not justify the denial of a hearing under CPL 710.60 (subd 3, par [b]). CPL 710.20 (subd 3) applies to the defendant's oral statements made to police officers, as it pertains to involuntarily made statements to law enforcement personnel. However, regarding the written statement to a store detective, it remains unclear if the detective qualifies as a "public servant engaged in law enforcement activity" or someone acting under their direction. Therefore, the upcoming hearing must also address this issue to determine if pretrial suppression of the statement to the store detective is warranted. The District Attorney's argument that the error in denying the hearing for the police statements was harmless is rejected, especially considering the potential necessity to suppress both the police and store detective statements. The decision is concurred by Judges Carro, Lupiano, Fein, and Milonas.