Articles Posted in Gun Possession

By petition filed, a juvenile is alleged to have committed acts which, were he an adult, would constitute the crimes on criminal possession of a weapon in the third and fourth degrees and possession of pistol or revolver ammunition.

The matter arose from incident where a police officer was on patrol with his partner in an unmarked police vehicle. At approximately 8:30 p.m., the police vehicle was situated at the corner one street, an area of mixed residential and commercial structures, which was well-lit by street lights and the light coming from homes.

From the police officer’s seat on the front passenger side of the car, he observed an individual walking alone. He observed that the said individual, who apparently had not noticed their vehicle because there had been no eye contact with them. The individual, as observed by the officer, looked like going to cross the street and when he got a quarter of the way he stopped and looked down, reached for his waist to adjust something. The criminal individual then turned and returned to the corner.

Continue reading

At approximately 11:30 p.m., a student was shot to death. Four days later, detectives investigating the homicide were informed that an individual, arrested on an unrelated robbery, claimed to have information about the gun crime.

The individual told the detectives that he had overheard a conversation in a local candy store indicating that a man was responsible for the homicide. The criminal informant added that the said man had two good friends.

After recognizing the names, detectives secured photographs of the man’s two friends, who were suspected in prior robberies in the building where the criminal homicide occurred. Both were believed to be wanted on pending robbery complaints.

Continue reading

In this Criminal Gun Crime action, a Motion ‘for an order granting the defendant a permission to inspect the grand jury minutes and the testimony upon which the indictment herein was founded, or in the alternative for an order dismissing the indictment against the defendant charging him with the crime of possession of a dangerous weapon as a felony, upon the grounds that the evidence before the grand jury upon which the said indictment was based was insufficient in law to warrant the finding of same’.

A Queens County Criminal Gun Crime attorney said that defendant has been indicted and charged with Possessing a Dangerous Weapon as a Felony, to wit, a pistol. The crime charged is made a felony by reason of the defendant’s prior conviction of Petit Larceny.

One morning, the defendant came into his house and he threw his pants over a chair and fell asleep. His wife, who was the first witness before the grand jury, testified that she went through his pockets for money, because he was supposed to have gotten paid, and she found the gun, which is the subject matter of the indictment in this case. She first took it, wrapped it up and put it in a drawer, but then getting nervous brought it across the hall to her sister, who also was afraid to have anything to do with it, whereupon the defendant’s wife put it on top of a closet.

Continue reading

The defendant moves to suppress physical evidence and his statements. He was charged of crimes of burglary in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree.

A Queens County Criminal lawyer said that in October 2011 a Detective of the 104th Precinct Detective Squad, was assigned to investigate a burglary that took place in Middle Village, Queens. Police Officer, an eight (8) year veteran of the NYPD and also working with the 104th Precinct Detective Squad, was assigned to investigate a burglary that took place a day earlier. They worked together on these criminal cases.

Thereafter, the Detective placed a telephone call to the defendant and speaking in English, asked him to come to the precinct and speak with him. The defendant spoke to him in English. They scheduled an appointment two (2) days later. The detective did not recall telling the defendant why he needed to speak to him. The detective did not tell the defendant that he would be coming in to surrender. The detective had been given the defendant’s name, address and telephone number by the co-defendant, who had been arrested earlier that day.

Continue reading

The People appealed from an order of the Supreme Court, in this Criminal case, which, after a hearing, suppressed the use of a gun and a cartridge as evidence against the defendants. The indictment charges the defendants with the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony.

A Queens County Criminal attorney said that in one morning in November 1975, an Officer was operating a police car on radio motor patrol westbound on Jamaica Avenue, when he heard a shot. He stopped the car and rolled down the window. Three minutes later he heard another shot. Several seconds later he saw the defendants’ vehicle proceeding eastbound on Jamaica Avenue, three short blocks away, coming from the direction of the shots.

There were no other vehicles or pedestrians in sight. He did not attempt to block the vehicle. Instead he allowed it to pass. As he was bringing his own car to a stop some 12 feet behind the defendants’ car, he “stepped on his brights and observed an object, which he identified as a gun, being dropped to the ground from the passenger side of defendants’ vehicle.” He was then still in his police car.

Continue reading

One evening, police officers were called to an alleyway and found a lifeless body of a man, who had been fatally shot in the right temple with a .25 caliber pistol.

At trial, evidence revealed that the owner of the caliber pistol, the alleged offender, was a member of a neighborhood youth gang, while the victim was a member of the rival gang with which the offender had previously been associated.

A week or two before the murder, the offender told another member of the gang that he wants to kill the victim because he believed that the victim had assault his girlfriend.

Continue reading

In August1995, after a jury trial, defendant was convicted of committing the crimes of Kidnapping in the First and Second Degrees and Unlawful Imprisonment in the Second Degree. Thereafter, he was sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment of from fifteen years to life on the top count and to concurrent terms of incarceration on the lesser crimes.

A Queens County Criminal attorney said that in January 1995, defendant forced the complaining witness, from her home by threatening to kill her. Thereafter, he restrained her with an extension cord, gagged her mouth with a sock and placed her in his car. Co-defendant joined them sometime later and pointed a gun at the complaining witness. Together they took her to Forest Park, located in Queens County, where they used duct tape to tie her to a park bench. Subsequently, they placed her back in the car and drove to a telephone from which they called the victim’s mother in an effort to extract a ransom from her. When her mother agreed to pay it, the victim was released. Evidence against the defendant included a post-arrest videotaped statement wherein he admitted to certain of the acts underlying the charges and a tape recording of the ransom demand made during the conversation with the victim’s mother.

Almost eight years after his conviction of the crime of Kidnapping in the First Degree was affirmed by the Appellate Division and his application for leave to appeal the criminal conviction to the Court of Appeals was denied, defendant now moves to vacate the judgment pursuant to CPL 440.10 on the ground that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. He claims that he rejected the plea offer because his lawyer advised him that he would only be convicted of a misdemeanor, exposing him to a maximum sentence of one year.

Continue reading

This is a Criminal case wherein defendant appeals from the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained on the search of his person and arrest as well as from the conviction after trial.

A Queens County Criminal lawyer said that in March 1966, in the early evening, a Patrolman was on foot patrol in uniform on a busy thoroughfare in Queens County. A passerby told him of an occurrence, involving a man with a weapon, as a result of which the officer proceeded to a nearby intersection and then to two stores, a dairy and a bar. Patrons in the bar told him that a man outside the bar had discharged a pistol or firecrackers.

The bar patrons had described the man with the gun as five foot, six or seven, blonde, and wearing a blue or dark jacket. Outside the bar another passerby pointed to defendant and stated that he was the man with the gun. Defendant fitted the description previously given to the officer.

Continue reading

A Queens Criminal Lawyer said that, on the evening of September 24, 1971, New York City Officers Santiago and Braga were assigned to a taxi and truck surveillance unit. At about 8:00 p.m., they stopped a 1963 or 1965 blue Buick Riviera with Queens County license plates on Morningside Drive and 122nd Street. Two black men were in the car. Following a check of the license and registration, the car was permitted to proceed. At about 10:00 p.m., the officers saw a 1963 or 1965 blue Buick Riviera approaching the Triborough Bridge. This car, which appeared to the officers to be identical to the first car, had Brooklyn license plates and three black male occupants. As a result of seeing two apparently identical cars within two hours with different plates, the officers stopped the second car. The criminal occupants exited from the vehicle. Upon examining the driver’s license and registration, the officers ascertained that the car did not belong to him. Hence, the Officer proceeded to check the VIN plate on the hinge of the driver’s front door. While he was in a crouched position searching for the VIN plate, the other Officer observed the back seat passenger approach the open door and reach over his partner’s shoulder into the car. He believing that there might be a gun in the car, grabbed the man and shined his flash-light inside the car. An open manila envelope containing a visible white powder was resting on the console. Santiago testified that he had made about 80 prior arrests involving cocaine and heroin and, based on his experience, he believed the white powder to be cocaine. All three occupants of the car, including the defendant, were arrested, and a further search revealed another identical envelope, containing white powder, between the driver’s seat and the console.

A Queens Criminal Gun Crime Lawyer said that, defendant, as well as the other occupants of the car, were subsequently indicted for criminal possession of a dangerous drug in the fourth degree. After a hearing on defendant’s suppression motion, the court, apparently assuming that the officers had an unqualified right to stop the automobile, found the officer’s testimony credible and concluded that there were reasonable grounds to look inside the automobile prior to the discovery of the drugs. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of the crime charged in the indictment. The Appellate Division affirmed the judgment of conviction.

The issue in this case is whether a police officer’s suspicion of criminal activity justifies stopping a motor vehicle for an investigative check.

Continue reading

A Queens Criminal Lawyer said that, defendant was originally charged by a Queens County Grand Jury with one count of murder in the second degree, two counts of criminal use of a firearm in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree emanating from the shooting of the victim with a handgun on May 19, 1982. On the People’s motion, the criminal use of a firearm counts were dismissed. After two trials on the murder and criminal possession counts, defendant was convicted of the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree. The fact that the victim died at defendant’s hands is beyond dispute. By defendant’s own admission, he shot the victim in the course of an altercation. According to competent medical authority, the victim sustained five gunshot wounds and died as a result of internal hemorrhaging caused by those wounds.

A Queens Criminal Possession of a Weapon Lawyer said that, after advising the defendant of his rights, the police took a statement from him at the precinct on the day of the incident. Defendant at that time informed the police that on the afternoon of the shooting he had received a telephone call from the victim, with whom he had been acquainted for approximately two years, with regard to a burglary of defendant’s apartment which had occurred some two to three weeks previously. Defendant permitted the victim to come to his apartment in order to discuss the burglary. The victim apparently intended to obtain money from defendant in exchange for his information concerning the burglary. To the Officer who had responded to the scene and traced a trail of blood from the pizza shop where the victim was found back to defendant’s apartment, defendant initially stated “I caught the guy” and motioned to a pair of pliers lying at the base of the stairway leading to his apartment.

Defendant later made the following admission: “I knew the guy. We argued, we fought. I shot him” and pointed to a gun which was lying on a couch in his apartment.

Continue reading