THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. ALVIN JONES, APPELLANT.
90 N.Y.2d 835, 683 N.E.2d 14, 660 N.Y.S.2d 549 (1997).
June 12, 1997
1 No. 126 (1997 NY Int. 111)
Decided June 12, 1997
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
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William Ramos, for appellant.
Carol A. Remer-Smith, for respondent.
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.
On the afternoon of November 18, 1989, Detective Steven Hector
observed defendant in a conversation with an unidentified woman in an
area he characterized as a drug prone location. The woman handed
defendant money in exchange for an object that Hector was unable to
see. Hector was an experienced police officer trained specifically in
the packaging, recognition and manner of selling narcotics. Given the
particular way the woman handled the item, he believed a drug
transaction had just taken place.
Defendant walked a short distance away, removed a plastic bag from his
person and secreted it among some cinder blocks at a construction
site. At that point, Hector apprehended defendant. A full search of
defendant yielded $650 in currency, and the plastic bag retrieved from
the cinder blocks contained 62 vials of a substance later determined
to be "crack" cocaine.
Supreme Court, without a hearing, initially denied defendant's motion
to suppress physical evidence. Upon reversal and remand by the
Appellate Division, it held a Mapp hearing and denied suppression of
the money. Defendant was convicted after trial of criminal possession
of a controlled substance in the third and fourth degrees. The
Appellate Division affirmed, one Justice dissenting.
In People v McRay (51 NY2d 594), this Court explained that various
factors, when combined with the street exchange of a "telltale sign"
of narcotics, may give rise to probable cause that a narcotics offense
SNIPPETS:
THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. ALVIN JONES, APPELLANT.
This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
On the afternoon of November 18, 1989, Detective Steven Hector observed defendant in a
Hector was an experienced police officer trained specifically in the packaging, recognition
A full search of defendant yielded $650 in currency, and the plastic bag retrieved from the
Supreme Court, without a hearing, initially denied defendant's motion to suppress physical
Upon reversal and remand by the Appellate Division, it held a Mapp hearing and denied
In People v McRay (51 NY2d 594), this Court explained that various factors, when combined
Those factors relevant to assessing probable cause include the exchange of currency; whether
Although we recognized in McRay that the passing of a "telltale sign" of narcotics strongly
Following the exchange, moreover, defendant suspiciously concealed a plastic bag among some
Furthermore, the transaction involved the exchange of currency, took place in a drug-prone
Therefore, even though the officer observed only a single transaction, there was evidence in
Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine, Ciparick and Wesley concur.
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