Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Derek Richardson, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2015-12-03
Citations: 134 A.D.3d 440
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Derek Richardson, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 134
Pages: 440–440

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Derek Richardson, Appellant.
[19 NYS3d 738]

Opinion:
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Ruth Pickholz, J.), rendered February 23, 2012, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of burglary in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 2 to 4 years, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. Although defendant was in custody and had not yet received Miranda warnings, his inquiry about why he was being charged with a felony was "immediately met by a brief and relatively innocuous answer by the police officer," not constituting interrogation or its functional equivalent (People v Rivers, 56 NY2d 476, 480 [1982]; compare People v Lanahan, 55 NY2d 711 [1981] [detailed recital of evidence held equivalent to interrogation]). Under these circumstances, defendant's inculpatory statement was self-generated and spontaneous. Concur — Tom, J.P., Sweeny, Andrias and Gische, JJ.