People v. Lanza

Mikoll, J. (dissenting). I respectfully dissent. The underlying facts of this case involve the sale of cocaine by one Christopher Cunningham on February 20, 1979 at 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot of J. M. Fields, a department store located in Colonie, New York. An undercover policeman, John A. Liptak, together with a police informant named Aaron, drove in Aaron’s car to the Fields’ parking lot to meet Christopher Cunningham with whom Aaron had made a prior arrangement to purchase cocaine. The two parked in the lot and after a lapse of several minutes Cunningham approached them carrying a cue…