Appeal by the People from an order of the City Court, City of Newburgh, Orange [*2]County (A. Austria, J.), entered June 4, 2002, which, after a hearing, granted defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence.

Order unanimously reversed on the law, defendant's motion to suppress denied and matter remanded to the court below for all further proceedings.

Defendant's departure with two others from the scene of a recently reported discharge of a firearm gave the investigating officer an objective credible reason to ask defendant to "hold up" for the purpose of requesting information (People v Reyes, 83 NY2d 945, 946), and we do not find on the facts adduced below that said request was accompanied by such other indicia of restraint on defendant's liberty of movement to constitute a seizure (People v Bora, 83 NY2d 531, 534-535; see e.g. People v Crawford, 262 AD2d 330; People v Mitchell, 223 AD2d 729, 730). Defendant's immediate response, to "abruptly and suspiciously abandon his companions" (People v Montero, 284 AD2d 159, 160), walk to a nearby parked car, and appear to discard something, must be deemed an independent, calculated act of abandonment of any item discarded and a relinquishment of constitutionally protected privacy expectations therein (People v Ramirez-Portoreal, 88 NY2d 99, 110; People v Boodle, 47 NY2d 398, 404; People v Rosser, 150 AD2d 911, 912), and justified the additional restraint of requiring defendant to remain where he was while the officers determined what, if anything, he had discarded.
[*3]Decision Date: July 29, 2003