People v Doe
Annotate this CaseDecided on July 8, 2005
County Court, Monroe County
The People of the State of New York,
against
John Doe, AKA KEITH LAMAR LASTER, Defendant.
00-0466
Michael C. Green, Esq., District Attorney
Attorney for People
Edward J. Nowak, Esq., Public Defender
Jill Paperno, Esq., of counsel
Erik Teifke, Esq., of counsel
Attorney for Defendant
Patricia D. Marks, J.
This is a decision on a motion by the District Attorney seeking to direct the defendant to produce an oral swab sample to be used to obtain his DNA profile for comparison purposes pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law § 240.40 [2][b][v].
The defendant is charged by indictment with Rape in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree relating to an incident alleged to have occurred on November 28,1995; Rape in the First Degree relating to an incident alleged to have occurred on November 30,1995; Rape in the First Degree (2 counts), Sodomy in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree relating to incidents alleged to have occurred on December 15,1995. The acts charged in the indictment involve three separate victims and allege forcible compulsion. The People have specified in the application that each of the alleged victims immediately reported the incidents and were taken to a hospital where a rape kit was completed. Evidence was collected and stored in the property clerk's office. The collected evidence was later transferred to the Monroe County [*2]Public Safety Laboratory. The evidence was then transferred to the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center where the analysis revealed an STR DNA testing profile from samples taken from the victim that is consistent with a single male donor. This information is verified by a laboratory report No. 96-H-004918 attached to the application.
The People have also submitted to this court information that is not contained in the indictment. On October 15,1997 a thirteen year old girl was walking to a school bus in the vicinity of 122 Ambrose Street when she was forcibly raped. She immediately reported the incident to the police and was taken to a hospital where evidence was collected from her. The evidence was collected and stored in the property clerk's office. The collected evidence was later transferred to the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory. The evidence was then transferred to Cellmark Diagnostics Laboratory where an STR DNA profile was obtained from the sperm fraction of the vaginal swab. The STR DNA profile obtained by Cellmark Diagnostics Laboratory matched the STR DNA profiles contained in the New York State laboratory report # 96-H-004918.
On September 3, 2004 in Clayton, Alabama a woman reported being raped and sodomized. She was taken to a hospital where a rape kit was completed. On September 8, 2004 the woman was shown a photographic array and identified a photograph of Keith Laster as the person who committed the crime. The defendant was arrested, an oral swab was obtained from him, and charges were brought against him in Alabama. A rectal swab from the victim was analyzed and a STR-DNA profile for the sperm fraction of the sample was identified. The STR-DNA profile of the defendant was identified after analyzing the swab sample taken from the defendant. The STR DNA profile for the sperm fraction of the sample from the rectal swab matched the defendant's STR DNA profile.
All STR DNA profiles discovered during the investigations of the incidents occurring on September 3, 2004, October 15, 1997, December 15, 1995, November 30, 1995, and November 28, 1995 were submitted for comparison in the National DNA Index System. Upon comparison, the National DNA Index System determined that all of the DNA evidence relating to these incidents matched.
On October 28, 1993 a woman reported she was raped in the area of 120 Cliff Street in the City of Rochester at approximately 7:00 a.m. Within an hour and a half the victim reported the incident to the Rochester Police Department. The victim was taken to the hospital and a rape kit was completed and then submitted to the Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory for DNA analysis. A DQA1 and Polymarker DNA profile was identified in the sperm fraction of the vaginal swab and the semen stain from the sperm fraction of the victim's panties. The DQA1 and Polymarker DNA profile matched the DQA1 and Polymarker DNA profile obtained from the rape kit evidence discovered during the investigation of the rape occurring on October 15,1997. The defendant was questioned concerning the sexual assault occurring on October 28, 1993. The defendant admitted that he was in Rochester at the time of the rape. The defendant also admitted having sexual intercourse with the victim at the scene of the crime, but claimed the encounter was consensual.This court may order the defendant to provide an oral swab sample when an indictment is pending (CPL § 240.40 [2][b][v]). Establishing probable cause is not explicitly required by statute, however, issuing an order for a person to provide an oral swab sample is "subject to [*3]constitutional limitation" (CPL § 240.40). A court may issue an order to obtain an oral swab sample from the defendant when the People establish (1) probable cause to believe the suspect has committed the crime, (2) a clear indication that relevant material evidence would be found, and (3) the method used to secure the evidence is safe and reliable (Matter of Abe A., 56 NY2d 288, 291 [1982]). This court determines that the People have provided this court with sufficient information to establish probable cause that the defendant has committed the crimes charged. Further, this court finds that substantial evidence has been provided by the People that give a clear indication that the oral swab sample would supply relevant material evidence. This court has weighed the seriousness of the crime and the potential importance of the evidence to this investigation and the unavailability of a less intrusive means against the defendant's right to be free of bodily intrusion (Id). The court concludes that the substantial factual predicates set forth in the People's application outweigh the defendant's constitutional right to be free of bodily intrusion, especially when such intrusion is as minimal as an oral swab sample.
Therefore the court grants the People's application pursuant to CPL § 240.40 [2][b][v] to take an oral swab sample from defendant for the purposes of conducting a DNA analysis on the defendant's swab to confirm the information contained in the investigative lead generated by the National DNA Index System and to use for comparison purposes relating to each of the incidents specified in the People's application. The court also directs that the District Attorney provide notice to defense counsel and an opportunity to be present when the sample is taken.
The defendant's remaining contentions are not pertinent to this application and will not be addressed at this time considering the context of the People's application.
This shall constitute the decision and order of this Court.
Dated this 8th day of July, 2005 at Rochester, New York.
________________________________
PATRICIA D. MARKS
COUNTY COURT JUDGE
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
