Defendant and a codefendant were stopped by the police 1 1/2 blocks from the scene of a burglary and robbery, and within moments of the commission of those crimes. Both men closely matched the broadcast descriptions of the robbers. Codefendant tried to pass himself off as a police officer, and a frisk revealed a gun and police radio scanner in codefendant's possession. A police officer shield, shield case and PBA card were seized from defendant. Since there was probable cause for an arrest upon the interaction with codefendant, the fact that the search occurred minutes before the formal arrest is immaterial and did not vitiate the search ( People v. Evans, 43 N.Y.2d 160, 166; People v. Landy, 59 N.Y.2d 369, 377; People v. Graham, 211 A.D.2d 55, 61, n 2, lv denied 86 N.Y.2d 795; People v. Davis, 192 A.D.2d 360, 362, lv denied 81 N.Y.2d 1071).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Rosenberger, Wallach, Kupferman and Williams, JJ.