Opinion
12-15-2016
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jose COLON, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Ben A. Schatz of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yan Slavinskiy of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Ben A. Schatz of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yan Slavinskiy of counsel), for respondent.
SWEENY, J.P., RENWICK, RICHTER, MANZANET–DANIELS, KAPNICK, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Richard D. Carruthers, J.), rendered April 16, 2014, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender previously convicted of a violent felony, to a term of six years, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly denied defendant's suppression motion. There is no basis for disturbing the court's credibility determinations.
The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant's request for new counsel, made before the suppression hearing. The court gave defendant ample opportunity to air his grievances against counsel, and this constituted a suitable inquiry, given the lack of substance of those complaints (see People v. Porto, 16 N.Y.3d 93, 100–101, 917 N.Y.S.2d 74, 942 N.E.2d 283 [2010] ). Defendant only expressed disagreements about trial strategy, misunderstandings of law, and a generalized complaint about the quality of the representation (see e. g. People v. Hopkins, 67 A.D.3d 471, 472, 889 N.Y.S.2d 27 [1st Dept.2009], lv. denied 14 N.Y.3d 771, 898 N.Y.S.2d 103, 925 N.E.2d 108 [2010] ). Counsel's comments did not create a conflict or have any adverse impact on defendant (see People v. Nelson, 27 A.D.3d 287, 811 N.Y.S.2d 65 [1st Dept.2006], affd. 7 N.Y.3d 883, 826 N.Y.S.2d 593, 860 N.E.2d 56 [2006] ).
Defendant's challenge to the legality of the use of his third-degree weapon possession conviction as a violent predicate felony is unavailing (see People v. Smith [McGhee], 27 N.Y.3d 652, 670, 36 N.Y.S.3d 861, 57 N.E.3d 53 [2016] ). We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.