Opinion
06-22-2017
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Walter GEORGES, Appellant.
G. Scott Walling, Schenectady, for appellant. Robert M. Carney, District Attorney, Schenectady (Peter H. Willis of counsel), for respondent.
G. Scott Walling, Schenectady, for appellant.
Robert M. Carney, District Attorney, Schenectady (Peter H. Willis of counsel), for respondent.
Before: PETERS, P.J., GARRY, DEVINE, MULVEY and AARONS, JJ.
AARONS, J.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Schenectady County (Loyola, J.), rendered July 22, 2015, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
In satisfaction of an eight-count indictment, defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and waived his right to appeal, both orally and in writing. In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, he was sentenced as a second felony offender to four years in prison and three years of postrelease supervision. He now appeals.
As an initial matter, we agree with defendant that his appeal waiver was invalid inasmuch as the record reveals that defendant was not advised that the right to appeal was separate and distinct from the other rights that he was forfeiting by pleading guilty (see People v. Lopez, 6 N.Y.3d 248, 256, 811 N.Y.S.2d 623, 844 N.E.2d 1145 [2006] ; People v. Herbert, 147 A.D.3d 1208, 1208, 47 N.Y.S.3d 500 [2017] ; People v. Lloyd, 142 A.D.3d 1250, 1251, 37 N.Y.S.3d 917 [2016], lv. denied 28 NY3d 1073, 47 N.Y.S.3d 232, 69 N.E.3d 1028 [2016] ). Defendant is therefore not precluded from challenging the severity of the imposed sentence (see People v. Cox, 146 A.D.3d 1154, 1155, 46 N.Y.S.3d 693 [2017] ; People v. Maxwell, 142 A.D.3d 739, 740, 36 N.Y.S.3d 832 [2016] ). We nevertheless find this challenge to be without merit. In view of defendant's multiple prior drug-related convictions, we discern no extraordinary circumstances nor any abuse of discretion warranting a reduction of the sentence in the interest of justice (see People v. Slamp, 145 A.D.3d 1320, 1321, 44 N.Y.S.3d 245 [2016] ; People v. Lloyd, 142 A.D.3d at 1251, 37 N.Y.S.3d 917 ).
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
PETERS, P.J., GARRY, DEVINE and MULVEY, JJ., concur.