Opinion
795 KA 19-00166
10-08-2021
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Charles THIGPEN-WILLIAMS, Also Known as Charles Gus Thigpen Williams, Also Known as "Gus," Also Known as "Gusto," Defendant-Appellant.
THE LEGAL AID BUREAU OF BUFFALO, INC., BUFFALO (ALLYSON KEHL-WIERZBOWSKI OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. LAWRENCE FRIEDMAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BATAVIA (ROBERT J. SHOEMAKER OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.
THE LEGAL AID BUREAU OF BUFFALO, INC., BUFFALO (ALLYSON KEHL-WIERZBOWSKI OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
LAWRENCE FRIEDMAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BATAVIA (ROBERT J. SHOEMAKER OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.
PRESENT: CENTRA, J.P., LINDLEY, TROUTMAN, BANNISTER, AND DEJOSEPH, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously reversed as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice and on the law, the plea is vacated, and the matter is remitted to Genesee County Court for further proceedings on the indictment.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree ( Penal Law § 220.06 [5] ), defendant contends that his plea was rendered involuntary due to statements made by County Court during the plea colloquy indicating that the court would impose the maximum sentence and direct that it run consecutively to a previously imposed sentence if he were convicted at trial. Although defendant's contention that his plea was coerced and thus was not voluntary survives even a valid waiver of the right to appeal (see People v. Dozier , 59 A.D.3d 987, 987, 872 N.Y.S.2d 317 [4th Dept. 2009], lv denied 12 N.Y.3d 815, 881 N.Y.S.2d 23, 908 N.E.2d 931 [2009] ), he failed to preserve it for our review by way of a motion to withdraw his plea or to vacate the judgment of conviction on that ground (see People v. Boyd , 101 A.D.3d 1683, 1683, 956 N.Y.S.2d 382 [4th Dept. 2012] ; People v. Hall , 82 A.D.3d 1619, 1619, 919 N.Y.S.2d 638 [4th Dept. 2011], lv denied 16 N.Y.3d 895, 926 N.Y.S.2d 31, 949 N.E.2d 979 [2011] ). We nevertheless exercise our power to review the contention as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice (see CPL 470.15 [3] [c] ; People v. Flinn , 60 A.D.3d 1304, 1305, 875 N.Y.S.2d 364 [4th Dept. 2009] ).
With respect to the merits, it is well settled that a defendant "may not be induced to plead guilty by the threat of a heavier sentence" if he or she decides to proceed to trial ( People v. Juarbe , 162 A.D.3d 1625, 1626, 75 N.Y.S.3d 441 [4th Dept. 2018] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v. Williams , 144 A.D.3d 1529, 1529, 41 N.Y.S.3d 638 [4th Dept. 2016] ). Here, as the People correctly concede, the court's comments about sentencing were not merely a description of the range of the potential sentences; instead, they conveyed to defendant the court's intent to impose the maximum punishment at sentencing if he proceeded to trial and lost. That constitutes coercion, rendering the plea involuntary (see Williams , 144 A.D.3d at 1529, 41 N.Y.S.3d 638 ). We therefore reverse the judgment, vacate the plea and remit the matter to County Court for further proceedings on the indictment.