Opinion
December 23, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (George F. Roberts, J.).
Although defendant argues that he was improperly sentenced as a predicate felon, it is evident from the circumstances of the sentencing that the court simply misspoke when it imposed sentence on defendant as an "armed violent predicate." The phrase itself is meaningless. No predicate felony statement had been filed, and at no other time was mention made of a predicate felony. Co-defendant received the same negotiated sentence as an armed violent felon, as to which the minimum sentence is one-half the maximum pursuant to Penal Law § 70.02 (4), and it is plain that the same was intended with regard to defendant. The sentence imposed was well within the permissible range for robbery in the first degree, a class B violent felony, the most severe sentence being 12 1/2 to 25 years imprisonment (Penal Law § 70.02). Defendant was armed, and he showed no scruples about using the weapon, which he fired at police officers. In addition, the sentence here was a negotiated one, and defendant should be bound by the terms of his bargain (People v Capasso, 171 A.D.2d 448).
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Carro, Ellerin and Kupferman, JJ.