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People v. Wells

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department
Jan 28, 2010
69 A.D.3d 1228 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010)

Opinion

No. 102063.

January 28, 2010.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Essex County (Meyer, J.), rendered August 22, 2008, which revoked defendant's probation and imposed a sentence of imprisonment.

Brandon E. Boutelle, Public Defender, Elizabethtown, for appellant.

Kristy L. Sprague, District Attorney, Elizabethtown, for respondent.

Before: Cardona, P.J., Peters, Rose and McCarthy, JJ., concur.


In April 2008, defendant was convicted of driving while intoxicated and sentenced to five years of probation. The terms of probation included that defendant "[m]eaningfully participate in, cooperate with and successfully complete any alcohol or substance abuse counseling and/or treatment program as directed by the Probation Department" and that she not use alcoholic beverages. County Court subsequently found that defendant had violated these terms, revoked her probation and resentenced her to a prison term of 1 to 3 years. Defendant now appeals.

A court may revoke a defendant's probation provided the "defendant has been afforded an opportunity to be heard and the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that a condition of the probation has been violated" ( People v Jangrow, 34 AD3d 991, 991-992; accord People v DeMarco, 60 AD3d 1107, 1108). Here, defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence establishing her probation violation. We disagree. With respect to the allegation that defendant failed to complete a prescribed treatment program, there is evidence in the record that defendant failed to either participate in or complete various prescribed programs, and the cast manager of a program that defendant did participate in testified that defendant was dismissed from the program due to disruptive and disrespectful behavior. Moreover, defendant admittedly violated the term of probation forbidding the use of alcohol, testifying that she drank beer the day after being placed on probation. Under these circumstances, we find no reason to disburb County Court's determination that defendant violated her probation ( see People v Garner, 56 AD3d 951, 952, lv denied 12 NY3d 783). We find similarly unavailing defendant's contention that her sentence was harsh and excessive, as our review of the record reveals no clear abuse of discretion by County Court nor the existence of extraordinary circumstances warranting a reduction of the resentence ( see People v Hunter, 62 AD3d 1207, 1208; People v Carter, 59 AD3d 750, 750; People v Wheeler, 52 AD3d 948, 948).

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.


Summaries of

People v. Wells

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department
Jan 28, 2010
69 A.D.3d 1228 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010)
Case details for

People v. Wells

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. BRENDA J. WELLS…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Department

Date published: Jan 28, 2010

Citations

69 A.D.3d 1228 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010)
2010 N.Y. Slip Op. 591
894 N.Y.S.2d 213

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