Opinion
570942/14
05-12-2022
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Paul Williams, Defendant-Appellant.
Unpublished Opinion
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Steven M. Statsinger, J.), rendered May 13, 2014, convicting him, upon a plea of guilty, of aggravated harassment in the second degree, and imposing sentence.
PRESENT: Brigantti, J.P., Hagler, Michael, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Judgment of conviction (Steven M. Statsinger, J.), rendered May 13, 2014, affirmed.
Defendant's request for vacatur of his conviction of aggravated harassment in the second degree on the basis that Penal Law § 240.30(1)(a) has been declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals (see People v Golb, 23 N.Y.3d 455, 467-468 [2014], cert denied 574 U.S. 1079 [2015]), is unpreserved (see People v Scott, 126 A.D.3d 645 [2015], lv denied 25 N.Y.3d 1171 [2015]; see also People v Ward, 136 A.D.3d 504 [2016], lv denied 28 N.Y.3d 938 [2016]). The interest of justice would not be served by relieving defendant, who had a history of domestic violence against the victim, of this conviction, particularly since his egregious conduct went far beyond a mere communication with intent to annoy, which was the primary concern of the Court of Appeals when it invalidated the statute in People v Golb, supra (see People v Irizarry, 135 A.D.3d 641, 642 [2016], lv denied 28 N.Y.3d 931 [2016]).
Nor was the information jurisdictionally defective. Allegations that defendant called the victim and stated "I'm going to have your head," "I will cut you and make you bleed," and "if I can't get you, I will get your sister and your mother," were sufficient at the pleading stage to support a finding that defendant made a "genuine threat[]" to physically harm complainant (People v Dietze, 75 N.Y.2d 47, 54 [1989]; see People v Genao, 67 Misc.3d 140 [A], 2020 NY Slip Op 50700[U] [App Term, 1st Dept 2020], lv denied 37 N.Y.3d 965 [2021]).
All concur.