People v. Henderson

• Decision Date: 07 May 1987
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. John HENDERSON, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 120

515 N.Y.S.2d 120

130 A.D.2d 789

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. John HENDERSON, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Department.

May 7, 1987.

Robert M. Subik, Johnstown, for appellant.

William H. Gritsavage, Dist. Atty., Johnstown, for respondent.

Before MAHONEY, P.J., and WEISS, MIKOLL, LEVINE and HARVEY, JJ.

WEISS, Justice.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Fulton County (Lomanto, J.), rendered May 1, 1985, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of murder in the second degree.

Defendant and Mark Brown were charged in a two-count indictment with murder in the second degree and assault in the first degree for a brutal beating and murder of Michael Briskie on December 9, 1984, the circumstances of which are set forth in the companion case (see, People v. Brown, 126 A.D.2d 898, 510 N.Y.S.2d 932). Defendant identified himself to the police at the scene and explained that he and Brown observed the body while depositing trash in a nearby dumpster. Defendant voluntarily accompanied a detective to the police station, where after being apprised of his Miranda rights, he gave a written statement reiterating how he and Brown discovered the body. Defendant then agreed to accompany the detective to the State Police barracks in the Village of Fultonville, Montgomery County, for purposes of undergoing a polygraph test. No test was given, but defendant ultimately changed his story and gave a full written confession.

On March 20, 1985, during a recess in a suppression hearing held to determine the admissibility of the aforementioned statements, a plea agreement was reached. Following an extensive plea colloquy, defendant pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree in full satisfaction of the indictment. At sentencing, defendant moved to withdraw the guilty plea claiming that he had not received adequate representation, particularly since counsel allegedly had failed to clarify the potential for a concurrent rather than a consecutive sentence and the possibility of conviction on the lesser included offense of manslaughter. County Court denied the motion and sentenced defendant in accord with the plea bargain to 24 years to life imprisonment.

On this appeal, defendant maintains that County Court abused its discretion in refusing to vacate the guilty plea. We disagree. Whether to allow a defendant to withdraw his guilty plea rests in the sound discretion of the trial court (People v. Kelsch, 96 A.D.2d 677, 678, 466 N.Y.S.2d 535). To warrant such relief, there must be some evidence or claim of innocence, fraud or mistake in inducing the plea (People v. Gibson, 84 A.D.2d 885, 886, 444 N.Y.S.2d 762; People v. Cooke, 61 A.D.2d 1060, 402 N.Y.S.2d 478). A mere allegation that a defendant misinterpreted the plea agreement is insufficient (People v. Cataldo, 39 N.Y.2d 578, 580, 384 N.Y.S.2d 763, 349 N.E.2d 863), as is an assertion that counsel provided erroneous off-the-record advice (People v. Ramos, 63 N.Y.2d 640, 643, 479 N.Y.S.2d 510, 468 N.E.2d 692). Here, a review of the plea allocution confirms that defendant was fully apprised of the consequences of his plea, including the sentencing ramifications. Nor was defendant misinformed by counsel's suggestion that consecutive sentences could be imposed on the respective counts of the indictment, representing a maximum term of 30 years to life imprisonment. Defendant expressly acknowledged that he was satisfied with counsel and that his plea was voluntary. He further recited in detail his commission of the crime, and confirmed that he "knew * * * basically what was going on" at the time of the fatal assault. Moreover defendant did not profess his innocence, nor assert that the plea was induced by fraud or coercion. These circumstances prevailing, County Court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow defendant to withdraw his guilty plea (see, People v. Matta, 103 A.D.2d 756,...