People v. Hunt

• Decision Date: 03 October 2019
• Docket Number: 109272
• Citation: 176 A.D.3d 1253,111 N.Y.S.3d 134
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Rashann R. HUNT, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

176 A.D.3d 1253
111 N.Y.S.3d 134

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent,
v.
Rashann R. HUNT, Appellant.

109272

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

Calendar Date: September 12, 2019
Decided and Entered: October 3, 2019

111 N.Y.S.3d 135

Linda B. Johnson, East Greenbush, for appellant.

Karen A. Heggen, District Attorney, Ballston Spa (Gordon W. Eddy of counsel), for respondent.

Before: Garry, P.J., Clark, Mulvey and Pritzker, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Pritzker, J.

176 A.D.3d 1253

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Saratoga County (Sypniewski, J.), rendered July 6, 2015, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of burglary in the first degree.

In full satisfaction of a 28–count indictment, defendant was afforded the opportunity to plead guilty to one count of burglary in the first degree with the understanding that he would be sentenced to a prison term of 14 years followed by

111 N.Y.S.3d 136

five years of postrelease supervision – said sentence to be served concurrently with the sentence that had been imposed upon a conviction in another county. The proposed plea agreement also required defendant to waive his right to appeal. The charges here stemmed from an incident wherein defendant, among other things, pistol-whipped his former girlfriend and threatened her and the responding police officers with a weapon, resulting in injuries to the former girlfriend and one of the police officers. Defendant thereafter pleaded guilty to one count of burglary in the first degree, and County Court imposed the agreed-upon sentence. This appeal by defendant followed.

We affirm. Contrary to defendant's assertion, we find that his waiver of the right to appeal was knowing, intelligent and voluntary. County Court explained the separate and distinct nature of the waiver – distinguishing it from the trial-related rights automatically forfeited by defendant's guilty plea – and defendant, in turn, confirmed his understanding thereof (see People v. Stebbins , 171 A.D.3d 1395, 1396, 98 N.Y.S.3d 670 [2019], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 1108, 106 N.Y.S.3d 698, 130 N.E.3d 1308 [2019] ; People v. Fedderman , 170 A.D.3d 1279, 1280, 93 N.Y.S.3d 915 [2019] ; People v. Chaney , 160 A.D.3d 1281, 1282–1283, 76 N.Y.S.3d 257 [2018], lv denied 31 N.Y.3d 1146, 83 N.Y.S.3d 427, 108 N.E.3d 501 [2018] ). Additionally, defendant signed a written waiver in court and, in response to County Court's

176 A.D.3d 1254

questioning, indicated that he had reviewed the written waiver, understood its terms and had been afforded sufficient time to confer with counsel (see People v. White , 172 A.D.3d 1822, 1823, 101 N.Y.S.3d 519 [2019], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 1110, 106 N.Y.S.3d 661, 130 N.E.3d 1271 [2019] ; People v. Breithaupt , 171 A.D.3d 1311, 1312, 95 N.Y.S.3d 911 [2019] ; People v. Jawan , 165 A.D.3d 1350, 1350, 82 N.Y.S.3d 905 [2018], lv denied 32 N.Y.3d 1173, 97 N.Y.S.3d 580, 121 N.E.3d 207 [2019] ). Under these circumstances, we find that defendant validly waived his right to appeal. Accordingly, defendant's challenges to the severity of the agreed-upon sentence (see People v. Vanalst , 171 A.D.3d 1349, 1350, 96 N.Y.S.3d 767 [2019], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 1109, 106 N.Y.S.3d 659, 130 N.E.3d 1269 [2019] ; People v. Douglas , 168 A.D.3d 1285, 1286, 91 N.Y.S.3d 814 [2019] ) and the factual sufficiency of his plea (see People v. Peryea , 169 A.D.3d 1120, 1121, 93 N.Y.S.3d 456 [2019], lv denied 33 N.Y.3d 980, 101 N.Y.S.3d 242, 124 N.E.3d 731 [2019] ; People v. Chaney , 160 A.D.3d at 1283, 76 N.Y.S.3d 257...