People v. McDowell

• Decision Date: 01 November 1993
• Citation: 604 N.Y.S.2d 801,198 A.D.2d 236
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Curtis McDOWELL, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 801

604 N.Y.S.2d 801

198 A.D.2d 236

The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Curtis McDOWELL, Appellant.

Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department.

Nov. 1, 1993.

Abraham B. Strassfeld, Brooklyn, for appellant.

Charles J. Hynes, Dist. Atty., Brooklyn (Roseann B. MacKechnie and Keith Dolan, of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Pesce, J.), rendered October 16, 1991, convicting him of attempted robbery in the second degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.

We find no merit to the defendant's contention that he should have been permitted to withdraw his plea of guilty. The decision to permit the withdrawal of a plea of guilty rests within the sound discretion of the court (see, CPL 220.60[3]; People v. Dickerson, 163 A.D.2d 610, 559 N.Y.S.2d 40). The defendant's unsupported, conclusory allegation of innocence at sentencing did not warrant the vacatur of his plea (see, People v. Chestnut, 188 A.D.2d 480, 590 N.Y.S.2d 906; People v. Dickerson, supra; People v. Bourdonnay, 160 A.D.2d 1014, 555 N.Y.S.2d 134). Accordingly, it was not an improvident exercise of the court's discretion to deny the defendant's motion to withdraw his plea without holding a hearing (see, People v. Chestnut, supra; People v. Dickerson, supra).

THOMPSON, J.P., and SULLIVAN, MILLER, RITTER and SANTUCCI, JJ., concur.