People v. WarrenPeople v. Warren
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Pritzker, J.
Defendant waived indictment and pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree pursuant to a plea agreement that required a waiver of appeal. Consistent with the agreement, defendant was sentenced, as an admitted second felony offender, to a prison term of 2 to 4 years and now appeals.
We affirm. Initially, as the People concede, defendant‘s appeal waiver was invalid, as the record fails to reflect, among other deficiencies, that County Court advised him that the waiver of appeal was separate and distinct from the trial-related rights that were automatically forfeited by his guilty plea or that defendant understood its ramifications (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256 [2006]; People v Loika, 153 AD3d 1516, 1517 [2017]). While the record contains a signed written waiver of appeal, there is no mention of it on the record and the circumstances under which it was signed are not reflected (see People v Cotto, 156 AD3d 1063, 1063 [2017]; cf. People v Lester, 141 AD3d 951, 953 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 1185 [2017]). Accordingly, defendant‘s challenge to the agreed-upon sentence as harsh and excessive is not precluded (see People v Cox, 146 AD3d 1154, 1155 [2017]), although we find it to be unavailing. To that end, defendant‘s plea stemmed from his possession of numerous items stolen from different homes, and he has an extensive
McCarthy, J.P., Devine, Mulvey and Aarons, JJ., concur.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.