Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Saratoga County (Scarano, Jr., J), rendered March 4, 2002, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted burglary in the third degree.
Defendant was charged in an indictment with burglary in the second degree as the result of a break-in at a residence in the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, on January 8, 2000. Defendant accepted a plea offer, pleading guilty to a reduced charge of attempted burglary in the third degree with the understanding that he would be sentenced, as a predicate felon, to 1½ to 3 years’ imprisonment. At sentencing, defendant moved to withdraw his plea, claiming that he was innocent. He further maintained that he had a statement explaining who actually committed the crime and that unnamed individuals were paid both for their statements against defendant and to leave the state. County Court denied defendant’s motion without a hearing and sentenced defendant under the terms of the agreement, prompting this appeal.
Defendant argues that County Court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his plea without at least inquiring into his protestations of innocence. “The decision whether to permit a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea rests within the discretion of the trial court, ‘and only in rare instances will a hearing be granted’ ” (People v Bolden,
Cardona, P.J., Crew III, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
