People v. Costa

Opinion

People v Costa

2026 NY Slip Op 04699

July 24, 2026

Appellate Division, Fourth Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This decision is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, RESPONDENT,

v

JOHN COSTA, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department

Decided on July 24, 2026

541 KA 24-01069

Present: Whalen, P.J., Curran, Montour, Greenwood, And Nowak, JJ.

THE LEGAL AID BUREAU OF BUFFALO, INC., BUFFALO (ROBERT L. KEMP OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

MICHAEL J. KEANE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BUFFALO (PAUL J. WILLIAMS, III, OF COUNSEL), FOR RESPONDENT.

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Erie County (M. William Boller, A.J.), rendered April 11, 2024. The judgment revoked defendant's sentence of probation and imposed a sentence of imprisonment.

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It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment revoking the sentence of probation previously imposed upon his conviction of attempted robbery in the second degree (Penal Law §§ 110.00, 160.10 [2] [b]) and sentencing him to a term of imprisonment, followed by a period of postrelease supervision. Initially, even assuming, arguendo, that defendant's waiver of the right to appeal during the underlying plea proceeding was valid, we conclude that, contrary to the People's assertion, the waiver does not encompass defendant's challenge to the severity of the sentence imposed following his violation of probation (see People v Quinones-Rivera, 170 AD3d 1530, 1530-1531 [4th Dept 2019]; see also People v Jones, 118 AD3d 1361, 1362 [4th Dept 2014]). We further conclude, however, that the sentence imposed upon defendant's violation of probation is not unduly harsh or severe.

Entered: July 24, 2026

Ann Dillon Flynn

Clerk of the Court