People v. Velez

138 A.D.3d 418, 27 N.Y.S.3d 868

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: April 5, 2016
• Docket: 716 5251/11
• Status: Published

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bruce Allen, J.), rendered September 30, 2014, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of murder in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 20 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant’s challenges to his plea are unpreserved, and they do not come within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see People v Conceicao, 26 NY3d 375, 382 [2015]). We decline to review these claims in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find that the record as a whole establishes that the plea was knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made, notwithstanding any deficiencies in the plea colloquy, including the lack of reference to the right against self-incrimination (see People v Tyrell, 22 NY3d 359, 365 [2013]; People v Harris, 61 NY2d 9, 16-19 [1983]). Furthermore, there was nothing in defendant’s allocution itself that cast doubt on his guilt. Accordingly, the court was not required to inquire into statements defendant made on other occasions (see e.g. People v Fiallo, 6 AD3d 176, 177 [1st Dept 2004], lv denied 3 NY3d 640 [2004]).

Concur — Mazzarelli, J.P., Andrias, Saxe, Moskowitz and Kahn, JJ.