Opinion
01-30-2024
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. James BENBOW, Defendant-Appellant.
Joseph F. DeFelice, Kew Gardens, for appellant. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Molly Morgan of counsel), for respondent.
Joseph F. DeFelice, Kew Gardens, for appellant.
Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Molly Morgan of counsel), for respondent.
Singh, J.P., Kapnick, Kennedy, Higgitt, Michael, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Brendan T. Lantry, J.), rendered April 25, 2023, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him to a term of five years, unanimously reversed, on the law, the plea vacated, and the matter remanded for further proceedings.
As the People concede, the court's failure to advise defendant that any enhanced sentence imposed upon a violation of his plea agreement would include a term of postrelease supervision rendered his plea invalid (see People v. Catu, 4 N.Y.3d 242, 792 N.Y.S.2d 887, 825 N.E.2d 1081 [2005]). Because we vacate the plea on this basis, we need not reach defendant’s remaining contentions.