Opinion
No. 571189/18
10-10-2024
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jefry Marte-Flores, Defendant-Appellant.
Unpublished Opinion
PRESENT: TISCH, J.P., JAMES, PEREZ, JJ.
PER CURIAM
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Bahaati E. Pitt, J.), rendered October 11, 2018, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and imposing sentence.
Appeal from judgment of conviction (Bahaati E. Pitt, J.), rendered October 11, 2018, dismissed.
Defendant's challenges to his voluntary agreement to forfeit the $2,293 seized from him at the time of his arrest are not properly before this Court because the forfeiture was not part of the judgment of conviction (see People v Lewis, 222 A.D.3d 600 [2023], lv denied 41 N.Y.3d 1019 [2024]; People v Abruzzese, 30 A.D.3d 219, 220 [2006], lv denied 7 N.Y.3d 784 [2006]). The court did not order any forfeiture, and the agreement was not part of the sentence (cf. People v Burgos, 129 A.D.3d 627, 627-628 [2015], lv denied 26 N.Y.3d 1038 [2015]). Rather, the forfeiture was based on a voluntary settlement of a potential, separate civil proceeding, which would be governed by the CPLR (People v Abruzzese, 30 A.D.3d at 220).
Were we not dismissing the forfeiture aspect of the appeal, we would affirm on the ground that defendant validly waived his right to raise any appellate challenge to the forfeiture agreement (see People v Abruzzese, 30 A.D.3d at 220). In any event, defendant's claims are unpreserved (see People v Burgos, 129 A.D.3d at 628), and we decline to reach them in the interest of justice. Because no other issues are raised with respect to the judgment of conviction, the appeal is dismissed.