Opinion
No. 570160/19
06-17-2024
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Jose Velez, Defendant-Appellant.
Unpublished Opinion
PRESENT: Hagler, P.J., Tisch, James, JJ.
PER CURIAM
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Tandra L. Dawson, J.), rendered February 12, 2019, convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree, and imposing sentence.
Judgment of conviction (Tandra L. Dawson, J.), rendered February 12, 2019, affirmed.
Our review of the record indicates that defendant's guilty plea was knowing, intelligent and voluntary. In satisfaction of an accusatory instrument charging criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree (see Penal Law § 170.20), theft of services (see Penal Law § §165.15[3]), unlawful sale or reproduction of a MetroCard (see 21 NYCRR 1050.4[c]) and loitering (see Penal Law § 240.35[6]), defendant pleaded guilty to the forged instrument charge, in exchange for a sentence of time served. Defendant had counsel on the case, who waived formal allocution, and defendant personally confirmed that he was pleading guilty voluntarily and understood that he was giving up the right to trial. Moreover, defense counsel announced at the start of the plea proceeding, without the need for any additional discussion, that defendant had decided to plead guilty and "authorize[d]" the plea, a fact which "confirms that defendant made the decision to plead guilty after consulting with counsel prior to the start of the proceeding" (People v Conceicao, 26 N.Y.3d 375, 384 [2015]). Thus, the record as a whole establishes defendant's understanding and waiver of his constitutional rights, despite the absence of a full enumeration of all the rights waived (see People v Sougou, 26 N.Y.3d 1052, 1054 [2015]; People v Simmons, 138 A.D.3d 520 [2016], lv denied 27 N.Y.3d 1139 [2016]).