Opinion
June 24, 1993
Appeal from the County Court of Rensselaer County (Dwyer, Jr., J.).
Defendant pleaded guilty to the crime of burglary in the third degree. Prior to sentencing, however, defendant absconded to North Carolina. Defendant was eventually returned to this State and was sentenced, in accordance with his plea arraignment, to a term of imprisonment of 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years and ordered to pay restitution to Rensselaer County for the expenses incurred by the County in transporting defendant from North Carolina. Defendant appeals, contending that the portion of the sentence ordering restitution was illegal.
Initially, we find that defendant's waiver of his right to appeal as a part of his guilty plea does not prohibit him from raising the issue of the legality of the sentence in this Court (see, People v. Seaberg, 74 N.Y.2d 1, 9; People v. Ross, 182 A.D.2d 1022, lv dismissed 80 N.Y.2d 934). We agree with defendant that the part of the sentence ordering restitution was illegal and modify the sentence accordingly (see, People v. Cruz, 81 N.Y.2d 996; People v. Snow, 180 A.D.2d 698; People v. Storm, 177 A.D.2d 767; People v. Dulanski, 175 A.D.2d 672).
Weiss, P.J., Levine, Crew III, Mahoney and Casey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the law, by vacating so much thereof as directed restitution by defendant to Rensselaer County in the sum of $2,002.41, and, as so modified, affirmed.