People v Pellew
2020 NY Slip Op 05939 [187 AD3d 1060]
October 21, 2020
Appellate Division, Second Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, December 2, 2020


[*1]
 The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Gavin Pellew, Appellant.

Paul Skip Laisure, New York, NY (Lynn W.L. Fahey of counsel), for appellant.

Eric Gonzalez, District Attorney, Brooklyn, NY (Leonard Joblove and Amy Appelbaum of counsel; Alastair Allen on the memorandum), for respondent.

Appeal by the defendant, as limited by his motion, from a sentence of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Sharen D. Hudson, J.), imposed May 28, 2019, upon his plea of guilty, on the ground that the sentence was excessive.

Ordered that the sentence is affirmed.

Contrary to the People's contention, the record does not reflect that the defendant knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to appeal (see People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545, 566 [2019]). The Supreme Court's colloquy and the written waiver "mischaracterized the appellate rights waived as encompassing an absolute bar to the taking of a direct appeal and the loss of attendant rights to counsel and poor person relief" (People v Tayeh, 181 AD3d 726, 727 [2020]; see People v Thomas, 34 NY3d at 565-566; People v Morocho, 184 AD3d 876 [2020]). Thus, the purported waiver does not preclude this Court's review of the defendant's excessive sentence claim (see People v Morocho, 184 AD3d 876 [2020]).

However, the sentence imposed was not excessive (see People v Suitte, 90 AD2d 80 [1982]). Balkin, J.P., Chambers, Cohen, Connolly and Wooten, JJ., concur.