| People v Ellington |
| 2022 NY Slip Op 03647 [206 AD3d 1651] |
| June 3, 2022 |
| Appellate Division, Fourth Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| The People of the State of New York,
Respondent, v Jon B. Ellington, Appellant. |
Kathleen E. Casey, Barker, for defendant-appellant.
Brian D. Seaman, District Attorney, Lockport (Thomas H. Brandt of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal from a judgment of the Niagara County Court (Matthew J. Murphy, III, J.), rendered August 14, 2019. The judgment convicted defendant upon a plea of guilty of kidnapping in the second degree.
It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon a plea of guilty of kidnapping in the second degree (Penal Law § 135.20), defendant contends that his waiver of the right to appeal is invalid and that his sentence is unduly harsh and severe. Even assuming, arguendo, that defendant's waiver of the right to appeal is invalid (see People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545, 564-566 [2019], cert denied 589 US —, 140 S Ct 2634 [2020]) and thus does not preclude our review of his challenge to the severity of his sentence (see People v Alls, 187 AD3d 1515, 1515 [4th Dept 2020]), we conclude that the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe. Present—Smith, J.P., Centra, NeMoyer, Curran and Bannister, JJ.