| People v Santiago |
| 2025 NY Slip Op 05260 [242 AD3d 773] |
| October 1, 2025 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| The People of the State of New York,
Respondent, v Pedro E. Santiago, Appellant. |
Carol Kahn, New York, NY, for appellant.
Anthony P. Parisi, District Attorney, Poughkeepsie, NY (Kirsten A. Rappleyea of counsel), for respondent.
Crimes - Sentence - Issuance of Amended Uniform Sentence and Commitment Sheets That Properly Reflect Defendant's Sentences for His Convictions of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance in Third Degree and Robbery in Third Degree
Crimes
- Plea of Guilty
- Sufficiency of Allocution
- Preservation of Issue for Review
Appeals by the defendant from two judgments of the County Court, Dutchess County (Edward T. McLoughlin, J.), both rendered March 25, 2024, convicting him of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree under S.C.I. No. 135/23 and robbery in the third degree under S.C.I. No. 132/23, upon his pleas of guilty, and imposing sentences.
Ordered that the judgments are affirmed, and the matters are remitted to the County Court, Dutchess County, for the issuance of two amended uniform sentence and commitment sheets in accordance herewith.
The record demonstrates that the defendant knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to appeal (see People v Lopez, 6 NY3d 248, 256 [2006]; People v Patterson, 241 AD3d 580, 580 [2025]). The defendant's valid waiver of his right to appeal precludes appellate review of his contention that the sentences imposed were excessive (see People v Randolph, 235 AD3d 780, 780 [2025]; People v Amado, 226 AD3d 699, 699 [2024]).
To the extent that the defendant contends that the factual insufficiency of the plea allocution rendered his plea of guilty to robbery in the third degree involuntary and unintelligent, this contention survives a valid waiver of the right to appeal (see People v Seaberg, 74 NY2d 1, 10 [1989]; People v Javiel, 231 AD3d 967, 967 [2024]). However, the contention is unpreserved for appellate review, as the defendant did not move to withdraw his plea or otherwise raise this issue before the County Court (see CPL 470.05 [2]; People v Lopez, 71 NY2d 662, 663 [1988]). The exception to the preservation requirement does not apply in this case because the defendant's allocution did not cast significant doubt on his guilt, negate an essential element of the crime, or call into question the voluntariness of the plea (see People v Lopez, 71 NY2d at 666; People v Prenaj, 239 AD3d 1001, 1001-1002 [2025]).
As the People correctly concede, however, the defendant's uniform sentence and
commitment sheets contain errors that require correction. The uniform sentence and
commitment sheet for the defendant's conviction of criminal possession of a controlled
substance in the third degree under S.C.I. No. 135/23 states that the defendant was
sentenced to a determinate term of imprisonment of five years, to be followed by two
years of postrelease supervision when he was, in [*2]fact,
sentenced to a determinate term of imprisonment of seven years, to be followed by two
years of postrelease supervision. The defendant's uniform sentence and commitment
sheet for his conviction for robbery in the third degree under S.C.I. No. 132/23 states that
he was sentenced to a determinate term of imprisonment of seven years, to be followed
by five years of postrelease supervision when he was, in fact, sentenced to an
indeterminate term of 2