| People v Rodriguez |
| 2025 NYSlipOp 06970 [244 AD3d 564] |
| December 16, 2025 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Elliot Rodriguez, Appellant. |
Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Shaina R. Watrous of counsel), for appellant.
Crimes
- Sentence
- Only Pleaded Guilty to One Count
- Erroneously Given Two One-Year Sentences
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Jonathan Svetkey, J., at plea; Laurie Peterson, J., at sentencing), rendered January 26, 2024, purporting to convict defendant of two counts of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony drug offender, to concurrent jail terms of one year, unanimously modified, to the extent of vacating the sentence imposed on the second count, and otherwise affirmed.
The sentencing court, erroneously believing that defendant pled guilty to two counts, sentenced him to two concurrent one-year sentences. However, defendant only pled guilty to one attempted third-degree sale count, and thus was only convicted of one count. Accordingly, as the People concede, there was no legal basis for his second, concurrent sentence (see CPL 1.20 [13], [14]). Concur—Moulton, J.P., Kennedy, Mendez, Michael, Chan, JJ.