People v. Smith

State of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Judicial Department Decided and Entered: January 28, 2016 107132 ________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v MEMORANDUM AND ORDER TIGE SMITH JR., Appellant. ________________________________ Calendar Date: December 8, 2015 Before: Peters, P.J., Garry, Egan Jr. and Lynch, JJ. __________ Susan Patnode, Rural Law Center of New York, Albany (Kelly L. Egan of counsel), for appellant. Alexander Lesyk, Special Prosecutor, Norwood, for respondent. __________ Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of St. Lawrence County (Richards, J.), rendered August 18, 2014, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Defendant was sentenced to a prison term of five years and two years of postrelease supervision following his plea of guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. His sole contention on appeal is that the sentence imposed is harsh and excessive. We disagree. County Court made no sentence commitment and imposed a prison term that was less than the maximum permitted by statute (see Penal Law § 70.70 [2] [a] [i]). Notably, while this matter was pending, defendant absconded and was twice arrested and convicted upon a charge of assault in the third degree. Further, a review of the presentence investigation -2- 107132 report reflects defendant's extensive drug-related history. We find no abuse of discretion or extraordinary circumstances warranting modification of the sentence in the interest of justice (see People v Lasanta, 89 AD3d 1324 [2011]; People v Velazquez, 67 AD3d 1124, 1124 [2009], lv denied 14 NY3d 894 [2010]; People v Williams, 65 AD3d 1423, 1424 [2009]). Peters, P.J., Garry, Egan Jr. and Lynch, JJ., concur. ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed. ENTER: Robert D. Mayberger Clerk of the Court