Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of
In satisfaction of a four-count indictment, defendant entered a guilty plea to burglary in the second degree stemming from his involvement in a home invasion with three other people during which cash and other valuables were stolen from the homeowner’s safe and the homeowner was assaulted. In accordance with the plea agreement, which also included an appeal waiver, defendant was sentenced as a second felony offender to a prison term of 10 years with five years of postrelease supervision and restitution. Defendant now appeals.
Defendant claims that his guilty plea was not knowing, voluntary and intelligent because the People tied the plea offer to their support of his right to be released on bail. However, defendant did not raise this contention before County Court or move to withdraw his guilty plea and, therefore, it is not preserved for our review (see People v Peque, 22 NY3d 168, 182-183 [2013], cert denied 574 US —, 135 S Ct 90 [2014]; People v Lopez, 71 NY2d 662, 665 [1988]). In any event, defendant’s claim concerns an appearance almost two months before his entry of a guilty plea. While we agree that the People improperly interjected the issue of bail into the plea negotiations at that appearance, the court released defendant on bail at that time.* After defendant entered a guilty plea, he was continued on bail pending sentencing. Thus, the record belies his claim that he was forced to enter a guilty plea in order to achieve bail (see People v Todd, 276 AD2d 913, 914 [2000]). That is, neither the court nor the People required that he choose between admitting guilt and remaining free or maintaining his innocence and remaining in jail (see People v Baker, 104 AD3d 783, 783 [2013], lv denied 21 NY3d 1013 [2013], cert denied 571 US —, 134 S Ct 700 [2013]; cf. People v Grant, 61 AD3d 177, 183-184 [2009]). Further, our review of the plea allocution reveals that the guilty plea represented “an informed choice freely made by defendant among other valid alternatives” (People v Brown, 14 NY3d 113, 116 [2010]) and that it was entered knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently (see People v Tyrell, 22 NY3d 359, 365 [2013]).
Although the plea agreement included a waiver of the right to appeal signed in open court, the record reflects that it was not knowing, voluntary and intelligent because County Court did not explain or ascertain that defendant understood the
McCarthy, J.P., Devine and Clark, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
*.
Upon his release, defendant was immediately sent to jail in another county on an unrelated pending matter.