People v. Tarazona

People v Tarazona (2025 NY Slip Op 03768) People v Tarazona 2025 NY Slip Op 03768 Decided on June 24, 2025 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports. Decided and Entered: June 24, 2025 Before: Moulton, J.P., Gesmer, Scarpulla, Rosado, O'Neill Levy, JJ. Ind. No. 72271/22|Appeal No. 4615|Case No. 2023-00629| [*1]The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Dominick Tarazona, Defendant-Appellant. Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Abigail Everett of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Joshua P. Weiss of counsel), for respondent. Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Steven J. Hornstein, J.), rendered January 31, 2023, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of two years, unanimously affirmed. Defendant's purported waiver of his right to appeal was invalid because the written waiver he signed contained language that this Court has repeatedly held to be incompatible with a knowing, intelligent waiver (see People v Santiago, 119 AD3d 484, 485-486 [1st dept 2014], lv denied 24 NY3d 964 [2014]; see also People v Maldonado, 230 AD3d 1069, 1069-1070 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 42 NY3d 1053 [2024]). Moreover, the court's oral colloquy, while thorough, did not specifically address the infirm language in the written waiver. Defendant had standing to assert a Second Amendment challenge to the state's gun licensing scheme, even though he did not apply for a license, where an application would have been futile because he did not meet the minimum age requirement (see People v Velardo, 228 AD3d 520, 520 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 42 NY3d 930 [2024]). However, we find that on the present record, defendant has failed to establish that his conviction is unconstitutional under New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v Bruen, 597 US 1 [2022] (see People v Johnson, 225 AD3d 453, 455 [1st Dept 2024], lv granted 42 NY3d 939 [2024]; People v DeLarosa, 219 AD3d 1230 [1st Dept 2023], lv denied 40 NY3d 1080 [2023]). We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence. THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT. ENTERED: June 24, 2025