People v. Degraffenreid (Tonya)

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, against Tonya Degraffenreid, Defendant-Appellant. Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Criminal Court of the City of New York, New York County (Richard M. Weinberg, J.), rendered October 28, 2013, convicting her, upon a plea of guilty, of loitering for the purpose of prostitution, and imposing sentence. Per Curiam. Judgment of conviction (Richard M. Weinberg, J.), rendered October 28, 2013, affirmed. Defendant had the practical ability to withdraw her plea before sentencing, and her challenge to the validity of her plea does not come within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see People v Conceicao, 26 NY3d 375, 381—382 [2015]; People v Santos, 140 AD3d 499 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 1031 [2016]). We decline to review this unpreserved claim in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we find, upon viewing the plea allocution in its entirety and in light of defendant's obvious familiarity with the criminal justice system resulting from some 50 prior guilty pleas, that the plea was knowing, voluntary and intelligent (see People v Butler, 200 AD2d 515 [1994], lv denied 83 NY2d 850 [1994], 83 NY2d 855 [1994]). In any event, we find that the remedy of dismissal sought by defendant is unwarranted (see People v Teron, 139 AD3d 450 [2016]). THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT. I concur I concur Decision Date: December 17, 2019