Honorable Frank W. Lincoln, Judge Presiding. The charges were brought after a controlled buy from defendant. The State also agreed to cap its sentencing recommendation at 20 years' imprisonment. Defense counsel confirmed this agreement. Following presentation of evidence, arguments of counsel, and a statement in allocution by defendant, the trial court imposed a sentence of 16 years in prison.
Defendant now appeals.
In his appeal, defendant argues that the prison sentence imposed upon him is excessive. Thus, the two defendants in Linder were not entitled to appeal their sentences because they had not first sought in the trial court to withdraw their guilty pleas and vacate the judgments. The Linder decision evolved from the supreme court's decision in Evans, where it was held that a defendant who enters a negotiated guilty plea may not challenge his sentence by filing a motion to reconsider but, rather, must move to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate the judgment and show that granting the motion is necessary to correct a manifest injustice. Defendant argues that Linder should not be applied to his case, because the trial court failed to admonish him as to the proper postsentencing motion to file. Although defendant's guilty plea was not fully negotiated, it was a negotiated plea in two respects.