Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Joseph Strong, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2017-07-27
Citations: 152 A.D.3d 1076
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Joseph Strong, Appellant.
Judges: McCarthy, J.P., Devine and Clark, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 152
Pages: 1076–1080

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Joseph Strong, Appellant.
[60 NYS3d 536]—

Opinion:
Egan Jr., J.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Sullivan County (McGuire, J.), rendered February 18, 2015, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of burglary in the second degree (seven counts).
In satisfaction of a multicount indictment, defendant pleaded guilty to burglary in the second degree (seven counts), waived his right to appeal and thereafter was sentenced to an aggregate prison term of eight years, to be followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Upon appeal, we determined that, despite defendant's valid appeal waiver, to the extent that he had not been adequately apprised that the payment of restitution was part of his plea bargain, County Court erred in imposing sentence without first offering him an opportunity to withdraw his plea (124 AD3d 992, 992-993 [2015]). We also found that County Court had failed to make the requisite youthful offender determination (id. at 993). Accordingly, we vacated defendant's sentence and remitted the matter for further proceedings (id.). Upon remittal, County Court vacated its prior order imposing restitution, denied defendant youthful offender status and, once again, sentenced defendant, in accordance with his negotiated plea, to an aggregate prison term of eight years, to be followed by five years of postrelease supervision. Defendant now appeals.
We affirm. Defendant contends that County Court abused its discretion in denying him youthful offender status and that the sentence imposed was harsh and excessive. "[T]he decision to grant or deny youthful offender status rests within the sound exercise of the sentencing court's discretion and, absent a clear abuse of that discretion, its decision will not be disturbed" (People v Dorfeuille, 127 AD3d 1414, 1415 [2015] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted], lv denied 26 NY3d 928 [2015]; accord People v Clark, 84 AD3d 1647, 1647 [2011]). Upon our review of the record, we are unpersuaded that County Court abused its discretion in denying defendant's application for youthful offender status (see CPL 720.20 [1]). In making its determination, County Court considered numerous mitigating circumstances, including, among other things, defendant's youth, his lack of a criminal record or prior acts of violence, his cooperation with authorities, his familial history and his expressed remorse for his conduct (see People v Peterson, 127 AD3d 1333, 1334 [2015], lv denied 25 NY3d 1206 [2015]; People v Cruickshank, 105 AD2d 325, 334-335 [1985], affd sub nom. People v Dawn Maria C., 67 NY2d 625 [1986]). Nevertheless, based upon the seriousness of the charges for which defendant was convicted and the fact that he willingly participated in seven separate and distinct residential burglaries over a two-week period, we perceive no abuse of discretion in County Court's ultimate decision to deny defendant youthful offender status (see People v Green, 128 AD3d 1282, 1283 [2015]; People v Dorfeuille, 127 AD3d at 1415). Nor do we find any extraordinary circumstances or an abuse of discretion that would warrant a reduction of his sentence (see People v Tarver, 149 AD3d 1350, 1350 [2017]; People v Butler, 111 AD3d 1024, 1025 [2013], lv denied 23 NY3d 961 [2014]). Defendant's remaining claims are without merit.
McCarthy, J.P., Devine and Clark, JJ., concur.