PEOPLE v. ALLEN (2003)

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Jeffrey Atlas, J.), rendered February 13, 2002, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to a term of 1 1/212 to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

 The 19-year delay in sentencing was not unreasonable, since defendant absconded and then used nearly two dozen aliases and gave false pedigree information at least as many times in connection with his many subsequent arrests and incarcerations in New York (see People v. Savino, 267 A.D.2d 174, 700 N.Y.S.2d 449, lv. denied 95 N.Y.2d 803, 711 N.Y.S.2d 172, 733 N.E.2d 244).   Because of defendant's concealment of his identity, these arrests and incarcerations did not provide the People with notice of his whereabouts (see People v. Sigismundi, 89 N.Y.2d 587, 657 N.Y.S.2d 381, 679 N.E.2d 620).

 Since defendant absconded after pleading guilty in 1982, he is not entitled to the lesser penalty provided by the 1986 statutory amendments regarding criminal possession of stolen property (People v. Acoff, 289 A.D.2d 1085, 735 N.Y.S.2d 329, lv. denied 98 N.Y.2d 635, 744 N.Y.S.2d 764, 771 N.E.2d 837).   Although a defendant who has not yet been sentenced is generally entitled to the benefit of such an amendment, defendant's conduct constitutes “a valid reason to impose the stricter penalty” (People v. Behlog, 74 N.Y.2d 237, 241, 544 N.Y.S.2d 804, 543 N.E.2d 69).