THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK v. ESTEBAN VILLAMAN ALMONTE (2026)

Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Elizabeth Vasily of counsel), for appellant.

Letitia James, Attorney General State of New York (Robert Juman of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ralph Fabrizio, J. at plea;  Margaret L. Clancy, J. at sentencing), rendered July 22, 2021, convicting defendant of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him to a term of four years, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant's claim that his plea must be vacated based on coercion by the plea court, as well as statements by defense counsel that were purportedly adverse to his interests, is unpreserved because defendant's present arguments were not advanced in either of his two motions for vacatur (see People v. Spencer, 224 AD3d 512, 512–513 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 42 NY3d 930 [2024];  People v. Melendez, 201 AD3d 444, 444–445 [1st Dept 2022], lv denied 38 NY3d 929 [2022] ).  As an alternative holding, we find that defendant's arguments lack merit.  The record makes clear that, based on all the circumstances, defendant's guilty plea was entered voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly (see People v. Fiumefreddo, 82 N.Y.2d 536, 543 [1993] ).