PEOPLE v. HARRELL (2012)

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Ulster County (Williams Jr., J.), rendered May 28, 2010, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of the crime of robbery in the third degree.

As a result of his participation in an early morning home invasion, defendant was charged in an indictment with robbery in the second degree and burglary in the second degree. In satisfaction thereof, he pleaded guilty to robbery in the third degree. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he was to be sentenced to the maximum of 21/313 to 7 years in prison. Defendant was sentenced accordingly and he now appeals.

Defendant's sole contention is that his sentence is harsh and excessive. Upon our review of the record, we disagree. The circumstances of the home invasion reveal that defendant awoke the victim by knocking on the door of his home and, when defendant was told that the victim's daughter was not at home, he forced his way inside and demanded money. Defendant then threatened to harm the victim and his daughter unless the victim gave him money, which the victim proceeded to do after driving to an ATM. Defendant's intimidating behavior, together with his violent criminal history and agreement to the sentence imposed as part of the plea bargain, lead us to conclude that the sentence was appropriate. In sum, we find no extraordinary circumstances nor any abuse of discretion warranting a reduction of the sentence in the interest of justice (see People v. Rychel, 284 A.D.2d 662, 663 [2001]; see also People v. Williams, 231 A.D.2d 761 [1996] ).

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.