PRESS RELEASE
FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: APRIL 19, 2018
The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed judgments of convictions in the following cases:
People v Jason Wands
In May, 2016, defendant was convicted upon his plea of guilty of the crime of attempted burglary in the second degree. Defendant, a second violent felony offender, was subsequently sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to a State prison term of seven years followed by five years of postrelease supervision.
On appeal, the defendant argued that the sentence imposed was unduly harsh and excessive. The Appellate Division, Third Department found such claim was precluded by defendant’s valid waiver of appeal.
On appeal, defendant is represented by Michael C. Ross, Esq. of Bloomingburg, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.
People v Damon Dunn
In July, 2013, defendant pled guilty to the crime of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree in the Ulster County Court as a result of a series of drug sales he made to a confidential informant in the presence of an undercover officer in the City of Kingston.
Defendant, a second felony offender, was subsequently sentenced to a determinate State prison term of six years followed by three years of postrelease supervision by Ulster County Court Judge Donald A. Williams and ordered to pay $450 in restitution.
On appeal, the defendant challenged the validity of his oral and written waiver of appeal and the amount of the restitution assessed at the time of sentence, claiming that it did not reflect the terms of the plea agreement. In fact, on appeal, the People conceded that they had inadvertently requested the incorrect amount of restitution at the time of sentence and the award was modified to $250. In all other respects, the Appellate Division, Third Department rejected defendant’s claims and affirmed his conviction.
On appeal, defendant is represented by Donna Maria Lasher, Esq. of Youngsville, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.
People v Joshua Sickler
In September, 2014, defendant pled guilty to attempted sexual abuse in the first degree and was sentenced to six months in the Ulster County Jail to be followed by 10 years of probation. Less than one year later, defendant violated a number of the conditions of his probation and a declaration of delinquency was filed by the Probation Department. County Court (Donald A. Williams, J.) subsequently revoked his probation and sentenced him to the maximum allowable term of imprisonment for attempted sexual abuse in the first degree of four years followed by 10 years of postrelease supervision.
While defendant argued on appeal that the maximum sentence imposed by County Court was unduly harsh and excessive, the Appellate Division, Third Department disagreed. In fact, the Court emphasized that defendant, a sex offender, had violated the terms and conditions of his probation in a significant respect by, among other things, having unsupervised contact with minors, using the Internet to email a young girl from Mexico and possessing pornographic material.
On appeal, defendant is represented by Assistant Public Defender Michael K. Gould, Esq. of Kingston, New York. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.