TO: ALL NEWS MEDIA
FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY
DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2019
The Appellate Division, Third Department has unanimously affirmed the July, 2015 conviction of Matthew Sahler upon a plea of guilty convicting him of the crimes of aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated.
Defendant’s convictions stem from two separate incidents which occurred in July, 2014 and October, 2014. On the first occasion, after being stopped by police in Wawarsing, defendant was found to have a blood alcohol content of .19% after failing multiple field sobriety tests. Three months later, defendant was involved in a rollover accident in New Paltz and when police arrived, they again noticed signs of intoxication. In addition, on both of these occasions, defendant did not have a valid license.
Defendant subsequently pled guilty to aggravated driving while intoxicated as charged in an indictment and one count of driving while intoxicated as a felony as charged in a superior court information in the Ulster County Court with the understanding he would be sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment of two and one-third to seven years. At the time of the plea, defendant also waived his right to appeal. Subsequent thereto, County Court imposed the agreed upon term of imprisonment.
At the time of defendant’s arrest in 2014 defendant had had nineteen previous arrests from Oklahoma, Florida, New York and Arizona for theft, domestic violence and driving under the influence related cases and had received greater than five sentences of probation.
On appeal, defendant challenged the validity of his appeal waiver and the perceived severity of his sentence. The Appellate Division, Third Department, however, found both of these claims to be without merit.
On appeal, the defendant is represented by Assistant Public Defender Michael K. Gould, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.