Opinion
June 10, 1999.
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Steven Barrett, J.).
Defendant failed to preserve his claim that the court should not have imposed sentence without inquiring into defendant's post-plea claims of innocence, and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. Were we to review this claim, we would reject it. Since defendant made no application to withdraw his guilty plea, and since his statements at sentencing clearly expressed his intention that his plea should stand notwithstanding his claim of innocence, there was no requirement that the court make any further inquiry. In any event, we find that the plea minutes cast no doubt on defendant's guilt or the voluntariness of his plea, and that his assertions of innocence were conclusory.
We perceive no abuse of sentencing discretion.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Williams, Wallach, Lerner and Friedman, JJ.