KINGSTON – The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the October 3, 2014 conviction of German Lobaton for the crime of burglary in the second degree, a felony.
Over the course of a four-month period in 2013, the defendant, an Emergency Medical Technician and member of the Ellenville First Aid and Rescue Squad, responded to medical emergencies at three separate homes in Ellenville in the Town of Wawarsing. Shortly thereafter, and while the homes in question were unoccupied because the occupants had been taken to the hospital, the defendant returned to these premises, reentered them and stole numerous items of personal property, consisting mostly of electronic devices, jewelry, handguns and rifles. When police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home, most of the stolen property was found.
The defendant pled guilty to burglary in the second degree in full satisfaction of a 12 count indictment in the Ulster County Court and at that time, waived the right to appeal his conviction and sentence. On October 3, 2014, the defendant was sentenced by County Court Judge Donald Williams to the agreed upon term of imprisonment of 13 years followed by five years of post-release supervision.
On appeal, the defendant argued that his plea was not knowing, intelligent and voluntary and that his sentence was unduly harsh and excessive. The reviewing court rejected both claims.
