KINGSTON – The Appellate Division, Third Department, of State Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the May 19, 2019 conviction of Willie Pace, who pled guilty to felony criminal possession of a weapon.
Pace’s conviction stems from an incident in the fall 2018 in the City of Kingston during which he threatened to shoot his live-in girlfriend and the mother of his child but made several threats to kill her boyfriend as well.
Less than a half hour later, during a routine traffic stop, Pace was found in possession of a loaded .38 caliber revolver.
In Ulster County Court, he agreed to plead guilty to a charge of criminal possession of a weapon with the understanding that he would be sentenced as a prior violent felony offender to 10 years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
The plea also included three pending felony drug charges in Kingston City Court.
On appeal, Pace challenged the validity of the appeal waiver, but claimed he was denied meaningful representation of counsel during his plea and sentencing proceedings.
The Appellate Division rejected each claim.
