PEOPLE v. BILLINGS

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.

The defendant failed to preserve for appellate review his challenge to the validity of his plea of guilty ( see People v Sanchez-Martinez, 35 AD3d 632, 633; People v Stewart, 30 AD3d 624; People v Mead, 27 AD3d 767). The rare exception to the preservation requirement ( see People v Lopez, 71 NY2d 662, 666) is not applicable here, as after the defendant's initial equivocal responses, the court made further inquiry and the defendant admitted his guilt ( see People v Sanchez-Martinez, 35 AD3d 632; People v Mead, 27 AD3d 767).

In any event, as the defendant's plea was to a lesser offense in satisfaction of the indictment, and the plea allocution established that the defendant understood the charges against him, a factual basis for the plea was not necessary ( see People v Richardson, 50 AD3d 704; People v Martin, 239 AD2d 436; People v Carruthers, 227 AD2d 500).

While the defendant preserved the issue of whether the sentencing court should have granted him youthful offender treatment ( see People v Murray, 57 AD3d 921), his valid written waiver of the right to appeal encompassed that issue, as well as any claim that the sentence imposed was excessive ( see People v Hines, 41 AD3d 734, 735; People v Vasquez, 40 AD3d 1134; People v Valentin, 15 AD3d 424; People v Friedlander, 11 AD3d 556).

The defendant's remaining contention is without merit.