PEOPLE v. STONE

Defendant contends on this appeal that County Court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and that his sentence of 2 1/2 to 5 years' imprisonment was harsh and excessive. We find no abuse of discretion in County Court's denial of defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The record reveals that the plea was knowing and voluntary and entered without hesitation or protestations of innocence (see, People v De Gaspard, 170 A.D.2d 835, lv denied 77 N.Y.2d 994; People v Lynch, 156 A.D.2d 884, lv denied 75 N.Y.2d 921). Given that defendant was afforded an opportunity to state the basis for his withdrawal motion, no error resulted from the absence of an evidentiary hearing regarding defendant's conclusory assertions of innocence, coercion and distress (see, People v Ross, 182 A.D.2d 1022, lv dismissed 80 N.Y.2d 934; People v De Gaspard, supra). Further, in light of defendant's prior criminal record and the facts that he pleaded guilty to one count of the crime of rape in the second degree in satisfaction of a six-count indictment and did not receive the harshest possible sentence, we find no reason to disturb the sentence imposed by County Court (see, People v Mackey, 136 A.D.2d 780, lv denied 71 N.Y.2d 899; People v Du Bray, 76 A.D.2d 976).

Mikoll, J.P., Yesawich Jr., Crew III, Mahoney and Harvey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.