Court rejects appeal from Corning man over prison sentence

A New York Appellate Court has rejected the claim from a (former) Corning man that his prison sentence is too harsh. In 2014, Philip B. McArthur used a slingshot to 'shoot' out the window of a Corning police car as it was on patrol. He was convicted of felony criminal mischief and sentenced to 1-3 years in prison. He's currently serving his sentence at Wyoming Correctional. In his appeal, attorneys argued that the sentence was too stiff. The high court disagreed. In it's decision, the court said "the oral waiver was accompanied by a written plea agreement that provided that defendant was waiving his right to appeal his “conviction, sentence, and any proceedings that may result from this prosecution.” Moreover, County Court conducted an extensive inquiry that established that defendant had reviewed and understood the written plea agreement, including its waiver-of-appeal provision, had discussed it with his lawyer, and had agreed to its terms, and defendant signed the document in open court during the course of the plea colloquy.

Therefore, defendant may not challenge the severity of the sentence."