Justice Molea
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DEFENDANT moved for leave to withdraw his previously entered guilty plea to criminal possession of a controlled substance. He alleged his plea was the result of coercion from his trial counsel and that he was innocent. The court noted the record reflected defendant responded to all questions asked of him at the time of his plea in a confident and clear manner, without hesitation or equivocation. It also noted it heard defendant explicitly state he was satisfied with the his representation, indicating he had an adequate opportunity to discuss the consequences of his plea with counsel. The court noted defendant simply claimed he was distraught over the “thought” that his girlfriend might be arrested for providing perjurious testimony during the Mapp hearing, not that his former trial counsel disregarded defendant’s assertions of innocence and his desire to have a trial. It noted where a defendant fully allocuted to the facts concerning his criminal conduct during the proffer of a guilty plea, subsequent conclusory allegations of innocence were insufficient to merit vacatur of the plea. In denying vacature, the court stated the stenographic record reflected significant proof of the knowing and voluntary nature of defendant’s guilty plea.
