An immigrant convicted of robbery in the Bronx saw his conviction overturned last month on the grounds the trial court failed to warn him he could be deported if he pleaded guilty, records show.
Jose Bermudez pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in 2013 and received a sentence of 3½ years imprisonment. The state Appellate Division’s First Department reversed that conviction on June 25, after Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio found there was a “reasonable possibility” Bermudez would not have pleaded guilty had the trial court advised him of the possibility of deportation.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office did not challenge Fabrizio’s ruling, the appellate court said.
The ruling means Bermudez’s case will now return to the trial court.
Kevin Deutsch is a Staff Writer for Bronx Justice News covering the criminal justice system, drugs, and DNA use by law enforcement. An award-winning journalist, Deutsch is the author of the true crime books "Pill City" and "The Triangle." He has worked on staff at the Daily News, Miami Herald, Newsday, The Palm Beach Post, and The Riverdale Press. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Forward, The Independent, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, and the New York Post, among other publications. His numerous television appearances include spots on CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN's BookTV. He has also been featured in The New Yorker. A Bronx resident, Deutsch hosts the true crime podcast "A Dark Turn" on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.
