STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
v. Alamance County
No. 01 CRS 57509
AMADEO RAMIREZ VELAZQUEZ
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Amy
C. Kunstling, for the State.
James M. Bell, for defendant-appellant.
CALABRIA, Judge.
Amadeo Ramirez Velazquez (“defendant”) pled guilty to second
degree murder. By the terms of the plea agreement, the prosecutor
agreed to dismiss pending charges of felony death by motor vehicle
and of driving while impaired. Defendant stipulated to a factual
basis to support the plea. Judge James C. Spencer, Jr., in
Alamance County Superior Court, sentenced defendant within the
presumptive range to a minimum term of 129 months and a maximum
term of 164 months in the custody of the North Carolina Department
of Correction, in accordance with the plea agreement.
Defendant's sole contention is that the court erred by
accepting his plea. He argues an insufficient showing of malice
was made. He also submits that as a person who does not speakEnglish, he did not understand that he was admitting his acts
constituted malice.
We do not address the merits of defendant's contention. “[A]
defendant who has entered a plea of guilty is not entitled to
appellate review as a matter of right, unless the defendant is
appealing sentencing issues or the denial of a motion to suppress,
or the defendant has made an unsuccessful motion to withdraw the
guilty plea.” State v. Pimental, 153 N.C. App. 69, 73, 568 S.E.2d
867, 870, disc. review denied, 356 N.C. 442, 573 S.E.2d 163 (2002).
In the case at bar, defendant does not contest the sentence imposed
or any order denying a motion to suppress or motion to withdraw the
plea. Furthermore, defendant was provided with a Spanish-speaking
interpreter, who interpreted the proceedings for defendant. We
therefore allow the State's motion to dismiss the appeal.
Appeal dismissed.
Judges MARTIN and McCULLOUGH concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
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