Kingston man’s appeal of conviction denied

The 2019 conviction of a Kingston man sentenced in Ulster County Court on a felony weapons possession charge after allegedly threatening to shoot his live-in girlfriend was upheld by the state appeals court.

In a decision handed down Thursday, March 11, the Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the May 19, 2019, conviction and sentencing of Willie Pace, 33, for felony possession of a weapon.

Pace’s conviction stemmed from an incident in the fall of 2018 in Kingston during which he not only threatened to shoot his livein girlfriend and the mother of his child but made multiple threats to kill her boyfriend as well, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Less than 30 minutes after the alleged incident, during a routine traffic stop, Pace was found in possession of a loaded .38 caliber revolver, according to a press release. He was later indicted by an Ulster County grand jury on one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

At a subsequent hearing, according to the DA’s office, Pace agreed to plead guilty with the understanding he would be sentenced as a prior violent felony offender to a 10-year state prison term, followed by five years of post-release supervision. That plea covered three pending felony drug charges in Kingston City Court.

As part of that plea agreement, Pace also waived his right to appeal. Immediately after he entered his guilty plea, Pace was sentenced by former Ulster County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to the agreedupon term.

On appeal, Pace challenged the validity of the appeal waiver and claimed he was denied meaningful representation during the plea and sentence proceedings.

Pace’s challenge was rejected by the appeals division.

On appeal, Pace was represented by Theodore J. Stein of Woodstock. Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb handled the appeal for the DA’s Office.