Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone vacated a Syracuse man's conviction and prison sentence in county court Monday on the grounds that the defendant did not knowingly and intelligently accept a plea deal seven years ago.

Richard Coleman, 45, who has been held in the Clinton Correction Facility since 2001 for an Onondaga County burglary conviction, said he wanted a new trial because he did not know his 18-year Cayuga County prison sentence was supposed to include a period of post-release supervision. Coleman started his sentence for the Cayuga County conviction this summer after serving time for the Onondaga County case.

In 2001, Coleman pleaded guilty to burglarizing a Cato residence and grand larceny, both felonies, in addition to resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.

Coleman's lawyer, David Elkovitch, said the decision will allow Coleman to take the case back to court for a trial.

Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said he would appeal the judge's decision.

Budelmann had offered to shorten Coleman's prison sentence to 15 years and to completely throw out the post-release aspect of the sentence if Coleman would drop the motion to vacate the conviction.

If Coleman were to be convicted at trial, he could receive up to 25 years in prison with five years post-release supervision. His sentence was based in part on a long history of past criminal convictions.

For more on this story, read Tuesday's edition of The Citizen.