NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-5569-18T3 STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. JUAN HENRIQUEZ, Defendant-Appellant. _____________________________ Submitted September 15, 2020 – Decided September 21, 2020 Before Judges Haas and Mawla. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County, Accusation No. 09-1704-99. Livius Ilasz, attorney for appellant. Mark Musella, Bergen County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (William P. Miller, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief; Catherine A. Foddai, Legal Assistant, on the brief). PER CURIAM Defendant Juan Henriquez appeals from a July 11, 2019 Law Division order denying his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) without an evidentiary hearing. Following our review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm. In May 1999, the State charged defendant with third-degree possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(11); second-degree possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public park, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(a); and the disorderly persons offense of possession of drug paraphernalia, N.J.S.A. 2C:36-2. On September 21, 1999, defendant waived indictment on these charges and pled guilty to a one-count accusation charging him with fourth-degree possession of over fifty grams of marijuana, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(3). On November 1, 1999, the judge sentenced defendant to one year of probation in accordance with the terms of his negotiated plea. Defendant did not file a direct appeal from his conviction and sentence. On March 5, 2019, over nineteen years later, defendant filed a petition for PCR contending he was entitled to have his plea vacated because of ineffective assistance of counsel. In a certification accompanying his petition, defendant stated he is a native and citizen of El Salvador and entered the United States in 1994. Defendant applied for United States citizenship in August 2017. The A-5569-18T3 2 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services denied this application on September 27, 2018, because of his November 1, 1999 conviction. The denial letter also advised defendant that he was "not authorized to remain in the United States and should make arrangements to depart as soon as possible." In his PCR petition, defendant alleged that the attorney he retained to assist him with his criminal charges "did not discuss with [him] the immigration issues related to pleading guilty." Instead, the attorney "only informed [defendant] that the likelihood was so low that [he] would be deported and that [he] should not worry about it." Defendant also claimed that he "could not fully comprehend the questions being asked by the [j]udge" at the plea hearing and at sentencing because he "could only understand or read a few words in English." Defendant acknowledged that in preparation for the plea hearing, 1 he completed a written plea form which asked ...
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