NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ."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-2446-19 STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. MARIO REYES, Defendant-Appellant. _______________________ Submitted September 12, 2022 – Decided October 11, 2022 Before Judges Mawla and Marczyk. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County, Indictment No. 09-03-0485. Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Adam W. Toraya, Designated Counsel, on the brief). Esther Suarez, Hudson County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Colleen Kristan Signorelli, Assistant Prosecutor, on the brief). PER CURIAM Defendant Mario Reyes appeals from an October 22, 2019 order denying his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) without an evidentiary hearing. We affirm. I. We derive the following from the record. On November 8, 2008, defendant was at a club with his girlfriend when someone told him one of his friends had been in a fight. He saw his friend had bruises and blood on his face, and he gave him his shirt. He then saw someone strike a second friend in the head with a vase. He assisted the second friend into a car so he could seek medical attention. Defendant then saw yet another friend lying on the ground in the parking lot being assaulted by several men. Defendant asserts he attempted to intervene, but the men assaulting his friend came towards him. At that point, he pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the men. Defendant was indicted for second-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(1); third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39- 5(d); and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(d). Defendant entered a plea of guilty to second-degree aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(1). The State agreed to dismiss the remaining charges and recommended defendant be sentenced as a third-degree A-2446-19 2 offender to three years in state prison. On December 11, 2009, defendant was sentenced to three years in prison. Defendant admitted he stabbed the victim with a knife and acknowledged during his plea colloquy he knew stabbing someone with a knife could cause serious bodily injury. Defendant further stated at his plea hearing that he understood that by pleading guilty he was going to be deported. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement subsequently deported defendant to El Salvador in August 2011, after serving his custodial sentence. He reentered the United States without permission sometime in 2012. In October 2017, defendant was indicted on one count of reentry of a remove d alien, 8 U.S.C. § 1326. A federal court subsequently dismissed that indictment in July 2018. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently reinstituted proceedings against defendant and ultimately deported him again. Defendant filed a PCR petition on May 7, 2019, and the …
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