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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
Honduras - The Source - The Root - etc

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 30 –The US Attorney's Office unsealed a 13-defendant indictment for drugs, guns and murder in The Bronx on October 24. In the Magistrates Court of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, as Inner City Press in the Mag Court reported here, most defendants after being assigned lawyers consented to detention pending an October 30 conference before SDNY Judge J. Paul Oetken.

    On October 30 in 40 Foley Square Judge Oetken moved the conference from his day to day seventh floor courtroom down to 318, which recently saw the trial and testimony of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine. While Inner City Press covered that trial along with many other, on October 30 it was the only media present along with dozens of the defendants' family members and supporter and, the prosecutors implied, co-conspirators.

  AUSA Balsamello described 2 terabytes of discovery including social media dumps and jailhouse calls. The next conference was set for February then two of the defendants had separate bond hearings. As the defendants were led out all chained together, those in the gallery called out to them.

  First up for a bond hearing was Juan Tejada (as listed in PACER) or Juan Tejeda, as said in court. Used against his was a rap video, which Inner City Press went and found afterward still on YouTube here. It said that the guns are props but that's now how Balsamello said or saw it.

  Bond was denied. So too for Christian Liverman, whose lawyer said that when he was brought it chained together with the others drew the reaction, Who's he? Why he with us? But Balsamello's partner, not listed on PACER, said that was his voice on a jailhouse call talking about guns.

  Judge Oetken's continued Liverman's detention, pending he said the government finding that it was not him on the call. The case is entitled US v. Lawrence, 19-cr-761 (Oetken). Inner City Press will stay on this, and the higher profile #6ix9ine sentencing on December 18. There is or should be a connection.

    Back on October 24 defendant Carlos Rivera, identified in the indictment as "Nug," has his lawyer argue for release on bond.    In response, Assistant US Attorney Frank Balsamello who had entered with a box of documents told Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman about guns displayed on Instagram, saying he'd never seen so many in an SDNY case.

    This comes weeks after the Nine Trey Bloods case against Anthony Harv Ellison and Aljemiah Nuke Mack, complete with Tekashi 6ix9ine videos with guns, jumping on police cars, and recordings of the car jacking of 6ix9ine (Inner City Press' video upload of which a music company has complained to YouTube about, here).

    Carlos Rivera's lawyer pointed out that nothing in this "Mac Baller Brims" indictment points to his client as a shooter, nor is there any video of him with a gun. AUSA Balsamello replied with a proffer, that his Office has a confidenial witness who says he saw Rivera with a gun.

    As Judge Freeman began to speak about the seriousness of the charges, a tell-tale electronic sound went off. "Siri thinks that's the name I'm saying, nor seriousness. I have to not use that word," Judge Freeman said.    It was argued that Rivera does not miss court dates. Balsamello replied that even if true, Rivera simply goes out between court dates and commits more crimes.   

Ultimately Judge Freedman said she was siding with the government on detention. She chided Balsamello for not making his motion for an exclusion of time under the Speedy Trial Act until after some of the defendants' lawyers had already.

    But she agreed to exclude time, exorting Balsamello to be open to talkin and to begin producing discovery, presumably the URLs to the firearm Instagram posting cited. The case is US v. Darrell Lawrence, et al., 19-cr-761 (Oetken / Freeman).