| Bronxite Gamoneda Lost Bail
Hearing Then Pled Guilty in SDNY Now Gets 156
Months
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Decrypt
- LightRead - Honduras
-
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 3–
Marvin Gamoneda was arrested
on February 12, 2020 as part
of a Bronx drug gang case and
has been detained since in the
Metropolitan Correctional
Center in lower Manhattan.
On April 10, 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic his lawyer
argued for his release, saying
among other things that the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons is
underperforming and that the
MCC is a "Petri dish" for the
virus.
His lawyer
told U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge John G. Koeltl that
the MCC says they have
capacity for 40 legal calls a
day, for all inmates. That is
not enough. Just because
we're all overwhelmed doesn't
mean we can rip up the
Constitution, he said.
Now on October
14, Garmoneda appeared before
Judge Koeltl for sentencing.
Inner City Press covered it.
The US Attorney's Office asked
for the guideline, 195 to 228
months. Garmoneda's lawyer
noted how guns end up in the
hands of people who look like
his client. Judge Koeltl
acknowledged some mitigating
factors and imposed a sentence
of 156 months (the last 60 of
which are a mandatory
minimum), to be followed by
three years of supervised
release.
Back
on April 10, US Attorney
Andrew Andrew Chan said that
Gamoneda is a member of the
"Woodycrime" gang in The
Bronx; he is responsible for a
shooting in a playground [the
Nelson Playground] full of
men, women and children.
Judge
Koeltl asked, He got 1 to 3
years in 2013? And the others
were all related to
marijuana?
AUSA Chan replied, Yes. But
while in jail he planned what
to do once he got out.
Then
AUSA Chan lost connection to
the call. AUSA Portlock said,
I just texted him While
AUSA Chan dialed back in, a
lawyer asked Judge Koeltl how
it's going, remotely.
Judge Koeltl replied, I'd
prefer all of you to be in the
courtroom. I'm not doing
pre-trial conferences in civil
cases. But to the extent I
have a matter that requires
lawyers, a TRO or a decisional
matter in a criminal case. I
teach a seminar at NYU by
Zoom.
AUSA Chan said, I'm back on.
Gamoneda kept planning how to
continue with Woodycrime. A
series of marijuana arrests...
Judge
Koeltl ultimately ruled that
the government has shown there
are no combination of
condition that could
reasonably assure the presence
of the defendant. The charges
are serious and the evidence
seems strong, of a substantial
narcotics conspiracy and guns,
and a shooting.
Garmoneda's lawyer asked to be
able to speak with him, for 30
minutes. Pre-Trial Services
said his unit is under
quarantine. Judge Koeltl said
the transcript should be
prepared on an expedited basis
and Garmoneda's lawyers get it
under the CJA act. But, one of
them said, there is a delay.
Judge
Koeltl asked that the US
Attorney's Office order it and
share it with the defendant's
lawyers. AUSA Chan said the
court reporters might have a
view on the sharing of
transcripts. This was
not directly answered.
On October 23,
Judge Koeltl held another
proceeding, in which Gamoneda
switched lawyers, from Gregory
Morvillo to the CJA on duty,
Mr. Montgomery. Judge Koeltl
OK-ed it but said he might not
approve another change.
On December 15,
in advance of a December 23
conference, Montgomery asked
to push the March 21 trial
back, saying he "was advised
by BOP via an email that I had
come into contact with an
individual diagnoses with
Covid during my November 15
visit with Mr. Gamoneda; no
other information was
provided."
Jump cut to 2021:
Garmoneda pleaded guilty on
March 15; on co-defendant
Luilly Fernandez, Judge Koeltl
held a proceeding on May 3 and
Inner City Press covered it.
The upshot? "To assure the
effective assurance of
counsel," the matter was
pushed to July 9 and Speedy
Trial Act time excluded until
then.
Now this case is
US v. Fernandez, 20-cr-109
(Koeltl).
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|
,
