| Charged With Drug
Customer Death Raul
Silva Days Pled Guilty
Now Argues for Variance
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 5 – Raul
Silva faced a
jury trial on
the charge of
causing the
death of
another with
narcotics,
conviction on
which carries
a 20 year
mandatory
minimum
sentence.
Silva
was offered
and signed a
plea agreement
to a lesser
included
offense, but
then reputed
it.
On
April 13, 2023
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
P. Kevin
Castel held a
proceeding in
the case.
Inner City
Press went and
covered
it.
The proceeding
converted from
a change of
plea to a
final
pre-trial
conference.
Silva's
appointed
lawyer, after
ably arguing
to keep out of
evidence some
of the death
scene
photographs,
then informed
Judge Castel
that Silva
wanted to fire
him.
Silva,
standing in a
yellow prison
jumpsuit and
speaking
through a
Spanish
language
interpreter,
told Judge
Castel that
his lawyer
only came to
visit offering
more and more
prison time,
not help. He
would like
another
lawyer.
Judge Castel,
perusing the
docket, said
no, trial
would proceed
on May 2. An
Assistant US
Attorney, one
of the four
present -
Inner City
Press was the
only one
present in the
courtroom
gallery - said
that plea
offers had
been extended
on May 4,
2022, then
October 5,
2022, and
finally last
week, on April
9.
The
AUSA asked
that Silva be
allocuted on
the plea
agreements -
so that he
couldn't, if
convicted,
claim he
hadn't
understood.
But it was
hard to
explain. Under
the plea
offer, he
would still be
pleading to
the death of
Evelyn
Vasquez, just
not to the
statutory
mandatory
minimum of 20
years.
"It's
the death that
bother me,"
Silva said. He
asked Judge
Castel, "If I
am found
innocent of
the death, how
much time
would you give
me?"
Judge
Castel
replied,
correctly,
that he
couldn't say.
And with that,
the proceeding
was over.
The AUSA said,
at the end,
that his
Office would
be asking for
a "limited"
closure of the
courtroom.
Inner City
Press has
opposed these
in the past,
perhaps even
more so in
this case.
On
September 27,
this cryptic
request:
"LETTER MOTION
addressed to
Judge P. Kevin
Castel dated
9/27/2023 re:
admissibility
of statement
in OCME Report
regarding when
victim was
last seen
alive .
Document filed
by Raul Silva
as to Raul
Silva, Roger
Bryant."
On
October 5, it
was filed:
from the OCME,
re Evelyn
Seda-Vasquez:
"Decedent was
last seen
alive at
around 5:30 PM
the day
before... Her
daughter
Natalie Pula
unlocked the
decedent's
door and found
her
unresponsive."
And
then on
October 19,
days before
the scheduled
October 23
trial, Raul
Silva pled
guilty:
"vChange of
Plea Hearing
as to Raul
Silva held on
10/19/2023.
Defendant,
Raul Silva
present.
Defendant
changes not
guilty plea
and pleads
guilty to
Counts One and
Two of the
Indictment.
Defendant
admits
forfeiture
allegations in
paragraphs 7,
8, and 9 of
the
Indictment.
Partial Fatico
Hearing is
scheduled for
Tuesday,
October 24,
2023 at 2:00
p.m.
Sentencing is
scheduled for
January 24,
2023 at 11:00
a.m. Trial
scheduled for
October 23,
2023 is
vacated."
Then
there was a
Fatico hearing
about
"resulting in
death." There
is a wide
range: if
Judge Castel
finds yes on
"resulting
in," the range
is 292 to 365
months. If
not, it's 77
to 96 months.
Sentencing is
set for
February 19 at
2 pm.
More
including
analysis on
Substack here
The
case is US v.
Silva,
20-cr-120
(Castel)
***
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