| After
Fentanyl Death
in Bronx
Daycare Now
Grei Mendez
Severed From
June 10 Trial
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 23 – Following the death
of a one-year old baby by
fentanyl, on September 19,
2023 the US Attorney for the
Southern District of New York
charged Grei Mendez and
Carlisto Acevedo Brito.
On September 25,
with no notice and Inner City
Press initially the only
person in the courtroom
gallery, the third man was
brought in: Renny Antonio
Parra Paredes. Inner City
Press live tweeted, thread:
Judge Wang:
You are charged with
conspiracy to distribute
narcotics. AUSA: We seek
detention, and they consent.
Defense lawyer: Most of his
family is out of town. We
consent.
On January 23,
Paredes' lawyer argued, and
lost, before the assigned
District Judge Jed S. Rakoff:
"Minute Entry for proceedings
held before Judge Jed S.
Rakoff: Oral Argument as to
Felix Herrera Garcia, Grei
Mendez, Carlisto Acevedo
Brito, Renny Antonio Parra
Paredes held on 1/23/2024. The
trial date is adjourned to
6/10/2024 and time is excluded
in the interest of justice,
pursuant to Section 3161 of
Title 18. Deft Paredes bail
application is denied as a
risk of flight and danger to
the community. All deft's
continued remanded."
On February 12,
Inner City Press went to a
possible change of counsel
hearing on lead defendant
Felix Herrera Garcia - but
soon Judge Rakoff asked
everyone but Herrera Garcia
and his still counsel to leave
the courtroom, "even my
favorite reporter."
Once back in,
Judge Rakoff said the problem
had been fixed, for now, with
a letter possible in two
weeks. On fingerprints he
noted decisions by Judge
Pollack in his native
Philadelphia, and the Spain
bombing fingerprint snafu. A
Daubert hearing on prints is
possible.
On March 21, Grei
Mendez was brought into the
Magistrates Court to be
arraigned on a superseding
indictment. Inner City Press
was there, thread
On May 22, Grei
Mendez got a new lawyer - and
had her trial severed: "ORDER
as to (23-Cr-504-2) Grei
Mendez. On May 22, 2024, the
Court held a hearing to
determine whether counsel for
defendant Grei Mendez had a
conflict of interest that
required the appointment of
new counsel. Upon hearing the
nature of the conflict, the
Court determined that new
counsel needed to be appointed
for Ms. Mendez. The Court
accordingly relieved the
Federal Defenders as counsel
for Ms. Mendez and appointed
that day's CJA counsel to
represent Ms. Mendez moving
forward. As a result of the
change of counsel, the Court
severed Ms. Mendez from the
jury trial of her co-defendant
set to proceed on June 10,
2024, and a new trial will be
calendared in her case."
Back on May 17,
it was docketed that one of
the defendants now plans to
plead guilty: "NOTICE OF
HEARING as to Renny Antonio
Parra Paredes. An in court
change of plea is scheduled
More on Substack
here
On April 11
another defendant was added in
an S2 indictment: Jean Carlo
Amparo Herrera. He was brought
into the SDNY Magistrates
Court, where Inner City Press
was the only media. His lawyer
argued that he wasn't charged
as the others were, and that
she hadn't seen a video the
prosecutor mentioned. But he
had driven a co-defendant to
Pennsylvania after the death,
and more. He was detained.
The case is US v.
Herrera Garcia et al.,
23-cr-504 (Rakoff)
Watch this site.
***
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