| Defendant
Charged in Hobbs Act Robbery Misses
Arraignment Of 2 Others on Jan 11
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
Book
SDNY COURTROOM
EXCLUSIVE, Jan 9 - In
the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York on December 7, a
detention or bond proceeding
was held by Magistrate Judge
Valerie Figueredo on 19 year
old charged with being the
get-away driver for the armed
robbery of a clothing store.
Inner City Press
was present, the only media in
the Mag Court. Related
Mag Court live-tweeted
thread (more on Patreon
here)
vlog here
This
defendant was Alex Stroman;
his father and mother and
older sister were in the
gallery. While the US
Attorney's Office asked for
detention, determinative seems
to have been that he was not
the one with the gun, and that
he would move in with his
father in Jamaica, Queens.
He can
return, then, to New Dawn
Charter School. Notably, the
complaint did not allege the
interstate element necessary a
Hobbs Act robbery charge,
though the AUSA said the
clothing was "imported from
California." Expect an
amendment - or indictment.
A second
defendant in the case who
deferred on December 7 was
ordered free by Magistrate
Judge James L. Cott on
December 15.
On December 16,
not because it was in the
docket - it wasn't - but after
covering another case
in 40 Foley Square, Inner City
Press in checking the 11th
floor found District Judge
Jesse M. Furman hearing the
US' appeal of Judge Cott's
decision. There were a dozen
supports in the gallery.
While the AUSA
emphasized that it had not
appealed on Stroman because he
was the get away driver, and
that a gun was found near this
defendant's shoes, Judge
Furman found the condition of
moving to New Jersey with the
father, among others, enough
to uphold release.
He stayed his
decision until Monday,
December 19 at noon to allow
the US to appeal. Will they?
At least on that, there would
be notice on PACER, as there
was not of this appeal to Part
1. There are improvements in
transparency possible, such as
by a single SDNY Part 1 web
page of appeals and their
timing.
Jump cut to
December 23, when this
defendant, just about to be
released, as again in
Magistrates Court. The US
Attorney's Office said he
threatened his landlord in
Brooklyn, saying you can't
throw me out of the apartment,
and, You'll see.
What
emerged is that his mother
lived there, Section 8, until
her death. He was unable to
get it put into his name and
the landlord wants him out by
December 31, especially after
the FBI raise with flashbang
grenades.
But the AUSA did
not have the jail call on
audio; Judge Gabriel W.
Gorenstein continued the
release, adding a condition
that only the defendant's
father should deal with the
landlord.
On January 9, his
two co-defendants both in
custody were arraigned in the
case, and pushed the next
conference to March 28. The
theft of $50,000 of clothes
was alleged, as a young girl
in the gallery played quietly
with a purple dinosaur toy. A
separate arraignment will be
held on January 11. Watch this
site.
The case is US v.
Wells, et al., 23-cr-7 (Woods)
***
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