| Man
Arrested in
Bronx House
with 50 Pounds
of Fentanyl
Was Freed But
No Passport at
Deadline
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 7 – Cristian Eustate
Espinal and three others were
arrested in a residence in The
Bronx with 50 pounds of
fentalyl and pill and kilo
presses.
Cristian, late on
October 6, 2023, was released
on bond, on his own signature,
in the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York. Inner City Press was
there, the only media in the
SDNY Magistrates
Court.
Cristian's
Criminal Justice Act lawyer
argued that he had merely been
present in the drug house, and
not tied to it. The Assistant
US Attorney argued it would
have been impossible for him
not to have known it was a
narcotics factory, what with
the garbage bags taped over
the windows.
SDNY Magistrate
Judge Stewart D. Aaron ordered
release on bond. But the AUSA
said they would appeal to the
week's Part 1 District Judge,
Arun Subramanian.
Judge
Subramanian held the appeal in
the Magistrates courtroom.
Again, Inner City Press was
there.
After detailed
inquiry into where the drugs
had been found -- in an alcove
of the bathroom, as shown on
the AUSA's phone -- Judge
Subramanian upheld Magistrate
Judge Aaron's release order,
adding that the CJA lawyer
must turn in Cristian's
Dominican passport by noon on
Saturday or he would be
arrested.
The CJA
lawyer replied that she would
be in the MDC jail on
Saturday, until 3 at the
latest - and that if she did
not have the passport by then,
she would turn Cristian in to
the Marshals.
At 3 pm on
Saturday, October 7, the
defense lawyer was in front of
Chatham Towers then the 200
Worth Street entrance of the
courthouse, and to her credit
acknowledged not having the
passport. She was using her
phone, perhaps trying to get
her client there as was
represented to the Court. What
next? Watch this site.
The case is
US v. Espinal, et al.,
23-mj-6716 (Aaron /
Subramanian)
***
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 2006-2023 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
