Aguasvivas-Castillo v. United States

49 F. Supp. 3d 167, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141648, 2014 WL 4953245
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 30, 2014
DocketCivil No. 12-1750CCC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 49 F. Supp. 3d 167 (Aguasvivas-Castillo v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aguasvivas-Castillo v. United States, 49 F. Supp. 3d 167, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141648, 2014 WL 4953245 (prd 2014).

Opinion

JUDGMENT

CARMEN CONSUELO CEREZO, District Judge.

Having considered the Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence filed by petitioner Bepsy O. Aguasvivas-Castillo on September 12, 2012 (docket entry 1), the United States’ Response in Opposition filed on December 10, 2012 (docket entry 5), petitioner’s Reply to the Opposition filed on January 11, 2013 (docket entry 8), and the Report and Recommendation filed by U.S. Magistrate-Judge Justo Arenas on August 21, 2014 (docket entry 13), which remains unopposed, said Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED and petitioner’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motion (docket entry 1) is DENIED. Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that judgment be and is hereby entered DISMISSING this action, with prejudice.

No certificate of appealability shall be issued should petitioner file a notice of appeal, since he has failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right within the meaning of Title 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000).

SO ORDERED AND ADJUDGED.

MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

JUSTO ARENAS, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Petitioner was indicted on March 14, 2007 and charged in a four count indictment with Conspiracy to Commit Food Stamp Fraud, and Laundering of Monetary Instruments. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 2). The latter two counts of the indictment are the corresponding forfeiture allegations for the predicate criminal charges, which forfeiture allegations total $40,000,000. Thirteen other defendants were charged, some of them siblings of petitioner.

Petitioner was originally represented by attorney Humberto J. Ramirez-Ferrer who withdrew legal representation from the case on September 12, 2007. On November 14, 2007, attorney Ricardo R. Pes-quera-Annexy assumed representation of petitioner. Counsel filed a barrage of discovery and evidentiary motions in preparation for trial. The jury was empaneled on [171]*171August 8, 2008 and a guilty verdict returned on Counts One and Two on August 28, 2008. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 365). At trial, petitioner faced a fusillade of witnesses including several family members who were co-defendants, pleaded guilty, and testified against him. Petitioner also presented numerous witnesses on his behalf. At the end of the government’s case, petitioner presented a motion under Fed.R.Crim.P. 29(a) for judgment as a matter of law on August 19, 2008. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 356). Petitioner renewed the motion on August 21, 2008 after the government announced it had no rebuttal witnesses. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 359). Prior to sentencing, petitioner filed a comprehensive sentencing memorandum. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 403).

Attorney Anita Hill-Adames assumed representation on November 11, 2009. Attorney Rafael Anglada-Lopez assumed legal representation on December 14, 2008 and withdrew on December 7, 2009. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket Nos. 387, 450).

Petitioner was sentenced on March 8, 2010 to 60 months imprisonment as to Count One and 108 months imprisonment as to Count Two, to be served concurrently. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 458). A forfeiture in the amount of $20,000,000 was also decreed. The government had sought a term of imprisonment of 188 months. Attorney Pesquera-Annexy argued extensively for a downward departure and time served at that time. Petitioner professed his innocence in the strongest terms, and pointing the blame on his brothers. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 488 at 18 (Sent. Hearing)).

The court noted a sentencing range of 151 to 188 months, and took into account the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) in sentencing petitioner outside the guideline range. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 488 at 25-26 (Sent. Hearing)).

Counsel Pesquera-Annexy withdrew representation on May 26, 2010, noting that counsel Hill-Adames had assumed legal representation of petitioner.

Petitioner appealed his conviction and sentence on March 17, 2010. (Criminal No. 07-0111, Docket No. 459). Counsel Hill-Adames continued the legal representation through the appeal.

On January 17, 2012, the judgment of conviction was affirmed. United States v. Aguasvivas-Castillo, 668 F.3d 7 (1st Cir.2012). The court noted that petitioner appealed his sentence and not his conviction. Id. at 9. Because only sentencing and forfeiture issues were presented on appeal, the court focused on those issues and determined two four-level enhancements at sentencing were applicable under the circumstances and that the forfeiture did not violate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. Id. at 13-17. II. MOTION UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 2255

This matter is before the court on petitioner pro se Bepsy O. Aguasvivas-Castil-lo’s motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, filed on September 12, 2012. (Docket No. 1.) Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because of counsel’s failure to properly advise him of the consequences of rejecting a plea agreement of “5 years, 3 years and 18 months in violation of recent Supreme Court case law.” (Docket No. 1 at, 4). He further argues that counsel rendered ineffective assistance in violation of the Sixth Amendment by advising the defendant to face trial knowing that if found guilty, he would face a harsher punishment than previously offered by the government. Petitioner [172]*172cites Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 1399, 182 L.Ed.2d 379 (2012) and Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 1376, 182 L.Ed.2d 398 (2012) in support of this proposition. Finally, petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the plea bargaining stages and trial in violation of the same decisions.

In response to the section 2255 motion filed on December 10, 2012, the government submits as an initial matter that petitioner’s arguments are conclusory, and deemed waived without any further attempt to develop the argument from the well developed record. (Docket No. 5 at 2). It further argues that the holdings of the two Supreme Court decisions are inapplicable to this case. The government proceeds through the procedural history of the case, as well as the changes in legal representation. It notes that the first plea offer was made through petitioner’s first attorney, counsel Ramirez-Ferrer. That was made on May 15, 2007.

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Bluebook (online)
49 F. Supp. 3d 167, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141648, 2014 WL 4953245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aguasvivas-castillo-v-united-states-prd-2014.