Flores-Rivera v. United States

325 F. Supp. 3d 232
CourtUnited States District Court
DecidedAugust 31, 2018
DocketCIVIL NO. 16-2350 (PG); Related Crim. No. 07-0318-8 (PG)
StatusPublished

This text of 325 F. Supp. 3d 232 (Flores-Rivera v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flores-Rivera v. United States, 325 F. Supp. 3d 232 (usdistct 2018).

Opinion

JUAN M. PEREZ-GIMENEZ, SENIOR U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the court is petitioner Sandra Flores-Rivera's (henceforth "Petitioner" or "Sandra Flores") motion to vacate, set aside or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Docket No. 1) and the United States' (or the "government") opposition thereto (Docket No. 15). For the following reasons, the court DENIES Petitioner's motion to vacate.

I. BACKGROUND

On February 5, 2008, Sandra Flores, alongside another forty-six codefendants, were indicted by a grand jury in Criminal Case No. 07-318 (PG). Sandra Flores was charged in Count One for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute narcotics within one thousand feet of a public housing project or a public school, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846, and 860. See Crim. No. 07-318 (PG), Docket No. 478. Count Two charged a conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) and (0). Counts Three through Six charged Petitioner with aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute narcotics in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 860, and 18 U.S.C. § 2. See id. at 6-28.

On October 13, 2009, the government filed an information pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, notifying the court that Petitioner had a previous felony drug conviction, subjecting her to a statutory mandatory minimum of twenty years as to Count One. See Crim. No. 07-318 (PG), Docket No. 1562. At trial, the government introduced three cooperating witnesses: Harry Smith Delgado ("Delgado"), Xiomara Berrios-Rojas ("Xiomara"), and Andy Marcano ("Marcano"). Delgado testified that he was a part of the conspiracy, and that Sandra Flores served as both a runner and a seller of cocaine, crack, and marijuana. See United States v. Flores-Rivera, 787 F.3d 1, 10 (1st Cir. 2015). Xiomara and Marcano corroborated Delgado's testimony regarding Sandra Flores' role in the drug trafficking organization. See id. Additionally, the government presented video evidence showing *235that Sandra Flores was a member of the charged drug trafficking conspiracy, thereby corroborating all three testimonies. See Crim. No. 07-318 (PG), Dockets No. 1583, 1602. Central to the defendants' trial strategy was an attempt to impeach Delgado, Xiomara, and Marcano by suggesting that they had colluded to fabricate their testimonies. See Flores-Rivera, 787 F.3d at 10. Nevertheless, the jury found Sandra Flores guilty as to Counts One, Three, Four, Five and Six of the indictment. See Crim. No. 07-318 (PG), Docket No. 1652.

At some unspecified time before trial, Delgado sent the lead prosecutor a handwritten letter, which was not promptly disclosed to defendants. See Flores-Rivera, 787 F.3d at 11. Likewise, two handwritten notes that Delgado kept, which contained details of his conversations with two other co-conspirators were not timely disclosed. The belated production of these materials set off a series of post-trial evidentiary hearings and motions presented by Sandra Flores and her codefendants, Carlos Omar Bermudez-Torres ("Omar") and Cruz Roberto Ramos-Gonzalez ("Ramos"). Between 2010 and 2013, the district court wrote four separate opinions denying the appellants' various requests for a new trial, which were grounded on these belated productions. These four opinions provide a detailed account of each of the hearings conducted by, and motions submitted to, the district court. See United States v. Ramos-Gonzalez, 747 F.Supp.2d 280, 284-89 (D.P.R. 2010) ; United States v. Ramos-Gonzalez, Crim. No. 07-318, 2011 WL 2144215, at *1-2 (D.P.R. May 31, 2011) ; Opinion and Order, Crim. No. 07-318, Docket No. 2972 at 1-3, July 30, 2012; Opinion and Order, Crim. No. 3166 at 1-6, August 9, 2013.

After denying her motion for new trial, the district court sentenced Sandra Flores to an imprisonment term of two hundred forty months as to Count One, to be served concurrently with one hundred eighty-eight months as to Counts Three, Four, Five, and Six. See Crim. No. 07-318, Docket No. 2626.

On March 29, 2011, Sandra Flores filed a timely notice of appeal. See Crim. No. 07-318, Docket No. 2624. Unlike her codefendants, Omar and Ramos, Sandra Flores did not renew on appeal her argument regarding the evidence that was produced belatedly. The First Circuit Court of Appeals found that these materials warranted that Omar and Ramos be tried again. As a result, the First Circuit remanded Omar and Ramos' cases to the district court, and affirmed the convictions and sentences of Sandra and Sonia Flores-Rivera. Flores-Rivera, 787 F.3d at 33. Petitioner did not file a petition for certiorari.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255

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Bluebook (online)
325 F. Supp. 3d 232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flores-rivera-v-united-states-usdistct-2018.