United States v. Arana

District of Columbia

United States v. Arana

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia

DecidedNovember 20, 2023

DocketCriminal No. 2023-0073

StatusPublished

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Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v.

OMAR ARANA, Defendant.

Criminal Action No. 23-73-21 (CKK)

MEMORANDUM OPINION (November 20, 2023)

Defendant Omar Arana is charged by indictment with conspiring to distribute, with others, thousands of counterfeit pills of fentanyl. On November 16, 2023, Magistrate Judge Maria Audero of the United States District Court for the Central District of California ordered Defendant to be released with conditions pending trial. Minutes of Arrest On Out of District Warrant, ECF No. 5, United States v. Arana, Case No. 23-mj-5938. Magistrate Judge Audero initially stayed the detention order until 6:00 p.m. PT, November 17, 2023, before extending the stay until 12:00 p.m. PT, today. Jd.

Before the Court is the Government’s [156] Emergency Motion for De Novo Review of Magistrate’s Release Order and Request to Stay Defendants’ Release Pending De Novo Review. The Government requests that the Court vacate the detention order and order Defendant detained pending trial, or, in the alternative, stay the detention order pending the conclusion of the de novo review process. The Government moves on an emergency basis on account of the limited stay

issued in this matter. Upon consideration of the pleadings,! the relevant legal authority, and the pon p 8g gala

! The Court’s consideration has focused on: e Minutes of Arrest On Out of District Warrant, ECF No. 5, United States v. Arana, Case No. 23-mj-5938; e The Government’s Emergency Motion for De Novo Review of Magistrate’s Release Order and Request to Stay Defendants’ Release Pending De Novo Review, ECF No. 156 record before the Court, the Court shall GRANT the Government’s Motion, VACATE the prior release order, and order Defendant held without bond pending trial and transported forthwith to the District of Columbia. I BACKGROUND

The factual record thus far is underdeveloped. There is no opinion, memorandum, or statement of reasons attached to the Magistrate Judge’s detention order, and the Court has access only to an audio recording of Defendant’s detention hearing. There, Magistrate Judge Audero’s finding appeared to be based on Defendant’s limited criminal history. In an exercise of its discretion, the Court will rule definitively upon the record presently before it, sparse as it is. See United States v. Sheffield, 799 F. Supp. 2d 18, 29 (D.D.C. 2011) (BAH) (“The Court is free to use in its analysis any evidence or reasons relied on by the magistrate judge, but it may also hear additional evidence and rely on its own reasons.”) (cleaned up). As discussed further below, to the extent newly-appointed local defense counsel discovers additional evidence or develops further argument after consultation with his client, the Court welcomes motions for reconsideration, which the Court would review “as justice requires.” See United States v. Caldwell, Crim. A. No. 21-181 (CKK), 2022 WL 168343, at *5 (D.D.C. Jan. 19, 2022). The Court makes this determination based on the Government’s exceptionally strong showing here of danger to the community and risk of flight.

A. Procedural Background

On March 9, 2023, the Government filed an indictment against Defendants Hector David

(“Motion” or “Mot.”) and exhibits therein;

e Defendant Arana’s Opposition to the Government’s Emergency Motion, ECF No. 164 (“Def.’s Opp’n’”); and

e An audio recording of the detention hearing in United States v. Arana, Case No. 23-mj- 5938 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 16, 2023). Valdez, Craig Eastman, and Charles Jeffrey Taylor. ECF No. 1 at 1. Additional defendants were indicted on April 26 and May 18, 2023. See ECF No. 25 (first superseding indictment); ECF No. 48 (second superseding indictment). On November 6, 2023, a grand jury returned a third superseding indictment, adding, among others, Defendant Arana. ECF No. 134 (sealed). Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather of this jurisdiction then issued an arrest warrant for Defendant, which appears to have been executed in or around Los Angeles, California on or about November 16, 2023. Affidavit Re Out-of-District Warrant, ECF No. 1, United States v. Arana, Case No. 23-mj-5938. Counsel was appointed in that jurisdiction for the purposes of a detention hearing later that day. See Minutes of Arrest on Out of District Warrant, ECF No. 5, United States vy. Arana, Case No. 23-mj-5938 (“Carlos N Iriarte for Omar Arana, Appointed, present.”). Defendant appeared before Magistrate Judge Audero the evening of November 16, 2023. It appears from the audio recording of the detention hearing that Magistrate Judge Audero concluded that Defendant overcome the rebuttable presumption of detention given his limited criminal history. Magistrate Judge Audero initially stayed the detention order until 3:00 p.m. PT, November 17, 2023, to afford the Government an opportunity to appeal to this Court. Magistrate Judge Audero then extended the stay until 12:00 p.m. PT, today.

The Government filed its emergency Motion the morning of November 17, 2023. ECF No. 156. The Court then secured local counsel for Defendant in this jurisdiction, and ordered responsive briefing by 12:00 p.m. ET today, November 20, 2023. Local counsel for Defendant notes that he has been unable to contact Defendant, and the limited representations contained in Defendant’s opposifion to the Government’s motion is based on informaifon provided by Defendant’s family and counsel’s own review of the related documents. Def.’s Opp’n at 1 n. 1.

B. Factual Allegations Notably, the Government presented few allegations to the Magistrate Judge during Defendant’s detention hearing. The Government has remedied that here, detailing the allegations against Defendant, posts and messages from his social media accounts, and large quantities of drugs seized through searches of Defendant’s residence. Broadly, the Government alleges that Defendant dealt in vast amounts of counterfeit fentanyl smuggled into the United States, sold those quantities to distributors, including co-Defendants Valdez and Nava, who later sold them to street- level dealers throughout the United States, including various co-defendants. See Mot. at 4-11. A search of Defendant’s residence in California uncovered a duffle bag “containing several hundred suspected fentanyl pills.” Jd. at 21. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, approximately

two milligrams of fentanyl can constitute a lethal dose. DEA, Facts About Fentanyl, available at

Government alleges that the search uncovered “tens of thousands, if not more, of lethal fentanyl pills.” Jd. at 26.

The Government alleges that a search of Defendant’s social media account “illustrates his redistribution of fentanyl pills by the thousands.” Jd. at 13. According to the Government, the below images were found “in the returns of [Defendant’s] account,” corroborating Defendant’s illicit dealing in vast quantities of lethal drugs. Jd. The picture on the left depicts hundreds (if not thousands) of blue pills marked with the letter “M” on one side and the number “30” on the other side, which, the Government proffers, is consistent with “counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.” Jd. The picture in the middle depicts a close-up of these pills. Finally, the picture on the right shows sufi pills in prescription bottles with the phrase “#NOTFORSELL,” which the Government states is commonly used by drug traffickers in an attempt to “disclaim their obvious

intent to distribute drugs pictured on their social media accounts.” Jd. in (ey ie) sto) ae

See generally id.

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