United States v. Guillen-Rivas

950 F. Supp. 2d 446, 2013 WL 3120194, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86304
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 19, 2013
DocketNo. 11-cr-857-WFK-5 (WFK)(JMA)
StatusPublished

This text of 950 F. Supp. 2d 446 (United States v. Guillen-Rivas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Guillen-Rivas, 950 F. Supp. 2d 446, 2013 WL 3120194, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86304 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WILLIAM F. KUNTZ II, District Judge.

Jose Celestino Guillen-Rivas (“Defendant” or “Guillen-Rivas”), is charged with three counts in a seventeen-count indictment against Defendant and nine co-defendants. Defendant moves this Court to sever his trial from that of the other defendants, arguing that judicial economy would not be well served by consolidating trials because the crimes with which he and his co-defendants have been charged are not comparable, were not part of the same series of acts, did not occur in the same state, and do not have substantially similar facts or participants. Defendant further moves this Court to sever the three charges against him, claiming the charges are unrelated to each other and a single trial would unfairly taint the jury’s evaluation of the evidence against him on the more minor offenses with which he is charged. Finally, ■ Defendant moves this Court to suppress certain post-arrest statements on the basis that he did not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney.

On May 31, 2013, this Court held an evidentiary hearing on Defendant’s motion to suppress. At the end of that hearing, this Court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress in its entirety. This decision supplements that order with the following findings of fact and conclusions of law. In addition, for the reasons stated below, this Court denies Defendant’s motions to sever.

BACKGROUND AND FINDINGS OF FACT

On December 30, 2011, Defendant was indicted on charges of conspiracy to transport aliens unlawfully present in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(l)(A)(ii), conspiracy to commit murder, in violation of New York Penal Law §§ 105.15 and 125.25(1), and making a false statement under oath in an immigration application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(a). Indictment, Dkt. No. 1, at ¶¶31, 34, 41. Defendant was the only individual charged in the latter two counts, although the indictment alleges that both [450]*450conspiracies were committed with other persons. As discussed further below, Defendant was arrested on these charges on January 5,2012.

This Court held a suppression hearing (the “Hearing”) on May 30, 2013 to determine the admissibility of statements made by Defendant to law enforcement authorities at the time of his arrest. At the Hearing, the Government presented three witnesses: FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brian Dugan (“Agent Dugan”),1 Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Special Agent Michael Joseph (“Agent Joseph”), and HSI Supervisory Special Agent David Morris (“Agent Morris”) (collectively, the “Agents”). Hr’g Tr. at 5:2-6, 35:9-13, 56:14-16. Defendant did not present any witnesses.

Upon consideration of the evidence in the record, including the motion, Defendant’s affidavit, and the evidence presented at the Hearing, the Court finds the following facts to be true.

Arrest of Defendant

On January 5, 2012, Agents Dugan and Joseph, along with several other government agents, arrested Defendant in front of his residence in Fairfax, Virginia. Id. at 6:14-7:10, 21:20-22:11, 57:12-24. Agent Dugan informed Defendant in English that he was being arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant issued in New York. Id. at 7:11-18, 22:19-23:3. Defendant was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of one of the agent’s vehicles for transport to HSI’s office in Fairfax; Agent Dugan sat in the back seat with Defendant. Id. at 7:24-8:7, 24:19-25:6, 57:25-58:2.

Upon arrival at the Fairfax office, Defendant was taken directly to an interview room for processing. Id. at 8:8-11, 25:18-21. During processing, Agents Joseph and Dugan Defendant’s handcuffs, inventoried Defendant’s personal effects, and took photographs of Defendant’s tattoos. Id. at 9:5-7, 25:22-26:5.

Defendant is a native Spanish speaker. Aff. of Jose Celestino Guillen-Rivas (“Guillen-Rivas Aff.”) at ¶ 2; Hr’g Tr. at 20:12-13. Agent Morris, who received training in the Spanish language and has used Spanish in his work for over a decade, entered the room about five minutes after Agents Joseph and Dugan began processing Defendant. Id. at 27:7-10, 41:7-42:16. Agent Morris informed Defendant in Spanish that he was under arrest pursuant to an arrest warrant issued in New York. Hr’g Tr. at 39:12-15. Agent Morris explained to Defendant the prosecution process, specifically explaining that Defendant would be moved to the local district court in Virginia, after which he would be taken to New York to face the charges against him. Id. at 39:16-20, 52:2-10. Although he did not specify how long the process would take, Agent Morris told Defendant that it might take some time before Defendant would arrive in New York. Id. at 52:11-23.

Still speaking in Spanish, Agent Morris read Defendant his Miranda rights from a preprinted form. Id. at 9:10-22, 40:22-41:6, 42:17-43:1, 53:19-22, 59:7-20. After reading each line in Spanish, Agent Morris paused and asked Defendant if he understood what had been read to him and the rights described. Id. at 43:13-25. Defendant consistently stated he understood. Id. at 44:1-45:16. Defendant did not ask any questions regarding his Miranda rights and did not request an interpreter. Id. at 39:24-40:2, 46:1-3. This Court notes that, during the Hearing, the Court asked Agent Morris to read one of the lines of [451]*451the Miranda warnings in Spanish from the same pre-printed form and, based on this Court’s knowledge of Spanish, found Agent Morris’ reading to be correct and comprehensible. Id. at 54:5-16.

Defendant had some questions about the prosecution process following his arrest, including when he would see an attorney. Id. at 12:17-18, 13:22-14:10, 17:22-19:2. The agents explained Defendant would be able to see an attorney in Alexandria, Virginia, where the district court was located. Id. at 19:3-19, 31:1-22. If Defendant wanted to speak with an attorney immediately, then the agents would end the interview and take him to Alexandria. Id. at 19:14-19, 31:1-22. At no time did the agents inform Defendant that he could not see an attorney until he arrived in New York. Id. at 14:11-15:3, 40:3-19, 55:12-20, 62:10-14. Although Defendant asked general questions about when he would see an attorney, at no point did Defendant ask to consult with an attorney, either during the Miranda warnings or thereafter. Id. at 12:14-24, 16:17-19, 33:20-34:6, 46:18-19, 60:16-61:17.

Defendant indicated he was willing to speak with the agents without an attorney present, and he signed a waiver of his Miranda rights on the same pre-printed form from which Agent Morris had read Defendant’s rights to him. Hr’g Gov. 1A; Hr’g Tr. at 10:4-19, 59:18-22. Agents Dugan and Joseph signed the waiver form as witnesses. Hr’g Ex. 1 A; Hr’g Tr. at 10:1-14, 59:23-60:1. Agent Morris then left the interview room. Hr’g Tr. at 13:4-8, 47:18-21, 60:14-15.

None of the agents threatened Defendant to induce him to speak with them. Id. at 15:11-24, 47:1-13. None of the agents made any promises to convince Defendant to speak with them. Id. at 15:13-24, 47:3-11, 61:22-24.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Shellef and Rubenstein
507 F.3d 82 (Second Circuit, 2007)
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
United States v. Wade
388 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Patterson v. Illinois
487 U.S. 285 (Supreme Court, 1988)
McNeil v. Wisconsin
501 U.S. 171 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Zafiro v. United States
506 U.S. 534 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Montejo v. Louisiana
556 U.S. 778 (Supreme Court, 2009)
United States v. Nicolo
421 F. App'x 57 (Second Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Gary Nerlinger and Robert Varipapa
862 F.2d 967 (Second Circuit, 1988)
United States v. Casamento
887 F.2d 1141 (Second Circuit, 1989)
United States v. Cervone
907 F.2d 332 (Second Circuit, 1990)
United States v. Frank Locascio, and John Gotti
6 F.3d 924 (Second Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Miller
116 F.3d 641 (Second Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Salameh
152 F.3d 88 (Second Circuit, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
950 F. Supp. 2d 446, 2013 WL 3120194, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86304, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-guillen-rivas-nyed-2013.