United States v. Medina-Rivera

316 F. Supp. 3d 549
United States District Court·Decided June 18, 2018·No. Criminal No. 17–622 (FAB)·Published

Opinion

BESOSA, District Judge

Before the Court is defendant Nelson Rivera-Maldonado ("Rivera")'s motion to compel the United States to disclose information regarding transfer from the Metropolitan Detention Center ("MDC") in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico to the Federal Detention Center ("FDC") in Miami, Florida and subsequent custodial interrogation. (Docket No. 953.) For the reasons set forth below, Rivera's motion is DENIED.

I. Background

Rivera is among the 104 defendants charged with drug and firearms-related offenses stemming from their purported membership in "Los Menores," an alleged drug trafficking organization based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. (Docket No. 3.) Rivera and 12 of his co-defendants stand charged with death penalty-eligible offenses.1 (Docket No. 8 at p. 1.)

Law enforcement officers arrested Rivera on February 21, 2018. (Docket No. 542.) At Rivera's arraignment, the magistrate judge appointed counsel for Rivera pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, and ordered that Rivera remain detained pending further proceedings. (Docket Nos. 453 & 453.)2 The United States Marshals Service ("USMS") placed Rivera and many of his co-defendants at MDC. On March 7, 2018, Rivera entered a plea of not guilty. (Docket No. 537.) The USMS later transferred Rivera and other defendants from MDC to FDC. (Docket No. 1061 at p. 1.)

Rivera alleges that "unknown government agents" at the FDC subjected him to custodial interrogation "concerning matters that would appear to fall within the scope of the current indictment." (Docket No. 953 at p. 3.) Citing violations of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution, Rivera requests that the Court compel the United States to "immediately provide any and all information about his transfer out-of-district and subsequent custodial interrogation." Id. at p. 12. Rivera stated that "[t]hrough their respective counsel, defendants Sadid Medina-Rivera, Luis Ayala-García, Ángel Cruz-Vásquez, Miguel Martínez-Candelaria, and Juan Rivera-Serrano" join his motion to compel. (Docket No. 953 at p. 2.) Subsequently, 19 additional defendants joined Rivera's motion to compel.3 In sum, *551twenty-five defendants seek information regarding transfer to the FDC and the purported custodial interrogations that followed.

In response to Rivera's motion to compel, the United States disclosed that "an unrelated investigation regarding the allegations raised by the defendants is currently ongoing and separate from the instant case." (Docket No. 1061 at p. 3.) The United States assigned an Assistant United States Attorney not involved with this criminal action to investigate the allegations set forth in Rivera's motion to compel. Id. After investigating the allegations set forth in Rivera's motion to compel, the United States disclosed that officials from the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") questioned the defendants. (Docket No. 1072 at p. 3.) This questioning was prompted by a bomb threat against a plane departing from the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico on or around the same date that the USMS scheduled the transfer of defendants from the MDC to the FDC. Id. Officials received the bomb threat via an anonymous e-mail that referenced the Department of Justice press release regarding the indictment pending against the defendants. Id. The defendants denied possessing any knowledge of explosives. Id. Significantly, no questions asked of the defendants concerned the offenses charged in the indictment. Id.

Rivera presents three arguments in support of his motion to compel. (Docket No. 953.) First, Rivera maintains that the investigation conducted by BOP officials contravened the Sixth Amendment because he "was under a federal capital indictment and is represented by two counsel when he was interrogated by government agents." (Docket No. 953 at p. 6.) Second, Rivera asserts that questions regarding his familiarity with explosives violated the Fifth Amendment because he "asked to contact and to be able to consult with his attorneys." (Docket No. 953 at p. 9.) Finally, Rivera contends that disclosure of information regarding his transfer to the FDC is required pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(1) (" Rule 12"), Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972), and Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995). Rivera's arguments are unavailing.

II. Discussion

A. The Sixth Amendment

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United States v. Medina-Rivera, 316 F. Supp. 3d 549 (usdistct 2018).

316 F. Supp. 3d 549 (United States v. Medina-Rivera) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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