United States v. R.I.M.A.

963 F. Supp. 1264, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5396, 1997 WL 200468
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedFebruary 7, 1997
DocketCriminal 96-233(CCC)
StatusPublished

This text of 963 F. Supp. 1264 (United States v. R.I.M.A.) 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
United States v. R.I.M.A., 963 F. Supp. 1264, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5396, 1997 WL 200468 (prd 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

CEREZO, Chief Judge.

Having considered the Motion to Transfer Juvenile Defendant to Adult Status filed by *1265 the government on August 21, 1996 (docket entry 18), the supplemental Motion to Transfer Juvenile Defendant to Adult Status filed by the government on August 27, 1996 (docket entry 23), Defendant’s Opposition to the Government’s Request (docket entry 37), and the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (docket entry 38), to which no objections have been filed, as well as the applicable law and jurisprudence, the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED. Accordingly, the Motion to Transfer Juvenile Defendant to Adult Status (docket entry 18) is hereby GRANTED.

SO ORDERED.

MAGISTRATE-JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON GOVERNMENT’S REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF JUVENILE TO ADULT STATUS

DELGADO-COLON, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. Background of the Case and Nature of Charges Filed

On August 8, 1996, a complaint charging violations to 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (d) and 924(c)(1) was filed against R.I.M.A., a juvenile. The complaint specifically charges R.I.M.A. for having aided and abetted with three (3) other persons, all adults, in a bank robbery and the illegal possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent offense. In the affidavit attached to the complaint, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ricardo García (S/A Garcia) narrates how on August 7, 1996, several individuals, the juvenile among them, while heavily armed and wearing ski masks entered the R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, a federally insured institution, and while threatening and intimidating bank employees and customers did attempt to rob the bank. It is further described how these individuals, while being detected by the bank security guard and members of the Puerto Rico Police Department, engaged in a shoot-out that resulted in serious bodily injuries to José Luis Garcia, the bank security guard. While attempting to escape apprehension, one of the assailants committed a carjacking against a customer at the bank’s drive-in window. Subsequently, that same date, and as a result of the surveillance by the Puerto Rico Police Department as supported by the FURA aerial unit, the adults and R.I.M.A. were arrested (Docket No. 1).

A certification from state authorities regarding the absence of a delinquent record against R.I.M.A. was obtained from the San Juan Superior Court on August 16, 1996. See, 18 U.S.C. § 1032 and Docket No. 12.

A detention hearing was conducted pursuant to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 5035 (Docket No. 6). Aware of the government’s intentions to request the juvenile’s transfer to adult status, the U.S. Pretrial Services was instructed to conduct a field investigation concerning the juvenile’s neighborhood, personal and family background. In compliance with this Magistrate-Judge’s Order, the U.S. Pretrial Service Office filed its report on August 16, 1996 (Docket No 10). Thereafter, the juvenile was evaluated by a certified Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Dr. Carol M. Romey (Dr. Romey) (See Dr. Romey’s report attached to Docket No. 32). 1

As required under 18 U.S.C. § 5032, the U.S. Attorney certified that the offense charged is a crime of violence, in the prosecution of which the federal government has a substantial interest (Docket No. 21). On August 21, 1996, the government filed a Motion to Transfer to Adult Status (Docket No. 18). The government’s request is based on the violent and premeditated nature of the offenses charged which resulted in serious bodily injuries to a bank security guard, a shoot-out at a public parking lot and the commission of a carjacking (Docket No. 21). The strength of the government’s request lies in the facts and/or incidents surrounding *1266 the commission of the offenses which included abduction of a bank employee while seeking to identify the bank manager and display and use of long barreled weapons.

On August 27,1996, the government filed a four-count Superseding Information. In Count I, R.I.M.A. is being charged for a carjacking offense committed on August 5, 1996, wherein by force, intimidation and violence and while using a weapon, R.I.M.A. took a Ford Explorer from Elga García (18 U.S.C. § 2119). The government’s evidence indicates this is the same vehicle utilized two days later in the commission of another crime. Count II charges the illegal use and possession of a handgun in the commission of a carjacking as charged in Count I. Count 111 charges the bank robbery violation (18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d)). Count IV charges a violation to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1),(3) for the carrying and use of firearms (a .357 caliber revolver, a .30 caliber assault rifle and one shotgun) during the commission of a crime of violence, specifically the bank robbery charged in Count III. (Docket No. 21)

II. Transfer Criteria for Criminal Prosecution

Title 18 U.S.C. § 5032 specifically provides that:

A juvenile who is alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency and who is not surrendered to State authorities shall be proceeded against [as a juvenile] ... unless he has requested in writing upon advice of counsel to be proceeded against as an adult, except that, with respect to a juvenile fifteen years and older alleged to have committed an act after this fifteenth birthday which if committed by an adult would be a felony, that is, a crime of violence [ ... ], criminal prosecution on the basis of the alleged act may begin by motion to transfer of the Attorney General in the appropriate district court of the United States, if such court finds, after a hearing, such transfer would be in the best interest of justice. (Emphasis added.)

In addition, § 5032 directs federal judicial officers to consider six (6) factors relating to the juvenile and the nature of the offense charged in the process of deciding the issue of a juvenile’s transfer to adult status. These six (6) criteria are:

1. the age and social background of the juvenile;
2. the extent and nature of the juvenile’s delinquency record;
3. the nature of past treatment efforts and the juvenile’s response to such efforts;
4. the juvenile’s present intellectual development and psychological maturity;

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Bluebook (online)
963 F. Supp. 1264, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5396, 1997 WL 200468, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rima-prd-1997.